Conditions Governing Use

Manuscript collections in the VMI Archives are made available for educational and research use. The VMI Archives should be cited as the source. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright holders. Materials from our collections may not be redistributed, published or reproduced without permission from the VMI Archives. Contact the VMI Archives for additional information.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions

Online Access

The William P. Upshur scrapbooks are avaliable online .

Preferred Citation

William P. Upshur scrapbooks, 1942-1943. MS 0082. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

William Peterkin Upshur was born in 1881 in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated VMI in 1902. He was a Major General in the United States Marine Corps and a Commanding General in the Department of the Pacific during World War II. He died in 1943 in a plane crash near Sitka, Alaska.

Scope and Contents

The William P. Upshur scrapbook collection consists of two inspection trip scrapbooks (dated May 1942 and 1943) titled "The Cruise of the Flying Cow" and "The Coconut Circuit." These document Upshur's visits to various Pacific islands, including Midway, Pearl Harbor, Palmyra Island, and Johnson Island.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Islands of the Pacific
• Scrapbooks
• United States. Marine Corps—History—World War, 1939-1945
• United States. Marine Corps—Officers—Biography
• Virginia Military Institute—Alumni—Biography
• Virginia Military Institute—Class of 1902
• World War, 1939-1945—Pacific