Edwin Bickford Hooper

A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress

Prepared by Laura J. Kells

Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

2007

Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html

Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2007

Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms007100

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

Personal Names

Organizations

Subjects

Locations

Related Names

Occupations

Administrative Information

Provenance:

Processing History:

Copyright Status:

Preferred Citation:

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement of the Papers

Description of Series

Container List

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Administrative Information

The papers of Edwin Bickford Hooper, naval officer and historian, were deposited in the Library of Congress by the Naval Historical Foundation in 1989 and converted to a gift in 1998.

The papers of Edwin Bickford Hooper were arranged and described in 1993. The finding aid was revised in 2007.

The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Edwin Bickford Hooper is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Edwin Bickford Hooper Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Edwin Bickford Hooper (1909-1986), naval officer and later naval historian, span the years 1842-1986 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1931 to 1986. The papers focus almost exclusively on naval topics, either relating to Hooper's career or to naval history in general.

At the start of his career Hooper specialized in ordnance and later studied fire control in his postgraduate education. He did ordnance work on a battleship during World War II. Following the war he developed his knowledge of antiaircraft and nuclear weapons and directed research and development work in these areas. From 1947 to 1949, he served in the Military Applications Division of the newly established Atomic Energy Commission where he was involved in the development of nuclear weapons programs and in planning nuclear weapons tests at the Eniwetok Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands. His later career assignments involved amphibious warfare and logistical operations, and from 1958 to 1968 he served as commander of the Service Force, United States Pacific Fleet during a period when the escalating Vietnam War caused that position's duties to expand rapidly. He later wrote a history of American naval logistics during the Vietnam War, entitled Mobility, Support, Endurance. Hooper retired from the navy in June 1970 but returned to active duty one month later to take the position of director of naval history and curator of the Department of the Navy, which he held until his second retirement in 1976.

The Correspondence series is divided into personal correspondence, official correspondence, and orders to duty. These documents trace Hooper's career in the navy and his work in naval history which continued after his retirement. In his personal correspondence, Hooper reviewed and commented on other people's historical studies, often including personal recollections of events and people covered in those works. Similar comments are found in the Subject File as well. His official correspondence contains a run of memoranda to unit commanders and commanding officers in his position as commander of the Service Force, United States Pacific Fleet during the Vietnam War. Other material relating to his work during the war is contained in the Subject File, the Speeches and Writings series, and in the clippings and printed matter sections of the Miscellany series.

The Subject File relates primarily to naval historical topics and includes background materials and notes on Vietnam and the history of the United States Navy, which Hooper used to prepare historical studies, including the first volume of the navy's history of its involvement in the Vietnam conflict coauthored by Hooper while he was director of naval history. In creating the subject files, Hooper copied documents dating from 1842 and collected historical studies related to events from the American colonial period to the 1970s. The material on United States naval history and early Vietnamese history is separated into historical periods, but for the most part, date spans given in the folder listings relate to the dates of Hooper's notes, not to the period covered. In addition to Hooper's historical research, the subject files also cover other phases of his naval career, including his work on logistics and research and development.

The Speeches and Writings series contains copies of Hooper's published articles, his master's thesis, papers written during his studies at the National War College, unpublished papers, and speeches relating mainly to the Vietnam War and naval history. Also included is an early draft of Hooper's final book, United States Naval Power in a Changing World, which was edited and published posthumously. Since the text was edited and footnotes were prepared by others following Hooper's death, his draft manuscript was retained to allow for comparison with the final product.

The Miscellany series contains biographical material, including Hooper's reminiscences about different phases of his career. A particularly lengthy piece relates to his activities during World War II and his experiences on the USS Washington in the Guadalcanal campaign. There are also record books which Hooper used to write down thoughts about articles and reports he read and ideas about tasks. The first book dates from 1955 to 1958 and includes thoughts on his upcoming position as director of research and development in the Bureau of Ordnance and the Bureau's organization and management. The books from 1970 to 1974 focus on naval history and the Naval Historical Center and its visitors. Rosters, certificates and mementos, clippings, and programs provide additional details about Hooper's naval career.

Arrangement of the Papers

This collection is arranged in five series:

• Correspondence and Orders to Duty File, 1927-1986
• Subject File, 1842-1986
• Speeches and Writings, 1940-1986
• Miscellany, 1933-1986
• Oversize, 1953-1985

Description of Series

Container List