Archive Record
Metadata
Catalog Number |
PH 2015.43 |
Title |
John D. Hanlon Collection |
Collection |
Photograph Collection |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Scope & Content |
This collection includes photographs and print materials collected during research for the book, 500 Sheets: Lt. Col. John Hanlon's Debt of Honor by Ellen Knight, plus further materials sent to Knight by Belgian historian Robert Remacle. Included are 25 images copied from the collection of Joan (Mrs. John) Hanlon, originally belonging to Lt. Col. John Hanlon, a Winchester native and war hero. The images, including 21 photographs, two photographed documents, two photographs of portraits, and one photograph of a war souvenir, were copied to be used as illustrations in the book or to record Winchester history. Four of the original photographs pertain to Winchester, five (and the object) to the war, six photographs (and the two documents) to Hanlon's return to Belgium, two to paintings, and four to Hanlon in Providence, R.I. Also included is a snapshot of Joan and Martha Hanlon taken at the time the other photographs were copied. Also included are photographs of the 8 remaining paintings sent to Winchester by the mayor of Hemroulle (a village outside Bastogne), Belgium, in gratitude for the fulfillment of Hanlon's debt of honor. In addition, prints of digital photographs taken in 2015 when U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Denis Bauer presented copies of the book and an album of photographs of the paintings to the Mayor Benoit Lutgen of Bastogne during the Foire aux Noix, in December 2015 have been added. Documents include a 1948 article in Life magazine, and various print donations from M. Remacle from the 70th and 75th anniversaries of the Battle of the Bulge and Siege of Bastogne. |
Admin/Biographical History |
Lt. Col. John Douglas Hanlon (1917-1996) was a native of Winchester and a graduate of Winchester High School (class of 1935) who became a member and battalion leader of the 101st Airborne, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, during World War II. He won international recognition in 1947-1948 for redeeming a war-time promise to return sheets sacrificed by the villagers of Hemroulle, Belgium, to camouflage American paratroopers during the Siege of Bastogne. For the town's role in this effort, Winchester received the gift of 10 Stations of the Cross paintings from the mayor of the village of Hemroulle. After the war, Hanlon pursued a career as a newspaperman and columnist, leaving Winchester to take a position with the Providence Journal. |
Copyrights |
David Feigenbaum, holder of the copyright, has granted permission that the pictures be reproduced and distributed, provided that the proper attribution is made. |
Finding Aids |
A finding aid with detailed information about the contents of the collection is available. Contact the Archives for a copy. |
Search Terms |
World War II Hemroulle Belgium Sheets Paratroopers 101st Airborne |
People |
Bailey, Walter Bauer, Denise Gallagher, Charles Hanlon, Joan Hanlon, John Douglas Lutgen, Benoit Navez, Albert O'Riordan, John Simpson, Edward Snook, John |
Containers |
Hanlon Photograph Collection Belgian photographs Photographs of Hemroulle paintings Articles Bastogne materials |