Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Additional Dowell J. Howard Papers, 1918-1972, Accession #11084-a, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was given to the University of Virginia Library by Marianna H. Parrish, Vienna, Virginia, on May 26, 1993.

Biographical/Historical Information

The letters of Dowell J. Howard to his mother detail his military involvement from the time he was en route to Louisville, Kentucky (1918 October 23) until he signed his discharge papers (1918 Nov 26). He describes the routine of boot camp at Camp Zachary Taylor in Kentucky with the 13th Observation Battery and taking the officer's examinations (Oct 25, 26, & 29); his transfer to the 27th Training Battery (Nov 2); and the end of the war and the official announcement of peace (Nov 16). Also present is a letter from Private George T. Barnsley, Company C, 215 Engineers, Camp Logan, Texas, to his aunt, Mrs. Henry Howard, December 31, 1918.

Papers concerning Howard's educational career include newsclippings about Howard's service to education, the desegregation controversy, obituaries, and the dedication of the Dowell J. Howard Vocational School, Winchester, Virginia; and individual and group photographs of Dowell J. Howard, photographs of Governors John S. Battle, J. Lindsay Almond, Jr., and William Munford Tuck, and a photograph of Dwight D. Eisenhower, bearing an autograph inscription.

Also present is material concerning the World War II military service of Howard's son, Dowell Jennings Howard, Jr., including letters to his sister, Marianna Howard Parrish; Army song books from World War II; printed German propaganda (1939); post cards of Camp Lee, Virginia; and army memorabilia.

Howard's correspondence to his sister began on March 9, 1943, while at Camp Lee, Virginia, and continued with his transfer to the 419 Technical School Squadron: Flight L, Basic Training Center No. 4, Army Air Forces Technical Training Command, Miami Beach, Florida (1943 Mar 29) where he discusses the dog races and entertainment for soldiers (1943 Mar 29); basic training (1943 Apr 8 & 23); and notification that he is being shipped to the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, 8th P.O.T.C. (1943 Jun 11).

Howard is then transferred to the 53 Bomb Squadron, 64 Bombardment Group, Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he writes about his new job and guard duty (1943 Jun 25 & 29); the extreme heat, dust, oil wells in the city, and loading 100 pound practice bombs with sand and five pounds of explosives (1943 Jul 6); gives advice about copperheads, relates more experiences at the magazine, training in rough terrain driving, and bomber landing mishaps (1943 Jul 23). He spent the remainder of the year in mechanical engineering school at Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical College, Stillwater, Oklahoma (August 24- December 26) where he saw an Indian dance exhibition (October 22).

Howard became a member of the Army Specialized Training Unit 3872 while at the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College. He discusses his grades, classes, and other activities (1944 Jan 3-Mar 9); then transfers to "Company A" 395th Infantry Regiment, Camp Maxey, Texas, and describes his training on the firing range (1944 April 1), especially his night compass course, training on the combat practice ranges, and the city fighting course (1944 April 1-24). Next he transferred to the 799th Ordnance Company, 99th Infantry Division, Camp Maxey, Texas and remained with that company when he went to sea (1944 October 3-4) to travel to England (1944 October 13 & 29).

While in Europe, Dowell J. Howard, Jr. drove a truck and jeep in Belgium (1944 Nov 14-1945 Mar 6); stayed in a S.S. trooper's house in Germany, writing about his impressions of that country (1945 Mar 16); went on furlough to Paris, France, and mentioned the dislike of the German civilians for the American soldiers (1945 Mar 22 & April 15); helped capture two Germans hiding in a warehouse (1945 May 3-20); and drove a truck with some members of his company to Czechoslovakia giving his impressions of the area (1945 June 18).

Other letters include a diagram of the camp at Wurtzburg, and mention of an accident involving a little German girl (1945 July 2); his transfer to the 783rd Ordnance Company, 83rd Infantry Division, location just across the Danube River from Austria, travel through Nurnberg, and interaction with German children (1945 July 10); period of rest in a castle fixed up for Hitler's relaxation at Passau and used as a rest center for the 83rd Division, with detailed description of the castle and its environs (1945 July 26); mention of a Bob Hope show and the Hungarian Navy band playing for an invitation to supper (1945 August 6); attendance at an army school south of Munich in the Bavarian Alps (1945 August 26); activities to pass away the time in Passau wanting for his discharge (1945 September 3-October 6 & 22); description of his furlough to Switzerland (1945 October 14 & 22); in Austria setting up an armament shop (1945 November 4); his transfer to "Company I," 301st Infantry Regiment in Germany waiting for his trip home (1945 December 13-1946 January 2); and departure from Le Havre for the United States (1946 January 16).

Also present are three letters from other World War II soldiers to Marianna Howard, including Claude D. Bennett, 441 Fighter Squadron, Perry, Florida (1944 February 23, December 18) and Henry H. Woolfield, San Francisco, California (1944 July 22).

Scope and Content Information

This collection contains Howard's World War I letters to his mother, 1918, from training camps in the United States.

Papers pertinent to Howard's educational career include newsclippings about his role as State Superintendent, the Virginia desegregation controversy in the 1950s, and the dedication of the Dowell J. Howard Vocational School in Winchester, VA; obituaries; and the photographs of three Virginia governors and President   Eisenhower.

The bulk of the collection consists of World War II letters, 1943-1946, from Dowell Jennings Howard, Jr., to his sister Marianna describing service in the 83rd, 99th, and 301st Infantry Divisions including training at Camp Lee, VA, 1943-1944, Belgium, 1944-1945, and occupied Germany and Austria, 1945.

Howard discusses specialized training in Okalahoma and Texas including classes at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, travel in Germany and Czechoslovakia, entertainment and furloughs to Paris and Switzerland. He mentions incidents involving German soldiers and civilians, and a rst center at Hitler's retreat at Passau on the Danbube.

Souvenirs include Army songbooks and broadsides, German money and propaganda about Polish use of British supplied poison gas, and postcards of Camp Lee.