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Title: Kemp Battle Nye papers
Date (inclusive): approximately 1930-1990
Collection Number: 2020C24
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In English
Physical Description:
14 manuscript boxes, 5 oversize boxes
(10.3 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Kemp Battle Nye (1916-1994) was a member of the Horse Marine Guards in the 1930s, a personal courier to Nelson Johnson, and
an author. The Kemp Battle Nye papers (1930-1990) includes photographs and manuscripts related to Kemp Battle Nye's service
in the Marine Corps during WWII, primarily during his tours in China.
Creator:
Nye, Kemp Battle, 1916-
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
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.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2020.
[Identification of item], Kemp Battle Nye papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
An accession inventory is a basic description of an archival collection (or a part thereof) for which a detailed finding aid
has yet to be created. Additionally, no attempt at intellectual arrangement has been made. The depth of description varies
depending on the format of the materials and the amount of pre-existing description when the materials were acquired. An accession
inventory might also be labeled as such if it is a fully digital collection, in which the digital files have yet to be processed.
Kemp Battle Nye (1916-1994) was born in Winterville, North Carolina. During his tenure in the US Marines, he was a member
of the Horse Marine Guards in the 1930s, which protected the US Embassy in Beijing, China, when the Japanese invaded China
in 1937-38. During his stay in China, he was assigned as a personal courier to Nelson Johnson, then US ambassador to China.
He returned to the United States in 1940, and a few years later was called back into the Marine Corps and returned to the
Pacific Theatre where he participated in the invasion of the Marshall Islands. He returned to Chapel Hill in 1946 and worked
for the Intimate Bookshop. He spent most of his remaining years writing books about his experiences in 1930s China and his
youth in the mountains of North Carolina. He also assembled a book made up of some of the 15,000 photographs he took during
his years in China.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection includes photographs and manuscripts related to Kemp Battle Nye's service in the Marine Corps during WWII,
primarily during his tours in China.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1939-1945 -- China
Photographs
Nye, Kemp Battle, 1916-
United States. Marine Corps