Guide to the Dwight H. Ford Collection, 1940-1946
Record Group 299
Extent: 18 items
Physical Description: 1 file folder / 18 PDF and JPG scans (10.5 megs)
Biographical Sketch: Dwight Henry Ford, born in 1921 in Lafayette, Chambers County, Alabama, enlisted in the US Marine Corps in May 1944, completed basic training at Camp Lejeune, SC, was deployed to the Pacific Theater where he was killed in action at the Battle of Iwo Jima, February 1945. Before enlisting, he worked for the Ford Construction Company in Dothan where he met and married Verla Louise Collier in March 1943. Louise married US Navy chaplain Ted Hagen in Dothan in February 1948.
Scope / Content Note: Small body of documents, photographs, and one artifact concerning Dwight Henry Ford, USMC PFC killed in action at Battle of Iwo Jima, February 27, 1945. Contains letters (most concerning payment of his death benefit to his widow Louise Collier Ford), two service certificates including Purple Heart award, four photo prints, Ford's draft card and social security card, and his Asiatic- Pacific Campaign medal. One photo is of Ted Hagen, Ford's widow's (Louise Collier Ford) second husband.
Provenance: Sent to the Wiregrass Archives by daughter of Louise Collier Hagen and Ted Hagen to memorialize her mother's first husband.
Cross Reference: Two photographs of Louise Collier in the Jerrie Watson Bass Collection, RG 18, https://www.troy.edu/about-us/dothan-campus/wiregrass-archives/inventories/018.html
Cite as: Dwight Henry Ford Papers, RG 299, Wiregrass Archives, Troy University Dothan Campus, Dothan, AL.
Acquisition Method: Gift
Donor Name: Donna H. Green
Access: Open except for Social Security and Draft Card
Processing Date: July 10, 2025
Processor: MTO
CALENDAR
File ID File Name
299-25-0605-Itm-001 National Service Life Insurance application, Dwight Ford, May 25, 1944
299-25-0605-Itm-002 National Service Life Insurance certificate, Dwight Ford, June 1, 1944
299-25-0605-Itm-003 Letter, Dwight Ford, Camp Lejeune, NC, to Louise Collier Ford, Dothan, AL, September 13, 1944. Contains pass to visit camp.
299-25-0605-Itm-004 Letter, USMC Commandant A. A. Vandergrift to "My dear Mrs. Ford," Dothan AL, April 5, 1945. Death notice for Dwight Ford, KIA Iwo Jima.
299-25-0605-Itm-005 Letter, Verla Louise Ford to Casualty Division, USMC, April 12, 1945. Requests life insurance claim forms be sent to her.
299-25-0605-Itm-006 Letter, Verla Louise Ford to Insurance Claims Division, Veterans Administration, April 12, 1945. Requests life insurance claim forms be sent to her.
299-25-0605-Itm-007 Letter, R. J. Rinton, VA, New York City, to "Dear Madam" [Verla Louise Ford], June 27, 1945. Notification of death benefit of $50 per month.
299-25-0605-Itm-008 Letter, W. C. Black, VA Washington, DC, to "Dear Madam" [Verla Louise Ford], November 19, 1945. Notification that Ford records transferred to Montgomery VA office.
299-25-0605-Itm-010 Certificate confirming that Dwight Ford was killed in action at Iwo Jima, February 27, 1945, with abbreviated service record, provided by USMC to Verla Louise Ford, July 1, 1949.
299-25-0605-Itm-011 Certificate of Purple Heart award to Dwight Ford, June 7, 1945.
299-25-0605-Itm-012 Photograph, L-R: Louise Collier Ford, Dwight Ford (in uniform), Martha Collier, developed by Anderson's Photo, August 20, 1944
299-25-0605-Itm-013 Photograph, Snapshot of Louise Collier, n.d.
299-25-0605-Itm-014 Photograph, profile portrait of Louise Collier, 1944
299-25-0605-Itm-015 Photograph, Navy Chaplain Ted Hagan, second husband of Louise Collier Ford, married in Dothan, February 10, 1948
299-25-0605-Itm-016 Ephemera, Social Security Card, Dwight Ford, issued August 23, 1940. [Restricted Access]
299-25-0605-Itm-017 Ephemera, Selective Service Registration Card ("Draft Card"), for Dwight Ford, issued February 14, 1942. [Restricted Access]
299-25-0605-Itm-018 Artifact, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, Dwight Ford, n.d.
Contact Us
Wiregrass Archives
Troy University Dothan Campus
Everett 128
502 University Dr.
Dothan, AL 36303
Phone: 334-983-6556 x21327
Email: wiregrassarchives@troy.edu