Register of the Arnold Ellsworth True papers
Finding aid prepared by Dale Reed
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2009, 2014
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Arnold Ellsworth True papers
Date (inclusive): 1885-1990
Collection Number: 90011
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
15 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes
(8.3 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Writings, correspondence, memoranda, printed matter, photographs, and sound recordings relating to American naval operations
in the Pacific Theater during World War II, especially the sinking of the destroyer
Hammann at the battle of Midway, anti-war protest movements in the United States during the Vietnam War, and government surveillance
of these movements. Includes United States government documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Creator:
True, Arnold Ellsworth, 1901-1979
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
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 1990.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Arnold Ellsworth True papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
1901 |
Born, Owen County, Kentucky |
1920 |
Graduate, United States Naval Academy; commissioned ensign, U.S. Navy |
1931 |
M.S. in meteorology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
1939 |
Graduate, U.S. Naval War College |
1939-1942 |
Commanding officer, U.S.S.
Hammann
|
1942-1943 |
Commanding officer, Destroyer Division Three |
1943-1944 |
Commanding officer, Destroyer Squadron Two |
1945-1946 |
Staff officer, Atlantic Fleet |
1946 |
Retired from U.S. Navy as rear admiral |
1947-1968 |
Professor of meteorology, San Jose State College |
1969 |
Member, U.S. Study Team on Religious and Political Freedom in Vietnam |
1979 |
Died, Palo Alto, California |
Scope and Content of Collection
The Arnold Ellsworth True papers document the life of a United States naval officer whose career took an unusual turn. The
most dramatic moments of True's naval service came during World War II in 1942 when he was at the Battle of the Coral Sea
and subsequently at the Battle of Midway as captain of the destroyer
Hammann. At the Coral Sea, the
Hammann came to the relief of the stricken aircraft carrier
Lexington and was credited with saving hundreds of American seamen from the sinking ship. A somewhat similar situation arose at Midway
when the
Hammann came to the aid of the
Yorktown. While efforts to contain damage on the crippled carrier were underway it was hit by more torpedoes, and so too was the
Hammann as it lay alongside. Both ships were lost. Many of the
Hammann's crew died, and True himself was wounded. He was awarded the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal for his conduct
in these battles.
After early disability retirement from the Navy, Admiral True undertook a second career as a faculty member at San Jose State
College. Meanwhile, he had become increasingly convinced of the futility of war and became a Quaker, joining the Society of
Friends in 1947. The bulk of the collection documents his advocacy of the cause of peace, especially during the Vietnam War
era. True was an early opponent of American military involvement in Vietnam, and he successfully contested an effort by the
U.S. Navy to prevent him, as a retired officer, from speaking out publicly on foreign policy issues. After the Navy withdrew
its objections, in 1967 True embarked on a national speaking tour sponsored by Veterans for Peace in Vietnam. Together with
a few other like-minded retired generals and admirals, among them retired Marine Corps General David M. Shoup, whose papers
are also in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives, he achieved national notice. Senator J. William Fulbright consulted
him in conjunction with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's investigation of the Tonkin Gulf incident. In 1969, Admiral
True joined a study team mission to South Vietnam sponsored by American religious groups. The team produced a report critical
of the U.S.-supported government of that country.
Also included in the collection are redacted official documents sought and received from U.S. government agencies by Corinne
True, the admiral's widow, under the Freedom of Information Act. They document government surveillance of him and establish
that he was a target of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Peace
World War, 1939-1945 -- Naval operations
World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Pacific Ocean
Officers
Radicalism -- United States
Internal security -- United States
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Protest movements
Midway, Battle of, 1942
United States. Navy
Hammann (Ship)
Biographical File
1901-1984
Scope and Contents note
Personal documents, biographical data, and printed matter relating to Arnold Ellsworth True.
box 1, folder 1
Biographical data
1901-1973
Scope and Contents note
Birth certificate and biographical sketches.
box 1, folder 3
Memorial service notes
1979
box 1, folder 4
Biography,
Arnold Ellsworth True: Destroyer Captain, Maverick Admiral, by Norman W. Shaw
1980
Scope and Contents note
Drafts, finished typescript, and printed copy.
box 1, folder 5
Family
1941-1974
Scope and Contents note
Clippings and miscellany relating to family members.
General
1925-1984
Scope and Contents note
Clippings, printed articles, certificates, notes, schedules, and miscellany relating to True or referring to him. Includes
announcements and programs of events at which he was a speaker or which he attended.
box 2, folder 2
1968 January-February
Scope and Contents note
Includes U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings on Gulf of Tonkin incident.
box 3, folder 6
1975
Scope and Contents note
Includes World Citizens Assembly proceedings.
box 3, folder 9
1980-1984
Scope and Contents note
Posthumous references.
Chronological File
1932-1987
Scope and Contents note
Compilation of photocopies of significant letters, writings, other documents, clippings, and photographs from the papers of
Arnold Ellsworth True, arranged chronologically.
box 4, folder 1-2
Expanded unbound copy
1932-1987
United States Navy File
1938-1976
Scope and Contents note
Citations, awards, correspondence, and miscellany documenting the active duty U.S. Navy service of Arnold Ellsworth True and
his official dealings with the Navy after retirement. See also: Declassified U.S. Government Records.
box 4, folder 3
Citations and awards
1938-1946
Scope and Contents note
Includes U.S. Naval Academy Bachelor of Science certificate; Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Commendation Ribbon,
and Bronze Star awards; and certificate of retirement.
box 4, folder 4
Active duty correspondence
1942-1946
Scope and Contents note
Official correspondence and personnel records.
box 4, folder 5
Correspondence with families of shipmates killed in action
1942-1943
box 4, folder 6
Miscellany
1939-1945
Scope and Contents note
Includes ship's newspapers, humorous writings, and histories of U.S.S.
Morris and U.S.S.
Mustin, ships under True's command.
box 4, folder 7
Retirement correspondence
1952-1976
Scope and Contents note
Official correspondence with the Department of the Navy. Unofficial correspondence with naval acquaintances can be found in
the Correspondence series.
box 4, folder 8
Speech ban controversy
1966-1967
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, memorandum, Department of Defense directives, and clippings relating to Department of the Navy effort to prevent
True from speaking on foreign policy issues.
San Jose State College File
1953-1968
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, memoranda, and miscellany documenting the San Jose State College service of Arnold Ellsworth True.
box 5, folder 1
Correspondence
1953-1976
Scope and Contents note
Official college correspondence. Unofficial correspondence with colleagues can be found in the Correspondence series.
box 5, folder 2
Meteorology program curricula for Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees
1959-1962
box 5, folder 3
Professors on the Right controversy
1961-1962
Scope and Contents note
Memoranda and clippings relating to an academic freedom issue dispute with self-described Professors on the Right on the college
campus.
box 5, folder 4
Retirement notice and service award
1968
box 5, folder 5
Miscellany
1967
Scope and Contents note
College publications and speech.
Speeches and Writings
1932-1979
Scope and Contents note
Speeches and writings by Arnold Ellsworth True.
box 5, folder 6
"The Structure of Tropical Cyclones," U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings
1937 March
Scope and Contents note
Printed Spanish translation in
Boletín del Observatorio Nacional (Cuba).
box 5, folder 7
"The Other War,"
Common Sense
1943 May
Scope and Contents note
Printed and typed copies. Published under pseudonym Commander.
box 5, folder 8
"The Weather Man Sets D-Day," speech, Engineers' Club, San Francisco, California
1944 May 11
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 5, folder 9
"A Mathematical Interpretation of a Theory of the Universe,"
1944 November
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 5, folder 10
Speech to graduating class, U.S. Navy Technical School, Treasure Island, California
1944
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 5, folder 11
"Ends and Means: A Meditation,"
circa 1946
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 5, folder 12
"A Working Hypothesis,"
1946
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 5, folder 13
"Statement on Universal Military Training,"
1951
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 5, folder 14
"The Junto Club," speech to graduating class, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California
1953 January 23
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 5, folder 15
"New Frontiers," speech to graduating class, Monterey Peninsula College
1953 June 13
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and mimeograph.
box 5, folder 16
"World Peace," speech to graduating class, Pescadero Union High School
1957 June 6
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 5, folder 17
"The Wisdom of Insecurity," speech to graduating class, Pescadero Union High School
1961 June 15
Scope and Contents note
Mimeograph.
box 5, folder 18
"Secret Dispatches of a Russian Diplomat" (satirical essay)
1962 February 21
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and mimeograph.
box 5, folder 19
Perspective television program on meteorology (San Jose State College television series)
1963 April 20-27
Scope and Contents note
Mimeographed transcripts.
box 5, folder 20
"Economic Effects of Disarmament,"
1965 March
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 5, folder 21
"Who's Gullible?,"
1965 May
Scope and Contents note
Mimeograph.
