Finding Aid for the William B. Hood Second World War correspondence 2015.082.w.r

Andrew Harman
Center for American War Letters Archives
6/9/2016
Leatherby Libraries
Chapman University
Orange, CA 92866
speccoll@chapman.edu


Contributing Institution: Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: William B. Hood Second World War correspondence
source: Hood, William B., Jr.
Identifier/Call Number: 2015.082.w.r
Identifier/Call Number: 1294
Physical Description: 2.5 Linear Feet (2 cartons, 1 document box )
Date (inclusive): 1939 - 1945 January
Abstract: This collection contains correspondence written between Ch. (Col.) William B. Hood, USAAF and members of his family and friends during the Second World War. Also included are postcards, forms, pamphlets and newspapers, documents, a short biography, and a photograph of Ch. (Col.) Hood in uniform.
Language of Material: English .
Container: WWII 44
Container: 1-9
Container: 1-9
Container: WWII 45
Container: 1-7
Container: 10-16
Container: WWII 46
Container: 1-6
Container: 17-22
Container: WWII 47
Container: 1-6
Container: 23-28
Container: WWII 48
Container: 1-10
Container: 29-38
Container: Oversize 1
Container: 10

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of William B. Hood, Jr. (Legacy)

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by material type and date: Series 1: Correspondence from William to Catherine Hood--Series 2: Correspondence to William B. Hood--Series 3: Correspondence from William to Betty Hood--Series 4: Correspondence to William B. Hood, Jr.--Series 5: Correspondence to Catherine Hood--Series 6: Cards and other correspondence--Series 7: Postcards--Series 8: Papers--Series 9: Publications--Series 10: Biographical and historical material

Biographical / Historical

Chaplain Colonel William B. Hood, United States Army Air Force (b. 2/14/1900) was born in Newberry County, South Carolina on February 14, 1900. He attended Linwood College in North Carolina, Erskine College and Erskine Theological Seminary, and Livingston College in London, England where he studied tropical medicine in preparation for foreign missionary service. On June 7, 1928, while serving as a missionary in West Africa, Col. Hood married Katherine Elizabeth Anderson.
Col. Hood served as a pastor in Alabama for ten years before he was called as Chaplain of the Meridian Air Base at Key Field in Meridian, Mississippi, then assigned to the United States Army Air Corps facility in Karachi, India (modern day Pakistan) in March 1942 during the Second World War. There he was promoted from first lieutenant to colonel and held the record among chaplains assigned to India for the duration of his tour of duty.
Col. Hood's voyage by ship to India had gone around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and his voyage home consisted of a stop in Australia and passage through the Pacific, thus allowing the Colonel to circumnavigate the globe.

Preferred Citation

[Item title / description; Box "n" / Folder "n"], William B. Hood Second World War correspondence (2015.082.w.r), Center for American War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Content Description

This collection contains 1006 correspondence written between Ch. (Col.) William B. Hood, USAAF and members of his family during the Second World War. Also included are postcards, forms, pamphlets and newspapers, documents pertaining to Chaplain Hood and his military and missionary service in India and South East Asia, as well as a short biography and a photograph of Ch. (Col.) Hood in uniform.

Inventory:

  • 1006 correspondence, personal, 1939-1945,
  • 11 cards and other correspondence
  • 1 package of postcards, blank
  • 14 papers
  • 9 publications
  • 1 historical note, Tour of Duty in India, Rev. William B. Hood
  • 1 photocopied photograph of Ch.(Col.) William B. Hood
  • 1 biography, Rev. William B. Hood
  • 1 key, Hood Letters--Packets
  • 1 key, Hood Letters--Chronological

Conditions Governing Use

There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions. For further copyright information, please contact the archivist.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Correspondence -- World War, 1939-1945
World War II
World War (1939-1945)
India -- Description and travel.
China -- History -- 1933-1945
United States. -- Army. -- Air Corps
United States. -- Army Air Service
United States. -- Army.
World War (1939-1945) -- Homefront
Hood, William B., Jr.
Hood, William B.

box WWII 44, folder 1-9, folder 1-9, box WWII 45, folder 1-6, folder 10-16, box WWII 46, folder 1-6, folder 17-22, box WWII 47, folder 1-6, folder 23-28

Series 1, Correspondence from William to Catherine Hood 1941 August - 1945 January

Physical Description: 2 Linear Feet(28 folders)
Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

This series contains 885 correspondence from Ch. (Col.) William B. Hood, USAAF to his wife Catherine (Katie) Hood, as well as some to friends, during the Second World War. Of particular note are his descriptions of Indian culture, color, daily life, and their comparison to his time in West Africa. Also of note is the great deal of time spent in the hospital with malaria.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

World War (1939-1945) -- Hospitals
box WWII 48, folder 1, folder 29

Series 2, Correspondence to William B. Hood 1939 December - 1945 January

Physical Description: 0.025 Linear Feet(1 folder)
Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

