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.

Restrictions on Access

There are no restrictions

Preferred Citation

J. Russell Major papers, 1942-1945. MS 0432. VMI Archives, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

James Russell Major (1921-1998) graduated from VMI in 1942. During World War II he served in the United States Army (Field Artillery) and was stationed in the European Theater of Operations with the 949th Field Artillery Battalion as a forward artillery observer. Following the War, Major attended graduate school at Princeton University where he earned his Ph.D in History. A noted authority on French and European history, he was a Professor at Emory University (Georgia) from 1949 to 1990 and was instrumental in building the history program there.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of J. Russell Major's World War II papers, including: Correspondence to his parents (dated 1942-1945). The early letters cover his training as a field artillery officer at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma (1942-1944) and other United States bases, including Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base (Glider School) and Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Letters from July 1944 to May 1945 date from his service as a forward artillery observer in France and Germany. Military orders (1942-1945) Papers relating to his awards (Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart). Service record Notes relating to his United States Army career. Four volumes of the United States Army official history (European Theater), with one volume annotated by Major. Major's World War II reminiscences, based in part on the correspondence in this collection, were published in 1999 under the title "The Memoirs of an Artillery Forward Observer, 1944-1945." This book is in Preston Library's rare book collection.

Related Material

Papers relating to Major's professional career are located at Emory University here .

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Books
• Correspondence
• Military decorations
• Military records
• Notes
• Orders (military records)
• United States. Army—Officers—Biography
• Virginia Military Institute—Alumni—Biography
• Virginia Military Institute—Class of 1942
• World War, 1939-1945—Personal narratives