World War II, 1939-1998

Series III includes correspondence, research notes, autobiographical writings, diaries, notebooks, publications, postcards, ephemera, artifacts, clippings, periodicals, and maps related to Rath's service in the American Field Service (AFS) and the United States Army between 1942 and 1945 and to the World War II-era in general.

The American Field Service folders relate to Rath's time as a volunteer ambulance driver in North Africa stationed with the British Eighth Army, Second Division, dating from his initial application late in 1941 to his return to the United States in March 1943. The bulk of the files concern the allied forces in North Africa and are especially detailed and thorough on the subject of the battle of El Alamein, to which Rath was an eyewitness.

The bulk of material within the U. S. Army heading consists of correspondence, orders, and publications related to Rath's training at Fort Upton in New York, the University of Indiana at Bloomington, Camp Ritchie in Maryland, and Camp Campbell in Kentucky. Rath's brief service in France and Germany (February to May 1945) is reflected in his correspondence, clippings about V-E day and European Theater Operations, and intelligence reports concerning the "Colmar Pocket" area of Germany.

Arrangement is alphabetical by folder heading and chronological within each folder.