SCL HIST 112 (Rutledge)

This virtual collection brings together materials documenting the South Carolina home-front during World War II as well as experiences of South Carolina soldiers.

This collection highlights the lives and experiences of American veterans who now call South Carolina home. Most major military conflicts including World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan are represented in the collection, as are all branches of the U.S. military.

The South Carolina Oral History Collection is a general collection of over 200 interviews conducted by faculty and staff from the 1980s to the present on numerous topics relating to South Carolina communities, education, civil rights, art, music, military service, politics, university history, and more.

Because of the extremely complex nature of the Topical material, particularly in the field of Armed Services, researchers should consider that relevant material may be found in several different areas within the subseries. For example, the budget process in any given year includes ample information on the legislative authorization, administration, and progress of various programs and projects being considered for funding. Material on National Security includes information on other countries‘ military power, debates on the direction of geopolitics during and after the Cold War, and assessments of nuclear and other weaponry.

Topical Files, 1947-1974, comprise the largest and most important set of records in the collection. The files are arranged by topic alphabetically in two-year periods mirroring each Congressional session. Files contain legislative matter, reference material, and correspondence with colleagues, constituents and other interested members of the public, and persons in state and local government. Topics reflect Dorn’s committee assignments: Agriculture, Public Works and Veterans Affairs; subjects of prime interest to South Carolina and the up country, such as Textiles; and subjects of more general interest, such as the Watergate Hearings. At right, Dorn visits a VA hospital.

Topical Files comprise the largest series. These files contain correspondence, reports, memoranda and other records relating to various state and federal agencies, subjects such as education and segregation, and prominent political leaders. Some files contain records generated prior to 1959 or after January 1963. Little overlapping exists between the material at SCPC and SCDAH among specific subjects. Among topics for which records exist in both places are: Appointments, Aeronautics Commission, Board of Corrections\Law Enforcement, Board of Health, and Supreme Court.