Object 68: John Cook Wyllie's Japanese Radio Set

Wyllie was nearsighted, and having been snubbed by all branches of the U.S. military in 1941, he instead joined the American Field Service, a youth exchange program that operated a wartime ambulance service. He eventually found a spot as a communications officer with the U.S. air corps in Burma where he earned the Legion of Merit, the citation for which refers to his “great courage and resourcefulness” in setting up observation posts near enemy lines and calling in close air support. At war's end, he returned home with this bullet-riddled Japanese radio as a souvenir. In 1956, he became the University's twelfth librarian.

Japanese Field Radio Set (MSS 8901). John Cook Wyllie Obituaries and War Souvenirs, 1944-1968