box 5, folder 22
"Vietnam," speech, San Jose, California
1965 October 16
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 5, folder 23
"Manipulation,"
1965
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 5, folder 24
"The Tonkin Gulf Incident, August 2, 1964,"
1966 March
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and mimeograph.
box 5, folder 25
"Statement on Asian Policy and the Vietnam War,"
1966 April 18
Scope and Contents note
Mimeograph and printed copy (
U.S. Farm News, 1967 June).
box 5, folder 26
"Washington Visitation, April 18-30, 1966,"
circa 1966 April
Scope and Contents note
Mimeograph. Account of American Friends Service Committee meeting with Congressmen in Washington, D.C.
box 5, folder 27
"Vietnam: Voices and Actions of Our Community,"
1966 December
Scope and Contents note
Mimeograph.
box 5, folder 28
"If the Vietnam War Escalates into China: The Military Problems, Risks and Prospects" (contribution to symposium), Minority
of One
1967 January
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and printed copy.
box 5, folder 29
Speech, Business Executives Move for Vietnam Peace national meeting, Washington, D.C.
1967 September 27
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy.
box 5, folder 30
"Can We Win in Vietnam? Veterans Stars and Stripes for Peace,"
1967 October
Scope and Contents note
Typescript, printed copy, and
U.S. Farm News reprint (1967 November).
box 6, folder 1
"Vietnam: Dead End in Asia,"
1967 October
Scope and Contents note
Mimeograph and printed copy inserted by Senator Vance Hartke in
Congressional Record (1967 October 20).
box 6, folder 2
"If We Had Permitted the Geneva Accords to Become Effective,"
Grass Roots Forum
1967 December 30
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy.
box 6, folder 3
"An Admiral Speaks on Vietnam: Civilization Depends on Co-existence and Cooperation,"
Churchman
1968 March
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy.
box 6, folder 4
Message to Eugene McCarthy campaign headquarters
1968 March
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 6, folder 5
"The Gulf of Tonkin Incidents,"
1968 March
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy of correspondence with J. William Fulbright inserted by Fulbright in the
Congressional Record (1968 March 27).
box 6, folder 6
"An Honorable Peace,"
Grass Roots Forum
1968 August 17
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and printed copy.
box 6, folder 7
Statement to Democratic Party National Convention Platform Committee, Washington, D.C.
1968 August 20
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and mimeograph.
box 6, folder 8
Testimony on behalf of Friends Committee on National Legislation to U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee opposing Department
of Defense budget requests, Washington, D.C.
1969 May
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and printed copy.
box 6, folder 9
"Report of U.S. Study Team on Religious and Political Freedom in Vietnam,"
1969 June
Scope and Contents note
Collective report by True and other team members. Printed copy inserted in
Congressional Record by Senator Abraham Ribicoff (1969 June 17).
box 6, folder 10
"The Hoa Binh Study: An Inquiry into Political and Religious Freedom in Vietnam,"
1969 June
Scope and Contents note
Mimeograph. Individual report by True as member of U.S. Study Team on Religious and Political Freedom in Vietnam.
box 6, folder 11
Christmas message
1969 December
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 6, folder 12
Statement on Vietnam for Committee of Responsibility
1969
Scope and Contents note
Holograph.
box 6, folder 13
Statement to court on behalf of John Braxton, draft resister, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1970 December 13
Scope and Contents note
Typescript. Includes related letters and clippings.
box 6, folder 14
"American Prisoners in Vietnam,"
1970
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 6, folder 15
"Effect of the Vietnam War on National Security,"
circa 1970
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 6, folder 16
"On Surveillance of Civilians by the Military,"
1971 January 12
Scope and Contents note
Statement by True issued as press release by Business Executives Move for Vietnam Peace.
box 6, folder 17
"National Security,"
1972
Scope and Contents note
Typescript. Written for George McGovern campaign committee.
box 6, folder 18
"A Brief for World Community," speech, World Citizens Assembly, San Francisco, California
1975 July 22
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 6, folder 19
"Dialogue with National Security,"
1975
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 6, folder 20
"The Happy Kingdom,"
1976 September 30
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 7, folder 1
Autobiographical writings
circa 1978-1979
Scope and Contents note
Thirty-two autobiographical vignettes intended as parts of an uncompleted autobiography.
box 7, folder 2
"Christmas Eve Off Death Island,"
1979
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and printed copy in
The Way It Was: As Told By Those Who Were There (collection of writings by members of a Palo Alto, California senior citizens writing group).
