Howard Emmons Morgan, Jr. Letters

Access and use

Location of collection:
College of William and Mary
Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
College of William and Mary
400 Landrum Drive
PO 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (757) 221-3090
Fax: (757) 221-5440
Restrictions:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Terms of access:

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Summary

Extent:
0.05 Linear Feet
Creator:
Morgan, Howard Emmons
Language:
English

Background

Scope and content:

99 letters and photographs from Howard Emmons Morgan, Jr. who served in the Army in a segregated unit during World War II as part of Company A of the 949th Air Base Security Regiment and later the 1322nd Engineers General Service Regiment based out of Camp Swift, Texas and Hawaii. Most of his active service was in Hawaii and the South Pacific and Morgan comments at length about his observations of the flora and fauna of these areas. Morgan identifies as a Ramapough Mountain Indian and while he is attached to a segregated unit, does not see himself as an African American. On the contrary, Morgan writes often of his dislike of many of the African Americans in his unit, refers to them using denigrating slurs, and even writes about his fear of his skin becoming darker from time in the sun. Included with the collection are eight typescripts for prayer services for his unit.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Langdon Manor Books with funds from the Lyon Gardiner Tyler Library Endowment, 2018.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard