Collections : [Virginia Military Institute Archives]

The Jennings C. Wise papers consist primarily of Jennings C. Wise's incoming and outgoing correspondence from the period 1910 to 1960. Included are letters dating from his years as Professor and Commandant of Cadets at VMI, from his practice of law, and from his retirement period in which he devoted himself primarily to writing. Wise was passionately interested in the history and future development of VMI and much of the correspondence reflects his ongoing involvement with the school. He often held controversial views and frequently expressed his dismay at what he perceived to be a lessening of military discipline at VMI. Other items in the papers include:

• Memoranda
• Editorials and articles written by Wise
• Circulars
• Notebooks
• Printed material
• A photograph album (1913-1914) documenting the retirement of the VMI Cadet Battery and the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of New Market, Virginia

This collection consists of items related to Jesse H. Heath, Jr. (VMI Class of 1938) who was killed in action in Belgium on January 3, 1945. Items include:

• Correspondence (dated 1941-1993); some of this correspondence has been transcribed from original letters
• Newspaper clippings (1944-1948)
• One public relations article by Headquarters 2nd Armored Division (October 12, 1944)
• One speech by Luke Bolin (May 30, 1945)
• One sermon describing Heath (March 3, 1946)
• One article about Heath by Norwich Free Academy, Connecticut
• One Wall of Liberty certificate (1993)
• Two Victory Liberty Loan coins

The collection consists primarily of certificates, honorary degrees, and awards given to John D. deButts during his business career, most dating from the 1960s to 1985. The collection also includes 19 volumes of deButts' speeches (1972-1978). The VMI Museum houses related medals and plaques.