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Oral histories: Interview with George Russell, 1974 Dec 11

 File
Identifier: MSC-037.2

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

This collection consists of research materials collected and used by Thomas B. Buell for his biography of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King entitled, Master of sea power and by Walter M. Whitehill for his biography on King, A Naval record.

There are three sets of research materials within this collection. The first set is comprised of photocopies of documents relating to King and his career compiled and annotated by Buell from Library of Congress, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, N.Y., and the Operational Archives of the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C. These materials are organized by the subject assigned to them by Buell.

The second set of research materials, designated as “Research materials (A Naval Record),” include the resources used and maintained by Whitehill while working on A Naval record. Whitehill worked closely with King on this book drawing upon King’s written reminiscences and many conversations the two had after the end of World War II and before the book’s publication in 1953. These materials consists of transcriptions and copies from King’s personal correspondence file (originals may be found at the Library of Congress), memoranda regarding conversations with King, King’s typescript memoirs of his early life and career, subject files, and a notebook of meetings of King with journalists at the home of Cornelius Bull during World War II. Whitehill had loaned his research to Buell when Buell began working on his own biography of King. Upon Whitehill’s death in 1978, Buell remained in possession of Whitehill’s research and deposited them to the Naval Historical Collection along with his own research.

The last set of research materials is labeled as “Research materials (Buell)” and is comprised of the information gathered by Buell while writing Master of sea power. A significant portion of Buell’s research includes correspondence between himself and retired naval officers who served with King throughout his career, the King family, and other acquaintances of King arranged in subject files. Also included are Buell’s handwritten notes, newspapers clippings, and photocopies of King’s papers. Copies of Whitehill’s memorandums are also found within Buell’s subject files as well as the index and research cards that Buell compiled.

Also found in this collection are photographs, oral histories, and a numbered series of King’s letters transcribed by King’s flag officers for Whitehill arranged by subject. Majority of the photographs in this collection are official U.S. Navy photographs, many of which were used by Buell in Master of sea power. Photographs are of King, his family, and events from his naval career. Oral histories include extracts from flag rank biographies conducted by the U.S. Naval Institute along with interviews conducted by Buell. Buell organized interviews with members of King’s family, his flag secretaries and other close associates. Included are the original tape recordings as well as Buell’s edited transcriptions of the oral history interviews.

Lastly, a large portion of this collection is comprised of drafts and revised portions of Buell’s manuscript. Included are edits and comments from Llewellyn Howland, III, his editor at Little, Brown and Company; Professor Gerald Wheeler, San Jose University; and Herman Wouk, a bestselling author of historical fiction.

Dates

  • Creation: 1974 Dec 11

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Access is open to all researchers, unless otherwise specified.

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Repository Details

Part of the Naval War College Archives Repository

Contact:
US Naval War College
686 Cushing Rd
Newport RI 02841 US