| The Museum recently acquired the archive of George Polites. George and his twin brother Mitchell served together aboard Intrepid as seamen second class (S2) during World War II and eventually earned the rating of yeoman third class (Y3) when they transferred off the ship in June 1945. The Museum had prior knowledge about the twins aboard Intrepid during this time period from a photograph previously in the Museum’s Collection. |
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The Polites twins, George and Mitch; the Krzemecki twins (lower), Al and Edward, 1944. (Collection of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum P00.2013.01.128)
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| The Polites archive not only tells us more about life aboard the ship, but also has introduced new types of artifacts into the Museum’s Collection. Two documents in George’s collection are v-mail. V-mail, short for victory mail, were letters that were microfilmed, shipped back to the U.S. where small, printed versions were then delivered to the recipient. The actual size of the v-mail in the Polites archive is 5 ¼” x 4 ¼”. |
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V-mail from George Polites to his parents in Michigan. In this letter dated July 24, 1944, Polites mentions the invasion of France and inquires about his father’s new tractor. (Collection of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. A2014.76)
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| Another document in this archive has been redacted. Redaction was the act of censoring correspondence in order to protect military information and locations. While Polites was just writing an innocent letter home to his parents, any reference to the ship’s location was removed. While censored letters are not uncommon during World War II, George’s correspondence are the first examples of this in the Intrepid Museum’s Collection. |
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Redacted letter from the Polites archive, July 5, 1944. (Collection of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. A2014.76)
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If you enjoyed learning more about the Intrepid Museum’s Collection, check out our current exhibition Objects in Conversation, which is open now through June 8, 2015. This exhibition explores the ways the Museum learns from its Collection and preserves the history of Intrepid for generations to come.
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