The Charles Ashby Shoop World War II Collection contains textual and visual materials related to the World War II and post-war military service of Charles Ashby Shoop, a liaison pilot with the United States Army 104th Infantry Division.

The bulk of the textual materials is Shoop’s 1942-1945 World War II and 1946-1960 post-war Reserve military service records, which include orders and assignments, promotion recommendations, memorandums and correspondence, and receipts and shipping tickets. Additional textual materials include Shoop’s flight training log book, as well as his individual flight records from 1943-1957; health records, which include physical examination reports; military certificates, including Air Medal citations; and a notebook of flight training materials, which is comprised of both printed documents and handwritten notes, presumably taken by Shoop. There are also three booklets related to the 104th Infantry Division’s timeline and history of service during World War II, as well as assorted ephemera, including European paper currency from Germany and Belgium; a comic strip; assorted tickets from various cabarets, clubs, and restaurants; and various membership cards. A scrapbook, “Wings,” is also included. On the first page is the name “Raymond J. Shoop,” presumably a relative to Charles Ashby Shoop, although an exact relationship cannot be determined. It includes assorted newspaper clippings and has two poems, possibly original works by Raymond J. Shoop.

The collection also holds 70 black-and-white vintage photographic prints. Sizes vary from 2x3” to 11x14” and most do not include captions or identifying information. Duplication occurs. Images are a mix of casual snapshots and posed portraits. They primarily depict military personnel, including Shoop, near aircraft or military buildings. There are also a number of group portraits of military squadrons, including one at Midland Army Air Field that shows the men and aircraft in formation. Other images feature a military aircraft, possibly a Piper L-4 Grasshopper, in flight and on the ground. There are also two aerial photographs, one of which shows bombardment damage to the ground and one which depicts a scenic countryside and includes a handwritten caption on the reverse: “Air view. B[roadmaas?] Hotel.” Three photographs at the end of the collection depict an unidentified pre-teen boy in a uniform while at the controls of an obscured aircraft, and Shoop in his military uniform with his wife.