Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Warren Mills papers
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Warren Mills papers
- Date
- 1948-1956, undated (inclusive)
- Creator
- Mills, Warren L.
- Extent
- 1.15 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Letters.
- Correspondence.
- Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal narratives, American
- Military life.
- Family.
- Ocean travel
- Basic training (Military education)
- Friendship.
- Notebooks.
- Drawing.
- Sketches.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by format. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0579: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Warren Mills papers, 1948-1956, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Warren L. Mills (1933-1979) was born in Tell City, Indiana to Norman Mills (1898-1977) and Myrtle Stephens (1907-2000). By 1940, the family was living in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1952, Mills enlisted in the United States Navy, serving on the USS Valley Forge in Korea, the Atlantic, and the Caribbean until his discharge in 1956. After returning home from the Navy, Mills worked as a firefighter in Louisville and married Jane Rae C. Hogan (1938-2008).
- American Letters collector Wade Hall (1934-2015) was a native of Union Springs, Alabama. Starting in 1962, he lived in Louisville, where he taught English and chaired the English and Humanities/Arts programs at Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. He also taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida. He held degrees from Troy State University (B.S.), the University of Alabama (M.A.), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D.). He served for two years in the U.S. Army in the mid-fifties. Dr. Hall was the author of books, monographs, articles, plays, and reviews relating to Kentucky, Alabama, and Southern history and literature. His most recent books include A Visit with Harlan Hubbard; High Upon a Hill: A History of Bellarmine College; A Song in Native Pastures: Randy Atcher's Life in Country Music; and Waters of Life from Conecuh Ridge.
- Scope and Content
- The Warren Mills papers (dated 1948-1956, undated; 1.15 cubic feet; 3 boxes) comprises letters, papers, notebooks, training manuals, and a scrapbook and photograph album that document the life of Warren Mills while serving in the US Navy during the Korean War and subsequent peacetime. The letters are from Mills to his mother, in them he writes about his experiences in boot camp, opinions on California, the cost of goods in the military, living among thieves, being assigned to the USS Valley Forge, going on mess duty, sailing for Japan and Korea, pilots crashing into the ship, studying for tests to be promoted, and the weather in the areas the ship is sailing through. He also writes to her about taking care of problems with his father, dealing with his parents' divorce, trying to get his motorcycle fixed up from afar, winning a watch in a raffle, applications for leave, and plans for what he will be doing when he comes home. The papers include cards from stores he visited, Korean propaganda pamphlets, and newspaper clippings on the war and his ship. The notebooks have notes from his classes while he was in boot camp and a countdown to his discharge. The scrapbook and photograph albums include newspaper clippings about the Valley Forge, Kentuckians involved in the war, how the war is progressing, photographs of Warren, his mother, and friends with his motorcycle; and still-life drawings by Warren.
- The Warren Mills papers collection is part of the Wade Hall Collection of American Letters, which includes correspondence and diaries from all over North America covering the time period of the Civil to Korean Wars. The materials were collected by Wade Hall and document everyday men and women.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Warren Mills to mother, 1952
Warren Mills to mother, 1953
Warren Mills to mother, 1954
Warren Mills to mother, 1955
Warren Mills to mother, 1956
Myrtle Mills letters, 1952-1954, undated
Warren Mills papers, 1954-1956, undated
The Naval Reservist newsletter, 1956
Veterans Report newspaper, 1953-1955
Clippings, 1953, undated
Newspaper clippings re: carrier Bennington explosion, 1954
Notebooks, 1952-1956
Navy training manuals, 1948-1951
Scrapbooks (2), 1951-1956
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
