It was an emotional experience for Langford, who served in the Army and lost a brother in the Philippines 10 days before the Japanese surrendered. With Langford's support, the archives gained momentum and Oldson began a nationwide collection of artifacts, official histories and personal accounts. He has traveled to military reunions across the country. He has placed blurbs in the company newsletters of Boeing and Hughes Aircraft in hopes of finding defense workers. His work has paid off.
People show up daily with pieces of their past.
He has model ships, medals, even an aluminum and steel sea chest made from the remnants of a crashed Japanese plane. But he cherishes the letters most of all. So we're not doing so badly and . For now, Oldson is cataloging the memorabilia and placing it in offices of the Bellamy Building. But he's trying to place the archives in Dodd Hall's basement.