This series contains 12 correspondence to Ch. (Col.) William B. Hood, USAAF from his friends and associates during the Second World War. Included are one Western Union telegram, one wedding invitation, and one V-mail.
box WWII 48, folder 2, folder 30

Series 3, Correspondence from William to Betty Hood 1942 August - 1944 January

Physical Description: 0.025 Linear Feet(1 folder)
Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

This series contains two correspondence from Ch. (Col.) William B. Hood, USAAF to his sister Betty Hood, and one empty envelope, during the Second World War.
box WWII 48, folder 3-4, folder 31-32

Series 4, Correspondence to William B. Hood, Jr. 1942 June - 1945 January

Physical Description: 0.05 Linear Feet(2 folders)
Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

This series contains 70 correspondence from Ch. (Col.) William B. Hood, USAAF to his son William B. Hood, Jr. during the Second World War. Included are one V-mail, one newspaper clipping, and three empty envelopes with writing on them.
box WWII 48, folder 5, folder 33

Series 5, Correspondence to Catherine Hood 1942 March - 1945 January

Physical Description: 0.025 Linear Feet(1 folder)
Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

This series contains 36 correspondence to Catherine Hood from several authors and banks during the Second World War. Included are bank slips sent to Mrs. Hood. Authors:
Ralph Hood, the Leonard Smiths, Erk Hood, Reverend George Nicholson, Reverend Hugh Agnew, William Hood, Jr., J.H. Niolon, Reverend Edward G. Lilly, Cy (no last name), Staff Sergeant Geo. Fraga., First Sergeant W.A. Burnett, H. Gaylord M. Elverson, Master Sergeant Edward H. Mooring, Lieutenant Colonel Delmer J. Rogers, Lieutenant Emil S. Gavlak, Staff Sergeant E.J. Malick, Lietenant Colonel R.F. Wiseheart, Lieutenant Colonel Robert S. Spencer, Wade H. Boggs, Graham White, Grace (no last name), and Mary (no last name). Also included are some ephemera and receipts mailed to Mrs. Hood.
box WWII 48, folder 6, folder 34

Series 6, Cards and other correspondence

Physical Description: 0.025 Linear Feet(1 folder)
Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

This series contains cards and other correspondence.

Inventory:

  • 3 cards, for flowers
  • 1 card, Merry Christmas, with illustration
  • 1 card, A Special Prayer for Someone in the Service
  • 1 torn airmail envelope
  • 4 empty envelopes
  • 1 letter, to Mrs. C.C. Anderson from Smith Transfer and Storage Co.
box WWII 48, folder 7, folder 35

Series 7, Postcards

Physical Description: 0.025 Linear Feet(1 folder)
Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

This series consists of one package containing 26 blank postcards with pictures of sightseeing venues from around the United States.
box WWII 39, folder 8, folder 36

Series 8, Hood family papers 1943 January - 1944 September

Physical Description: 0.025 Linear Feet(1 folder)
Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

This series contains papers related to the Hood family during the Second World War.

Inventory:

  • 2 paper slips
  • 2 cash memos
  • 1 report card, Billy Hood, Montreat College
  • 6 receipts, Smith Transfer and Storage Co.
  • 1 check, $10
  • 1 post office return receipt
  • 1 receipt, Ministers' Annuity Fund of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.
box WWII 48, folder 9, folder 37

Series 9, Publications 1942 April - 1944 August

Physical Description: 0.025 Linear Feet(1 folder)
Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

This series contains pamphlets and newspaper clippings.

Inventory:

  • 1 catalog, Kellogg's Catalog of Stamps of the World
  • 1 pamphlet, wedding hymns
  • 1 excerpt, "Line O' Day" from President Roosevelt's fireside chat April 28, 1942, dated April 30, 1942
  • 1 photograph, Indian woman, cut from a magazine
  • 1 newspaper page, The Cincinnati Times-Star, December 14, 1942
  • 1 pamphlet, The president's "Message to Policyholders and Financial Statemen," December 31, 1942
  • 1 menu
  • 1 agenda, Evening Service, 30 May 1943
  • 1 pamphlet, in envelope, 50th Meeting of Cape Town Citizens, 6 August, 1944
box WWII 48, folder 10, folder 38

Series 10, Biographical and historical material

Physical Description: 0.025 Linear Feet(1 folder)
Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

This series contains biographical and historical material relating to Ch. (Col.) William B. Hood, USAAF and this collection provided by the donor.

Inventory:

  • 1 service note, Tour of Duty in India, Rev. William B. Hood, March 1942-Nov. 1944
  • 1 photograph, photocopied, COL William B. Hood in uniform
  • 1 biography, short, Rev. William B. Hood
  • 1 collection key, Hood Letters--Packets, including abstracts to some letters
  • 1 collection key, Hood Letters--Chronological, including abstracts to some letters