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Mendenhall (Joseph Abraham) papers
2011C52  
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Table of contents What's This?

 

Early Life and Ancestry 1927-2010

Scope and Contents note

Genealogical, school, and military service records.
 

Genealogy

box 1, folder 1

General 1994-2008

Scope and Contents note

Mendenhall family history, with related charts, correspondence, and miscellany.
box 1, folder 2

Mendenhall Family Association newsletters 1996-2010

 

Education

box 1, folder 3

Elementary and high school report cards and memorabilia 1927-1936

box 1, folder 4

University of Delaware 1937-1940

Scope and Contents note

Correspondence, campus newspaper issues, and university history.
box 1, folder 5

Law school and graduate school application correspondence 1940-1946

box 1, folder 6

Military service 1941-1955

Scope and Contents note

U.S. Army personnel file, War Department application correspondence, and Air Force Reserve discharge certificate.
 

U.S. Foreign Service File 1945-1976

Scope and Contents note

Personnel file, official correspondence, speeches and writings, memoranda, reports, and printed matter.
box 1, folder 7

Department of State personnel file 1945-1975

Scope and Contents note

Includes application materials and evaluation reports.
 

Official correspondence

box 1, folder 8

1945-1958

box 1, folder 9

1959-1962

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence with Elbridge Durbrow.
box 1, folder 10

1963-1964

Scope and Contents note

Includes U.S. National War College correspondence.
box 2, folder 1

1965-1968

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence with Chester Bowles and William H. Sullivan and with Edward M. Kennedy and other members of Congress.
box 2, folder 2

1969-1971

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence with Edgar Buell, Ellsworth Bunker, William H. Sullivan, and members of Congress.
box 2, folder 3

1972

Scope and Contents note

Mainly letters of congratulation upon ambassadorial appointment. Includes correspondence with Ellsworth Bunker, Shelby Cullom Davis and William Rogers, and with J. Caleb Boggs and other members of Congress.
box 2, folder 4

1973-1974

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence with William H. Sullivan.
box 2, folder 5

1975

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence with Henry A. Kissinger and Eliot Richardson.
 

Speeches and writings

box 2, folder 6

Orientation talk on political background of Vietnam for newly arrived Americans in Vietnam, mimeograph 1962 March 30

box 2, folder 7

"Viet-Nam: Land of Crisis," University News (University of Delaware publication), 1962 Summer

Scope and Contents note

Typescript, printed copy, and correspondence.
box 2, folder 8

Department of State seminar on collective security in the Far East, presentation outline 1965 February 2

box 2, folder 9

Department of State briefing on foreign policy in the Far East, presentation outline 1965 April 16

box 2, folder 10

Counterintelligence seminar on Southeast Asia, presentation outline 1965 April 21

box 2, folder 11

Debate on Vietnam, Freedom Forum, Albion College, Albion, Michigan 1965 May 13

Scope and Contents note

Presentation outline, correspondence, and press coverage.
box 2, folder 12

Talk to Military Government Association on Vietnam, Portland, Oregon, presentation outline 1965 May 29

box 2, folder 13

Lecture on Communist challenge in Asia, Westminister College, Fulton, Missouri, presentation outline 1965 July 12

box 2, folder 14

Counterintelligence seminar on Vietnam, presentation outline 1965 August 13

box 2, folder 15

Statement to press upon appointment as U.S. Agency for International Development director in Laos, typescript 1965 September 8

box 2, folder 16

Talk to AID Laos Mission staff, presentation outline 1965 September 24

box 2, folder 17

Briefing on AID program for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, presentation outline 1965 October 27

box 2, folder 18

Talk on rural development program, presentation outline 1965 October 31

box 2, folder 19

General orientation talk on AID program, presentation outline and background data 1966 January 18

box 2, folder 20

Remarks at laying of cornerstone for medical warehouse, Vientiane, Laos, typescript 1966 May 12

box 2, folder 21

Talk to Laotian teachers participating in training program in Thailand, typescript and Lao translation 1966 June 7

box 2, folder 22

Talk to Rotary Club (Vientiane?) on U.S. aid to Laos, typescript and French translation 1966 July 11

