Inventory of the William Rudolph Gruber papers
Finding aid prepared by Tess McCarthy
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2008, 2014
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: William Rudolph Gruber papers
Date (inclusive): 1911-1978
Collection Number: 82110
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
4 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box, 1 oversize folder
(5.4 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The papers of William Rudolph Gruber, U.S. Army brigadier general, consist of correspondence, orders, reports, memoranda,
writings, certificates, printed matter, maps, and photographs relating to American military administration of the Panama Canal
and American military operations in France during World War I and in the Far East during World War II.
Creator:
Gruber, William R. (William Rudolph), 1890-1979
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
Box 5 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials
must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection,
they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1982.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], William Rudolph Gruber papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
| November 30, 1912 |
Named commander, United States Army |
| December 17, 1890 |
Born, Cincinnati, Ohio |
| 1913-1917 |
Served in Panama |
| 1924 |
Attended Field Artillery School, Fort Still, Oklahoma |
| June 16, 1919 |
Married Helen L. Drennan |
| 1917-1918 |
Served as batallion and regiment commander, 17th Field Artillery, 2nd Division, in the Soissons, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel,
Champagne, and Meuse-Argonne operations
|
| 1929 |
Attended Army War College, Washington, D.C. |
| 1925-1928 |
Instructor, Command and General Staff School |
| 1925 |
Graduated with honors from the Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas |
| 1933-1937 |
Served as assistant to three secretaries of war on affairs of the Panama Canal, Inland Waterways Corporation, Army engineer
projects, and War Department negotiations on the treaty with Panama
|
| 1930-1938 |
Director, Panama Railroad and Steamship Company |
| 1929-1930 |
Served as commander, 7th Field Artillery |
| 1938-1941 |
Served as G.A., chief of staff, Hawaiian Division |
| 1936-1938 |
Served as commander, 36th Field Artillery |
| 1936 |
Attended Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island |
| February 1942 |
Named brigadier general |
| 1942-1945 |
Served as artillery commander, 38th and 24th Divisions, Burma, India, China, S.W. Pacific, New Guinea, and Philippine operations |
| 1941 |
Served as commander, 26th Field Artillery Brigade, Camp Roberts, California |
| 1940 |
Oversaw Army housing construction project in Hawaii |
| 1946 |
Retired from the U.S. Army |
| January 27, 1979 |
Died, Carmel, California |
| 1945 |
Served as assistant Army-Navy Foreign Liquidation Commissioner, State Deptartment, Europe |
Source: Marquis Biographies Online. Who Was Who in America. http://search.marquiswhoswho.com/profile/200010813094. Accessed
26 November 2014.
Scope and Content of Collection
The William Rudolph Gruber papers consist of correspondence, orders, reports, memoranda, writings, certificates, printed matter,
maps, and photographs documenting Gruber's wide-ranging career in the United States Army.
The
Military Career File includes correspondence, memoranda, citations, certificates, and reports documenting Gruber's promotions, assignments, decorations
(notably the Silver Star with Third Oak Leaf Cluster and the French Croix de Guerre), leaves of absence, and retirement. The
World War I File consists of printed matter documenting military operations in France, particularly the Battle of Blanc Mont. The
World War II File consists of Gruber's military analysis on the vulnerability of Pearl Harbor, as well as reports and other materials relating
to the China-Burma India Theater, where Gruber led campaigns under General Joseph Stilwell, providing intelligence and communications
in liaisons with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and analysis on the military readiness of China and India. The
Panama Canal File consists of correspondence, reports, agendas, and printed matter related to the American military administration of the Panama
Canal, gathered during Gruber's role as assistant to three U.S. secretaries of war.
The
Correspondence series includes Gruber's letters to and from notable figures, such as presidents Eisenhower, Truman, and Hoover and Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek. The
Writings series includes Gruber's letters to the editor for various publications, authored articles reflecting on military operations,
reports, and manuscripts, as well as research materials. The
Photographs series consists of photographs of the Panama Canal (including Franklin D. Roosevelt's visits in 1934), World War I battles,
and portraits of figures such as Douglas MacArthur and Chiang Kai-shek. Finally, the
Maps series includes annotated war period military and civilian maps of Panama and Asia, comprised of collected data in the field
used for military analysis and civilian reports. The military maps are strategic in nature and depict troop movement.
The collection is organized according to Gruber's original arrangement, in chronological order.
