My first source I dived into was the special World War II collection at the archives. It was one archival box with 3 long boxes filled with civil service cards. I only read the one archival box. The other boxes are irrelevant. They are filled with every person from this area who was enlisted in the army or worked some way with the government. I selected this source because it is extremely reliable and is a primary source. The one box is really useful in my research.

            The archival box is kairotic because all of the papers inside are from the years that the war was going on. There are a few articles that are from a year late but they are still relevant. The papers and articles have situated ethos because the people who wrote or typed them were the people who should have. For example, the first folder inside the box had papers typed by churches who listed their members who were enlisted in the military. The person who typed them was the pastor at the church. He has situated ethos because he knows the people personally. The articles in the box really didn’t have a rhetorical distance since it was mainly listing names.

            As I said above, the first folder had local churches list their members who were in the military. At the end of the end of the folder, there were pamphlets from all of the Methodist churches combined of troops who wrote to their families. They all began with a pastor from a church who wrote an inspirational message. Then it started with updates from the troops. There were some very interesting ones like of Dick Gathers from Eau Claire. There were multiple issues of the pamphlet that had an update from him. Dick was a decorated airman. He received many awards like the Gold air medal, six oak leaf custers, and 2 stars on his E.T.O. service ribbon. Next, pamphlets give updates on troops coming home and ones who are prisoners of war or wounded. There was one man from Eau Claire, who was captured by the Japanese during the fall of Wake Island. There were many updates on him. Most of the years he was in Shanghai, then he was taken to Northern China. He ended up being released and came home.

            In the archival box there was a miscellaneous folder. In it there was a U.S. Rubber Company ceremony handout. The factory in town, that was the rubber company, switched from making tires to making ammunition. They were so productive the Department of War gave them a special ceremony giving them a red star. The presentation was on Thursday June 17, 1943. There was another booklet in there from the Northern Power Company. It gave updates on the employees who are in the military. It even gave statistics on the awards they earned.

            The source is very credible. I believe everything that the folders contained. I really doubt that the churches and the companies would lie about the soldiers who are serving. I can maybe see them lying about the awards but I still highly doubt that they would lie about that.

            These sources answered one of my questions about the factories. That is only partially answered. There are more factories in Eau Claire, so I have to find out more about them. I also partially solved my what special awards did the troops from this area earn question, but I am sure of it that more soldiers from this area did courageous and special things and earned high honors. Where I want to go from here is to find out more about the factories. I found an online article from the Wisconsin Historical Society about what the farmers grew around here. In the description that each township in Eau Claire county grew a different crop, so that is a promising article I cannot what to read about and do research.