box 2, folder 23

Talk at far cargo vessel ceremony, Laos, typescript 1966 July 12

box 2, folder 24

Talk to AID cluster managers, Laos, presentation outline 1966 July 27

box 2, folder 25

Talk at presentation of certificates to Laotian teachers, typescript 1966 August 18

box 2, folder 26

Talk and briefing to Laotian trainees, typescript and presentation outline 1966 September 22-23

box 2, folder 27

Talk at Vientiane Prefecture ceremony, typescript 1966 October 11

box 2, folder 28

Voice of America interview on AID program in Laos, transcript 1966 November 22

box 2, folder 29

Speech to Laotian trainees, typescript 1966 December 7

box 2, folder 30

Remarks at dedication of medical warehouse, That Luang, Laos, typescript and French translation 1966 December 8

box 2, folder 31

Briefing on AID program for Senator Stuart Symington, presentation outline and background data 1966 December 20

box 3, folder 1

Remarks at Ministry of Finance ceremony, Vientiane, Laos, typescript (in French) and background data 1967 January 17

box 3, folder 2

Refugee relief officers conference, presentation outline 1967 January 18

box 3, folder 3

Speech at dedication of Sedone Valley development projects, Laos, mimeograph and French translation 1967 January 27

box 3, folder 4

Talk to U.S. Information Service personnel, Laos, presentation outline 1967 February 7

box 3, folder 5

Speech at agricultural conference, Vientiane, Laos, mimeograph 1967 March 7

box 3, folder 6

Speech at signing of small industries project agreement, Vientiane, Laos, typescript and French translation 1967 March 10

box 3, folder 7

Speech at orthopedic center, Vientiane, Laos, mimeograph and French translation 1967 March 17

box 3, folder 8

Remarks at school dedication, Kengkok, Laos, mimeograph 1967 April 10

box 3, folder 9

Staff meeting, presentation outline 1967 April 27

box 3, folder 10

Remarks at groupes scolaires dedication, Pakse, Laos, mimeograph and French translation 1967 May 18

box 3, folder 11

Remarks at groupes scolaires dedications, Xieng Ngeun and Luang Prabang, Laos 1967 May 19

Scope and Contents note

Typescript, mimeograph, and French and Lao translations.
box 3, folder 12

Speech at groupes scolaires dedication, Vientiane, Laos, mimeograph and French and Lao translations 1967 May 22

box 3, folder 13

Talk to Chao Muong personnel, presentation outline 1967 May 29

box 3, folder 14

Speech at dedication of Hia Nakok Dam, Laos, mimeograph and French and Lao translations 1967 June 29

box 3, folder 15

Speech to graduating nurses, Vientiane, Laos, mimeograph 1967 July 15

box 3, folder 16

Speech at dedication of Hong Sa-Tha Souang Road, Laos, typescript 1967 December 3

box 3, folder 17

"The United States National Interest in Viet-Nam," 1967 December 20

Scope and Contents note

Typescript statement prepared for Senator Abraham Ribicoff and correspondence with Ribicoff.
box 3, folder 18

Talk on AID program in Laos, presentation outline 1968 January 25

box 3, folder 19

Conference on changing the people of Laos, presentation outline 1968 February 10

box 3, folder 20

Conference on community development in Laos, presentation outline and agenda 1968 February 15

box 3, folder 21

Remarks at dedication of groupe scolaire and warehouse, Sayaboury, Laos, typescript 1968 May 14

box 3, folder 22

Remarks at dedication of groupe scolaire and warehouse, Ban Houei Sai, Laos, typescript 1968 May 15

box 3, folder 23

"Is Laos a Viable State?," typescript 1968 September 10

box 3, folder 24

"The Aims and Methods of U.S. Aid Programs in Southeast Asia," speech, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, typescript 1968 November 14

box 3, folder 25

Notes on book by David Schoenbrun, Vietnam: How We Got In, How to Get Out 1968 November 30

box 3, folder 26

"TV Notes" (reference unclear; re Vietnam) 1968 December 10

box 3, folder 27

"Progress in Vietnam's 'Other War,'" typescript 1968 December

box 3, folder 28

Talk on Vietnam economic-civil front, presentation outline 1969 January 24

box 3, folder 29

"Miracle Rice in Vietnam," letter to the editor, Baltimore Sun, printed copy 1969 February 14

box 3, folder 30

Statement to U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Vietnam AID program for FY 1970, typescript 1969 June 16

