The museum archives recently finished processing the Lloyd Hayes Collection of letters and papers. U.S. Army Pvt. Lloyd Hayes served at the Western Front during World War II. His letters home to his family in the small farming community of Lake View in Dillon County provide a first person view of daily Army life for troops serving in the European Theater.

Just as noteworthy are the many perspectives on civilian life in rural 1940’s South Carolina contained in this collection. Private Hayes was apparently quite a ladies’ man, and among his papers are also letters from his many girlfriends, Civilian Conservation Corps buddies, and family members. These reports from home provide insight on the day to day activities and concerns of the folks on the home front.

Though Lloyd Hayes’ personal effects have found a home here at the Relic Room and Museum, tragically Hayes himself never made it home to South Carolina. He was killed in Germany during a late night raid on his unit’s camp in April of 1945, only a few weeks before the German surrender.

Brad Whitehead, Archives Graduate Assistant