box 7, folder 3
"A Definition of God,"
undated
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and mimeograph.
box 7, folder 4
"SALT II,"
undated
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 7, folder 5
"The United Nations,"
undated
Scope and Contents note
Typescript.
box 7, folder 6
Re Japanese American internment (with Corinne True),
San Carlos Enquirer
1943 November 19
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and printed copy.
box 7, folder 7
Re Vietnam War,
Progressive
1965 May
Scope and Contents note
Typescript, mimeograph, and printed copy.
box 7, folder 8
General
1961-1977
Scope and Contents note
Typescripts and printed copies. Assorted letters to the editor, mainly re Vietnam War and other peace issues.
box 7, folder 9
Poems
1932-1978
Scope and Contents note
Holographs and typescripts.
box 7, folder 10-11
Speech notes, mainly re Vietnam War and other peace issues
1966-1976
box 8, folder 1
Speech notes, mainly re Vietnam War and other peace issues (cont'd.)
1966-1976
box 8, folder 2
Miscellany
undated
Scope and Contents note
Notes and fragments.
Correspondence
1885-1987
Scope and Contents note
Includes family correspondence and correspondence of Corinne True after her husband's death.
box 9, folder 1
Family correspondence
1885-1979
box 9, folder 2
Unanswered letters to high government officials re public policy issues
1948-1977
box 9, folder 4
American Civil Liberties Union
1965-1967
box 9, folder 5
American Friends Service Committee
1967-1971
box 9, folder 6
Anderson, John Z. (Congressman), re Japanese American internment
1943-1944
box 9, folder 7
Arms of Friendship (person-to-person Soviet-American pen pal program)
1960-1962
box 9, folder 9
Business Executives Move for Vietnam Peace
1967-1969
box 9, folder 10
Conyers, John, Jr. (Congressman)
1969
box 9, folder 11
Cousins, Norman (
Saturday Review)
1975
box 9, folder 13
Deakin, James (
St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
1967
box 9, folder 14
Drinan, Robert F. (Congressman)
1970-1982
box 9, folder 15
Duncan, Donald W. (Ramparts; Support Our Soldiers)
1968-1969
box 9, folder 17
Ford, William Wallace (General)
1967-1976
box 9, folder 18
Friends Committee on National Legislation
1951-1967
box 9, folder 19
Fulbright, J. William (Senator)
1966-1974
box 9, folder 21
Gore, Albert (Senator)
1970
box 9, folder 24
Havrilla, Joseph and Lorraine
1972-1979
box 9, folder 25
Heisler, Francis, re Tonkin Gulf incident
1966
box 9, folder 26
Hester, Hugh B. (General)
1976
box 9, folder 27
Jarrell, Albert E. (Admiral)
1965
box 9, folder 31
La Rocque, Gene R. (Admiral; Center for Defense Information)
1972-1987
box 9, folder 32
Lord, Walter, re Battle of Midway
1966-1967
box 10, folder 2
McGovern, George (Senator)
1972-1973
box 10, folder 4
Nixon, Richard M. (President)
1969-1971
box 10, folder 5
Overseas Vietnamese Buddhist Association
1969
box 10, folder 6
Palo Alto Friends Meeting
1969-1977
box 10, folder 8
Petersen, Gerald A.
1966-1976
box 10, folder 9
Ribicoff, Abraham (Senator)
1969
box 10, folder 10
Sabin, L. S. (Admiral)
1965-1968
box 10, folder 11
Shaw, Norman, mainly re U.S.S.
Hammann
1976-1982
box 10, folder 12
Smith, Sheldon D.
1971-1978
box 10, folder 13
Sombart, George and Mary
1968-1969
box 10, folder 14
Spock, Benjamin
1968-1971
box 10, folder 16
United States Department of Defense, re conscientious objectors
1966
box 10, folder 17
United States Department of State
1965
box 10, folder 18
United States Selective Service System (letters on behalf of individual conscientious objectors)
1967-1971
box 10, folder 19
Veterans for Peace
1967-1972
box 10, folder 20
Warren, Earl (Governor)
1951
box 10, folder 21
Windchy, Eugene G., re Gulf of Tonkin incident
1967-1971
Freedom of Information Act File
1987-1990
Scope and Contents note
Responses by U.S. government agencies to Freedom of Information Act requests by Corinne True with redacted photocopies of
records provided.