box 3, folder 31

Statement to U.S. House Appropriations Committee Foreign Operations Subcommittee on Vietnam AID program for FY 1970, typescript 1969 July 14

box 3, folder 32

Talk on Vietnam to President's Science Advisory Council, presentation outline 1969 November 22

box 3, folder 33

Statement to U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Foreign Operations Subcommittee on Vietnam AID program for FY 1970, typescript 1969 November 26

box 3, folder 34

Talk on Vietnam (occasion unclear), presentation outline 1969 December

box 3, folder 35

Assignment to Turkey 1948-1952

Scope and Contents note

Memorandum and speech by Esther W. Boyer on 500th anniversary of conquest of Constantinople.
box 3, folder 36

Assignment to Iceland 1951-1953

Scope and Contents note

Background data, and printed article on Marshall Plan (in Icelandic).
box 3, folder 37

Assignment to Switzerland 1954-1955

Scope and Contents note

Diplomatic corps directory, printed article, and ocean liner passenger list.
 

Assignments re Vietnam

 

South Vietnamese government directories

box 3, folder 38

1960

box 4, folder 1

1961

box 4, folder 2

1962

box 4, folder 3

Diplomatic corps directory and U.S. Embassy personnel directory 1960 and 1962

box 4, folder 4

U.S. Operations Mission to Vietnam annual reports 1958 and 1960

box 4, folder 5

U.S. Agency for International Development Mission to Vietnam annual reports 1968 and 1969

box 4, folder 6

Expense vouchers 1959-1962

box 4, folder 7

Miscellany 1951-1968

Scope and Contents note

Memoranda, speeches by others, and lists.
box 4, folder 8

Printed matter 1963-1975

Scope and Contents note

Background printed articles and serial issues.
box 4, folder 9

Assignment to U.S. National War College 1962-1963

Scope and Contents note

Faculty and student rosters and annual report.
 

Assignments re Laos

box 4, folder 10

Schedules and guest lists 1965-1968

box 5, folder 1

Background and briefing materials on Laos and on U.S. aid to Laos 1959-1968

box 5, folder 2

Miscellany 1961-1974

Scope and Contents note

Speeches by others, printed articles, and memorabilia.
box 5, folder 3

Assignment to Madagascar 1972-1975

Scope and Contents note

Memoranda, list of Madagascar government officials, Madagascar newspaper issues, and memorabilia.
box 5, folder 4

Miscellany 1946-1975

Scope and Contents note

Schedules, lists, biographical data, Department of State publications, Nigerian and South Korean newspaper issues, and memorabilia.
 

Press coverage

Scope and Contents note

Official publications and news stories re Mendenhall's diplomatic career.
box 5, folder 5

1960-1969

box 5, folder 6

1972 (ambassadorial appointment)

box 5, folder 7

1975-1976 (retirement)

 

Personal Correspondence 1938-2011

Scope and Contents note

Informal correspondence with family and friends, arranged chronologically. Includes correspondence of Leone Mendenhall, wife of Joseph Mendenhall.
box 6, folder 1

1938-1940

box 6, folder 2

1941

box 6, folder 3

1942

box 6, folder 4

1943

box 7, folder 1

1944

box 7, folder 2-3

1945

box 7, folder 4-7

1946

box 8, folder 1-2

1947

box 8, folder 3-4

1948

box 8, folder 5-8

1949

box 8, folder 9-11

1950

box 9, folder 1

1951

box 9, folder 2

1952

box 9, folder 3

1953

box 9, folder 4

1954

box 9, folder 5

1955

box 9, folder 6

1956

box 9, folder 7

1957

box 9, folder 8

1958

box 9, folder 9-10

1959

box 9, folder 1-12

1960

box 10, folder 1-2

1961

box 10, folder 3-4

1962

box 10, folder 5

1963

box 10, folder 6

1964

box 10, folder 7-8

1965

box 10, folder 9-10

1966

box 11, folder 1-2

1967

box 11, folder 3-4

1968

box 11, folder 5

1969

box 11, folder 6

1970

box 12, folder 1

1971

box 12, folder 2

1972

box 12, folder 3

1973

box 12, folder 4

1974

box 12, folder 5

1975

box 13, folder 1

1976

box 13, folder 2

1977

box 13, folder 3

1978

box 13, folder 4

1979

box 13, folder 5

1980

box 13, folder 6

1981

box 13, folder 7

1982

box 13, folder 8

1983-1984

box 13, folder 9

1985-1986

box 14, folder 1

1987-1989

box 14, folder 2

1990-1993

box 14, folder 3

1994-1996

box 14, folder 4

1997-1999

box 14, folder 5

2000-2002

box 14, folder 6

2003-2005

box 14, folder 7

2006-2008

box 14, folder 8

2009-2011

box 14, folder 9

Undated

 

