Collection Summary
Donald Wilson Papers
1910-1979
1910-1979
MSS45922
Wilson, Donald,
1892-1978
37,600
items
67 containers plus 2 oversize and 3 vault
containers
26 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
U.S. Army and Air Force
officer. Diaries, journals, correspondence, speeches, lectures, flight records,
maps and other items relating to Wilson’s personal life and military career.
Diaries include accounts of the Iwo Jima and other South Pacific campaigns
during World War II.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Wilson, Donald, 1892-1978.
Subjects
Air warfare.
Bombing, Aerial.
Iwo Jima, Battle of, Japan, 1945.
World War, 1914-1918--Aerial operations, American.
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American.
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Ocean.
Places
Mexico--Foreign relations--United States.
Mexico--History--Revolution, 1910-1920.
United States--Foreign relations--Mexico.
Occupations
Air Force officers.
Army officers.
Provenance
The papers of Donald Wilson, U.S. Army and Air Force officer, were given
to the Library of Congress by Wilson in 1962. Additions were given by him in
1971-1978.
Processing History
The collection was processed in 1979 and expanded in 1984. The finding
aid was revised in 2012.
Copyright Status
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Donald Wilson in these papers
and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress is reserved.
Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division for further
information.
Access and Restrictions
Restrictions apply governing the use, photoduplication, or
publication of items in this collection. Consult reference staff in the
Manuscript Division for information concerning these restrictions. In addition,
many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve
these items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Donald Wilson Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1892, Sept. 25
Born, Hiner’s Mill, W.Va.
1910
Surveyor, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
1916
1917
Enlisted in the Maryland National Guard as a private and
served with it on the Mexican border
1918
1919
Served on the Western Front during World War I and was
transferred to the United States Army Air Service
1938
1939
Director of Air Tactics and Strategy and head of Air Corps
Tactical School, the forerunner of the Air University at Maxwell Field in
Alabama
1942
1944
Chief of staff, Fifth Air Force
1944
Assistant chief of staff, United States Army Air Forces for
Organization, Commitments and Requirements
1945
Present at the Battle of Iwo Jima as an official Army Air
Forces observer
Assumed command of Air Force Proving Ground Command.
1947
Discharged from army with rank of major general
1973
Published
Wooing Peponi:
My Odyssey thru Many Years.
[Carmel, Calif.]: D.
Wilson
1978, June 21
Died
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Donald Wilson (1892-1978) span the years 1910-1979 and
consist of diaries, journals, correspondence, writings, speeches, military
lecturers, flight records, news clippings, and maps relating chiefly to
Wilson’s military career as an army and air force officer from service on the
Mexican border before World War I through World War II. The diaries contain
accounts of the Iwo Jima campaign during World War II and of other battles in
the South Pacific. A focus is on the primacy of air warfare and strategic
bombing. The greatest portion of the correspondence is personal and
non-military. Included in the collection is a manuscript by Wilson entitled
“Origin of a Theory for Air Strategy.”
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is organized by type of material and includes two
additions.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81045922]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Diaries and journals
2
General correspondence
2
1910-1912
1910-1912
3
1913-1915
1913-1915
4
1915-1917
1915-1917
5
1917-1918
1917-1918
6
1918-1919
1918-1919
7
1919-1933
1919-1933
8
1934-1943
1934-1943
9
1943
1943
10
1943-1945
1943-1945
11
1945-1954
1945-1954
12
1955-1960
1955-1960
13
1960-1962
1960-1962
14
Book, articles, and
speeches
14
Articles and speeches
14
Book, “The Origin of a Theory for
Air Strategy”
15
Miscellaneous
16
Subject file
16
A-M
17
M-O
18
O-T
19
T-V
20
Personal file
21
Military lectures
22
Miscellany
23
Flight records
24
Newspaper clippings and scrapbooks
25
Printed matter, maps, diagrams, and
commissions
26
Addition I
26
Travel notebooks
26
1950s-1960s
1950s-1960s
27
1970s
1970s
28-30
Family correspondence,
1950s-1970s
1950s-1970s
31-34
General correspondence,
1950s-1970s
1950s-1970s
35-36
Subject file,
1950s-1970s
1950s-1970s
37-39
Travel file,
1950s-1970s
1950s-1970s
40-46
Writings
40-46
Autobiography,
Wooing Peponi,
1940s-1970s
1940s-1970s
47
Articles,
1940s-1970s, undated
1940s-1970s, undated
48-57
Financial records,
1910-1970s
1910-1970s
58-62
Miscellany, including clippings
and loose maps
63-64
Photographs
OV 65
Printing plates for
Wooing Peponi,
awards, certificates, and
phototographic reproductions (Oversize)
X66-X68
Closed material
69
Addition II
69
Correspondence,
1976-1978
1976-1978
69
Condolences,
1978-1979
1978-1979
69
Financial records
69
Housing miscellany,
1951-1978
1951-1978
(4
folders)
69
Passbooks,
1961-1978
1961-1978
70
Cashbooks,
1951-1977
1951-1977
70
Bank statements,
1974-1977
1974-1977
70
Receipts,
1976-1978
1976-1978
71
Vouchers,
1950-1977
1950-1977
71
Check stubs,
1973-1978
1973-1978
71
Diploma, Air Corps Tactical
School,
1931
1931
OV 72
“Operational Survey No. 1,
Land-Air Offensive in New Guinea, ” typescript and maps (Oversize)
1942, Nov. 2-1943, Jan. 23
1942, Nov. 2-1943, Jan. 23