The collection is composed of a wide variety of items dating from World War 1 to the 1960s. These items include military souvenirs, photographs, business papers and publications, and newspaper clippings.

Lieutenant Colonel Edward C. Van Haaften papers, 1917-1946, include letters by Edward C. Van Haaften during his World War I Army service, as an electrician, 102nd Aero Squad, American Expeditionary Forces; French motor repair manual; a letter written after active duty in World War II; numerous photographs from both World War I and World War II.

"The Americans Come (An Episode in France in the Year 1918)" is a World War I song written and composed by Fay Foster. The song was first published in 1918 by J. Fischer & Bro., in New York City. The sheet music cover depicts soldiers marching with a city and battleship on the left and a bombed city on the right.