Retirement Formal Correspondence 1975-2010

Scope and Contents note

Correspondence on political, foreign policy, and other subjects, arranged chronologically. Letters to members of Congress expressing Mendenhall's views and correspondence with University of Delaware officials re alumni affairs occur throughout.
box 14, folder 10

1975-1979

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence with William H. Sullivan.
box 14, folder 11

1980-1982

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence with Fernando E. Rondon and William H. Sullivan, and with U.S. News and World Report Books re projected book on Vietnam War.
box 14, folder 12

1983-1985

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence with Fernando E. Rondon and William H. Sullivan.
box 15, folder 1

1986-1989

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence with Bui Diem, and with Brian VanDeMark re his dissertation on Vietnam War policy.
box 15, folder 2

1990-1993

box 15, folder 3

1994-1996

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence with Marshall Green and letters to William E. Colby and Henry A. Kissinger.
box 15, folder 4

1997-1999

box 15, folder 5

2000-2002

Scope and Contents note

Includes correspondence with Elbridge Colby.
box 15, folder 6

2003-2006

Scope and Contents note

Includes letter to Paul Wolfowitz.
box 15, folder 7

2007-2010

 

Retirement Speeches and Writings 1976-2011

Scope and Contents note

Holographs, typescripts, printed copies, and related correspondence, arranged chronologically.
box 15, folder 8

"Missing Madonna of Carda Mourned by Italian Villagers," typescript and correspondence 1976

box 15, folder 9

"Communist Vietnam and the Border War: Victim or Aggressor?," Strategic Review 1978 Summer

Scope and Contents note

Typescript, printed copy, and correspondence.
box 15, folder 10

"Essentials for Economic Development," typescript and correspondence 1978

box 15, folder 11

Review of William Colby and Peter Forbath, Honorable Men: My Life in the CIA, Strategic Review 1979 Spring

Scope and Contents note

Typescript, printed copy, and correspondence. Includes correspondence with Colby.
box 15, folder 12

"Could the Vietnam War Have Been Won?," typescript and correspondence 1979

box 15, folder 13

"Next Vietnamese Communist Target: Northeast Thailand?," typescript and letter 1979

box 16, folder 1

"Laos: Vietnam's Stepping-Stone to Thailand," Conflict 1980

Scope and Contents note

Typescript, printed copy, and correspondence.
box 16, folder 2

Review of Amphay Doré, Le partage du Mékong, typescript circa 1980

box 16, folder 3

"Southeast Asia: Challenge and Opportunity for the Reagan Administration," typescript and correspondence 1980

box 16, folder 4

Review of Ronald Steel, Walter Lippmann and the American Century, Strategic Review, 1981 Spring

Scope and Contents note

Typescript, printed copy, and correspondence.
box 16, folder 5

"The Portents of the New Neutralism and Neo-Isolationism," typescript and correspondence 1982

box 16, folder 6

Review of Norman Podhoretz, Why We Were in Vietnam, Strategic Review 1983 Spring

Scope and Contents note

Typescript, printed copy, and correspondence.
box 16, folder 7

Interview with U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian re involvement with Vietnam War policy 1983 December 27

Scope and Contents note

Memorandum of interview prepared by the Office of the Historian, photocopies of supporting documentation, and correspondence.
box 16, folder 8

"The Meaning of Vietnam for El Salvador," typescript and correspondence 1983

box 16, folder 9

Review of Zbigniew Brzezinski, Power and Principle: Memoirs of the National Security Adviser, 1977-1981, Strategic Review, 1984 Spring