box 10, folder 23
United States Central Intelligence Agency
1987
box 10, folder 24
United States Department of Defense
1989
box 10, folder 25
United States Department of State
1987-1988
Scope and Contents note
Responses include photocopies of passport documents.
box 10, folder 26
United States Department of the Air Force
1988-1989
Scope and Contents note
Responses include redacted photocopy of Defense Intelligence Agency report.
box 10, folder 27
United States Department of the Army
1990
Scope and Contents note
Response includes redacted photocopy of intelligence report.
box 11, folder 1
United States Department of the Navy
1987-1989
Scope and Contents note
Responses include photocopies of Naval Academy records and redacted photocopies of intelligence reports.
box 11, folder 2-4
United States Federal Bureau of Investigation
1987-1989
Scope and Contents note
Responses include redacted photocopies of intelligence reports.
box 11, folder 5
United States National Security Agency
1987
box 11, folder 6
United States Postal Service
1987
Subject File
1943-1986
Scope and Contents note
Printed matter and miscellany not directly relating to Arnold Ellsworth True.
box 12, folder 1
Meteorology
1943-1968
Scope and Contents note
Speech, printed article, and clipping.
Peace
1946-1983
Scope and Contents note
Much of this material relates to the Vietnam War and associated anti-war movement, but it also includes material on more general
issues of peace.
box 12, folder 4
Printed articles
1947-1978
box 12, folder 5
Newsletters and serial issues
1963-1971
box 12, folder 7
Leaflets and flyers
1961-1974
box 13, folder 1
Resolutions, statements and circulars
1959-1974
box 13, folder 2
Congressional Record excerpts
1965-1969
box 13, folder 3
D. F. Fleming printed articles
1965-1971
box 13, folder 4
Art Hoppe newspaper columns (
San Francisco Chronicle)
1965-1971
box 13, folder 5
Stanford University press releases
1959-1966
box 13, folder 6
South Vietnamese publications
1969
Scope and Contents note
Leaflets, clippings and serial issues collected by True during his visit to South Vietnam with the U.S. Study Team on Religious
and Political Freedom in Vietnam.
box 13, folder 7
Other foreign publications
1963-1964
Scope and Contents note
Soviet and South Korean newspaper issues.
box 13, folder 8
United States Navy
1975-1986
Scope and Contents note
Printed matter and miscellany. Includes material on Battle of Midway and on U.S.S.
Rizal, a ship on which True served.
box 13, folder 9
Miscellany
1953-1981
Scope and Contents note
Printed matter.
Oversize File
1918-1951
Scope and Contents note
Scrapbooks.
box 14, folder 4
Scrapbook of Nannie True, mother of Arnold Ellsworth True, including poems, letters and clippings
1918-1951
box 17
Scrapbook re World War II service of Arnold Ellsworth True on U.S.S.
Hammann, including letters, clippings and photographs
1942-1943
box 14, folder 1-3
Album of family and naval service photographs
circa 1886-1954
box 15, folder 1
Photographs of family and naval service scenes
1930s-1970s
box 15, folder 2
Photocopies of photographs, mainly of family scenes
1900s-1970s
Audiovisual File
circa 1886-1979
Scope and Contents note
Photographs, drawing, watercolor, and sound recordings.
box 15, folder 3
Drawing of Arnold Ellsworth True
undated
box 15, folder 4
Watercolor of Tanforan Internment Camp, California, painted by Hikari Inouye
1942
box 16
Two sound discs
circa 1970
Scope and Contents note
Includes a Business Executives Move for Vietnam Peace recording of speeches by Arnold Ellsworth True, former South Vietnamese
Ambassador Tran Van Dinh, and Senator Thruston B. Morton; and a World Peace Broadcasting Foundation recording of speech by
Senator Wayne Morse.
box 16
Four sound tape reels
circa 1967-1970
Scope and Contents note
Includes speeches by Arnold Ellsworth True, an interview with True and Norman Mailer, and Business Executives Move for Vietnam
Peace radio commercial messages.
box 16
Five sound cassettes
circa 1971-1977
Scope and Contents note
Includes speeches by Arnold Ellsworth True and a radio interview with True and Studs Terkel.
Declassified U.S. Government Records
1942
1944
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, thereunder chronologically by date of creation.
box 15, folder 5
2016 February release of records
1942, 1944
Scope and Contents note
United States Navy memoranda, report, and correspondence relating to naval action and citation recommendations, particularly
in relation to the sinking of the U.S.S.
Hammann.