Related Collection(s)
Papers of William R. Gruber, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
Claire Lee Chennault papers 1941-1967, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
John Richard Shaffer papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Joseph Warren Stilwell papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Ralph Corbett Smith papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Raymond Ames Spruance miscellaneous papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Officers
World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Burma
Panama Canal (Panama)
World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Philippines
United States -- Armed Forces -- Panama
World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- China
United States. Army
Military Career File,
1918-1957
Scope and Contents note
Citations, recommendations, certificates, correspondence, reports, memoranda, and an autobiographical sketch pertaining to
Gruber's military career, including his promotions, assignments, decorations (notably the Silver Star with Third Oak Leaf
Cluster and the French Croix de Guerre), leaves of absence, and retirement.
box 1, folder 1
Citations, recommendations, and correspondence regarding military decorations
1918-1957
box 4, folder 1
Citations, certificates, and records of military decorations and promotions
1918-1944
box 1, folder 2
Promotions, assignments, leaves of absence, and retirement,
1935-1946
World War I File
1918-1928
box 1, folder 3
Printed matter
1918-1928
Scope and Contents note
Includes General Orders Nos. 53 and 88 of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), Citation Orders No. 2 (AEF), and mongraphs
highlighting the French campaigns in the Champagne region in World War I.
box 1, folder 4
Battle of Blanc Mont,
1918-1922
Scope and Contents note
Materials about Blanc Mont in the Battle of Blanc Mont of the Second Field Artillery Brigade written by Gruber, as well as
American Expeditionary Forces Citation Orders No. 8 and monographs published by the United States War Office, such as "A Study
in Battle Formation," and "Blanc Mont."
World War II File
1938-1975
box 1, folder 5
Pearl Harbor military analysis,
1938-1947
Scope and Contents note
Reports, clippings, and analysis on the possibility of an attack on Pearl Harbor.
Includes declassified records returned to file after July 2015 release by Hoover.
box 1, folder 6-7
China-Burma-India Theater,
1942-1972
Scope and Contents note
Includes reports, military analysis, transcripts of wire communications between General Joseph Stilwell and Gruber, as well
as reports and muster rolls of the Tenth U.S. Airforce and members of the National Military Council, including Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek.
Includes declassified records returned to file after July 2015 release by Hoover.
box 2, folder 1
Army housing project in Hawaii and clippings,
1940-1956
box 2, folder 2
"The United States Army and the China-Burma-India Theater, Chapter III," review manuscript and correspondence,
1940-1950
Scope and Contents note
Memoranda, chronologies, reports, inventory of United States and Chinese forces, tables and schedules, and drafts for messages
to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, as well as a proposed plan for opening a second front under Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell.
Also includes a letter and manuscript from the Department of the Army, Special Staff of the Historical Division for review.
Panama Canal File
1931-1979
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, agendas, and reports of the United States and Panama Canal Zone governments with regards to foreign visits
and the Panama Canal Company. Included with the correspondence are listings of Panama Canal Company board members, reports,
inquiries, and printed matter.
box 2, folder 3
1931-1933
Scope and Contents note
Some materials regarding the visit of Governor Burgess and President Arias to the Canal, with agenda and reports.
box 3, folder 1
Printed matter,
1970-1975
Scope and Contents note
Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries report and congressional hearings and Panama Canal Company annual reports for 1974
and 1975.
Correspondence
1920-1962
Scope and Contents note
Organized according to Gruber's original arrangement.
box 3, folder 2
Personal
1920-1946
Scope and Contents note
Letters sent and received by Gruber to a variety of personal contacts, including Republican Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce
and informal letters from General Douglas MacArthur.
box 3, folder 3
Professional,
1935 - 1968
Scope and Contents note
Includes correspondence with Chiang Kai-shek, General Douglas MacArthur, George H. Dern (United States War Secretary), and
presidents Eisenhower, Truman, and Hoover.
box 3, folder 4
"The Foreign Relations of the United States,"
1936
box 3, folder 5
Reports, articles, correspondence, clippings, and research materials,
1947-1970
box 3, folder 6
Family and historical scenes
1911-1978
Scope and Contents note
Depictions of Gruber, his wife Helen, and figures such as Franklin D. Roosevelt (during a 1934 visit to the Panama Canal),
as well as World War I battles and the Panama Canal.
Includes declassified records returned to file after July 2015 release by Hoover.
box 4, folder 2
Portraits
1918-1934
Scope and Contents note
Larger format photographs of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, United States War Secretary George Dern,
and General Douglas MacArthur.
box 5
Views of the Grand Coulee and the Grand Coulee Dam, Washington
1934
Access
Box 5 may not be used without permission of the Archivist.
Scope and Contents
Presented by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation. Photographs by Kenneth S. Brown.
Maps,
1918-1971
Scope and Contents note
Annotated military maps and research maps of Asia, France, the Panama Canal, and the United States.
box 4, folder 3
Burma, China, Panama Canal and the United States
1934-1970
Scope and Contents note
Includes declassified records returned to file after July 2015 release by Hoover.
map_case case
Annotated military analysis maps
1918-1971
1922-1928