Scope and Contents note

Typescript, printed copy, and correspondence.
box 16, folder 10

Review of Gary Sick, All Fall Down: America's Tragic Encounter with Iran, holograph 1986

box 16, folder 11

Review of Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam, holograph and correspondence 1988

box 16, folder 12

Review of William E. Colby with James McCargar, Lost Victory: A Firsthand Account of America's Sixteen-Year Involvement in Vietnam, Strategic Review 1990 Winter

Scope and Contents note

Typescript, printed copy, and letter.
box 16, folder 13

"America in Crisis," typescript and correspondence 1990

box 16, folder 14

"The United States and China: A 21st Century Superpower Confrontation?," typescript and correspondence 1993

box 16, folder 15

"No to U.S. Troops in Bosnia," typescript and letter 1995

box 17, folder 1

"America at the Threshold of the 21st Century," holograph 1997

box 17, folder 2

"What Is a Viable U.S. Politico-Military Strategy vis-à-vis China?," typescript 1998

box 17, folder 3

"Syria: Little-Known Treasure Trove for Tourists," typescript 1990s

box 17, folder 4

"America's Geopolitical Context: Past and Future, or the Geopolitical Destiny of the United States," holograph 2000

box 17, folder 5

"A Long-Enduring Friendship with Marge," (re Marjorie Tilghman), typescript and correspondence 2000

box 17, folder 6

"Beware of the Big Lie," typescript and letter 2001

box 17, folder 7

"The Struggle with Militant Islam," typescript and correspondence 2001

box 17, folder 8

"The United States and Europe," typescript and correspondence 2002

box 17, folder 9

"The Foreign Policy Scorecard of America's Presidents since World War II," holograph 2003

box 17, folder 10

"The Korean Conundrum," typescript and correspondence 2003

box 17, folder 11

"Assessment of U.S. Iraq Policy," typescript and letter 2004

box 17, folder 12

Message to funeral of Icelandic diplomat Thorhallur Argivisson, holograph and letter 2005 November 18

box 17, folder 13

"Can America Long Endure?," typescript and letter 2005

box 17, folder 14

"Lessons from the Vietnam War for Iraq," typescript and correspondence 2005

box 17, folder 15

"The Past Can Help Counterinsurgency in Iraq," typescript and correspondence 2006

box 17, folder 16

"America's Loss of Memory in Both the Vietnam and Iraq Wars," typescript and letter 2008

box 17, folder 17

"Why the Japan-India Security Pact Is of Prime Importance to the U.S.," typescript and letter 2008

box 17, folder 18

Letters to the editor, typescripts and some printed copies 1979-2011

box 17, folder 19

Miscellaneous draft holographs

 

Biographical and Personal File 1942-1989

Scope and Contents note

Biographical, family, and personal miscellanea.
box 18, folder 1

Personal and financial records 1942-1989

Scope and Contents note

Includes Who's Who biographical entries and University of Delaware Alumni Wall of Fame citation.
box 18, folder 2

Family miscellanea, mainly re children 1951-1979

box 18, folder 3

Miscellany

Scope and Contents note

Includes appointment book and notebook.
 

Subject File 1954-2009

Scope and Contents note

Printed matter and notes, arranged by subject.
box 18, folder 4

Iraq 2003-2008

Scope and Contents note

Printed articles and writings by others.
 

Vietnam and Laos

box 18, folder 5

General 1980-2008

Scope and Contents note

Printed articles.
box 18, folder 6

Texas Tech University Vietnam Center 2003-2006

Scope and Contents note

Correspondence, conference agenda and printed matter. Includes conference papers from 2003 Conference on the Rise and Fall of Ngo Dinh Diem.
box 18, folder 7

Miscellany 1954-2009

Scope and Contents note

Notes, printed articles, and other printed matter, mainly re American domestic and foreign policy.
box 18, folder 8

Photographs 1949

Scope and Contents note

Three group photographs of Joseph Mendenhall and other Foreign Service officers.
 

Declassified U.S. Government Records

Scope and Contents note

Formerly security-classified records of the U.S. government, released in full or in part. Arranged chronologically by date of release by Hoover.
box 18, folder 9

2015 November release of records 1947-1948, 1951,1968

Scope and Contents note

Career-related records, including a family budget while Mendenhall was Vice Consul in Turkey, a letter of recommendation, memoranda written by Mendenhall regarding his career, a report, and a letter from William H. Sullivan regarding a job opportunity.