Harry Pence Papers, 1893-1976 (bulk 1901-1945) (MSS 144)

Series 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS. Arranged in three subseries: A) Personal Materials, B) Education and C) Awards and Certificates.

A) Personal Materials: Includes career summations, mementos collected by Pence, a driver's license, passports, and newspaper clippings about Pence. Arranged alphabetically.

B) Education: Notebooks, yearbooks, assignments, report cards, and exams related to Pence's education at Hillsboro High School, the Ohio State University, the United States Naval Academy, and the United States Naval War College. Included in this series are materials related to the United States Naval Academy Association of the Class of 1906, including the planning of a 50th reunion. Arranged chronologically.

C) Awards and Certificates: Includes numerous certificates of membership including Pence's Bachelor of Science degree certificate from the United States Naval Academy, his certificate of graduation from the United States Naval War College, and his United States Navy certificates of commission. Arranged alphabetically.

Series 2) MILITARY DUTY POSTS: Materials documenting the full span of Pence's naval career. Arranged in eighteen subseries: A) Orders and Professional Papers, B) USS Kearsarge (1908), C) USS Maryland (1909-1912), D) United States Naval Academy Instructor (1912-1914), E) USS Rhode Island (1914-1915), F) USS Texas (1917-1918), G) Port Officer, Trieste (1919), H) Naval Attaché, England (1920-1921), I) USS McFarland (1921-1924), J) US Naval War College Instructor (1925-1927), K) USS Tennessee (1927-1932), L) Navy Department (1929-1932), M) US Naval War College Instructor (1934-1937), N) Squadron Eleven Commander (1937-1938), O) Chief of Staff, Commander of the Yard (1939-1941), P) General Board (1941-1944), Q) Naval Operations (1943-1944), and R) Joint Chiefs of Staff (1944-1945).

A) Orders and Professional Papers: An assortment of documentation relevant to the full arc of Pence's career, including orders, information on his service record, curriculum vitae, and reports.

B) USS Kearsarge (1908): One folder of notes related to target practice.

C) USS Maryland (1909-1912): Logs, itineraries and notes.

D) United States Naval Academy - Instructor (1912-1913): Pence's examination and practical work notebooks.

E) USS Rhode Island (1914-1915): Blueprint charts, memorandums, orders, reports, and notes.

F) USS Texas (1916-1918): Reports, notes, orders, photographs, charts, correspondence, memorandums, and an ode. The folder entitled "Capitulation of the German High Seas Fleet" contains several drafts of Pence's firsthand account of the German High Seas Fleet surrendering to the British Grand Fleet.

G) Port Officer, Trieste (1919): Correspondence, memorandums, logs, journals, orders, intelligence reports, and a propaganda poster. The port officer log provides a detailed account of vessel and personnel traffic through Trieste during Pence's assignment as port officer.

H) Naval Attaché, England (1920-1921): Lists of foreign diplomatic personnel in London, a newspaper clipping, an official itinerary, a memorandum, and a log related to an eighteen day trip through Europe.

I) USS McFarland (1921-1924): Correspondence, memoranda, movement orders, telegrams, a list of Americans in Constantinople during 1922, and Pence's ship diary. The diary documents the ship's activities and movements during Pence's command. The list of Americans in Constantinople during 1922 indicates Ernest Hemingway as an American in Constantinople at the time.

J) US Naval War College Instructor (1925-1927): Teaching material, typescripts, reports, and a speech.

K) USS Tennessee (1927-1929): Telegrams, memorandums and memorabilia.

L) Navy Department (1929-1932): Correspondence, reports, typescripts, teaching material, speeches, reprints, newspaper clippings, a map, and memorabilia. Well-represented in this subseries are Pence's assignments as naval aid to Dr. Enrique Olaya Herrera (at the time, President-elect of Columbia) during Olaya Hererra's 1930 tour of America and the establishment of the Army Industrial College, a joint venture with the Army designed to train personnel for procurement planning.

M) US Naval War College Instructor (1934-1937): Lecture notes, a two-year course proposal and a list of administrative staff. This subseries supplements Subseries J) US Naval War College - Instructor (1925-1927).

N) Squadron Eleven Commander (1937-1938): One note, and a memorandum.

O) Chief of Staff Captain of the Yard (1939-1941): A speech, newspaper clippings, programs, and a report related to the launching of the USS Grayson.

P) General Board (1941-1944): Memorandums, meeting minutes, a notebook, and a list of Japanese citizens who attended the United States Naval Academy. Of particular interest are the meeting minutes entitled "General Board - Security Technical Committee."

Q) Naval Operations (1943-1944): Correspondence, memorandums, commencement addresses, field reports, charts, notebooks, and reprints. It documents Pence's participation at the administrative and planning level with the burgeoning Civil Affairs Division, which later became part of the US Army's Special Operations. Of interest are the Civil Affairs Committee memorandums, the correspondence with field officers, field reports, and the development of the US Naval School of Military Government and Administration at Columbia University.

R) Joint Chiefs of Staff (1944-1945) subseries contains committee meeting minutes, memorandums, reports, and surrender terms. Pence served on the Joint Post War Committee, and was a senior member of the Subcommittee on Far Eastern Affairs. Included are copies of the surrender terms for both Japan and Germany.

Series 3) RED CROSS: Correspondence, memorandums, photographs, reports, and newspaper clippings related to the year that Pence worked for the American Red Cross. He was responsible for the Relief Program for prisoners of war, especially the Far East and was a member of the general committee to amend the 1929 Geneva Convention. This series contains approximations of American POWs and civilian internees in all known Japanese prison and internee camps, an overview of the quantity and quality of food and medical supplies distributed to American POWs and civilian internees, and interviews with former American POWs from the Far East. The folders related to the 1929 Geneva Convention revisions contain numerous heavily annotated copies of the 1929 Geneva Convention Treaty, as well as correspondence and memorandums related to suggested changes.

Series 4) DIARIES AND NOTEBOOKS. Arranged in two subseries: A) Naval Diaries and B) Personal Diaries.

A) Naval Diaries: Journals in which Pence recorded the activities and personal observations during assignments. Often, a cruise log is included at the front of each journal designating the ship Pence was assigned to, ports visited, distance travelled, as well as additional comments. Of particular interest is Diary - Volume 2, which includes the time Pence spent aboard the USS Kearsarge as it cruised with the Great White Fleet and Diary - Volume 4, which recounts the German High Seas Fleet surrendering to the British Grand Fleet. Arranged chronologically.

B) Personal Diaries: Although some of the Personal Diaries are dated during Pence's service in the Navy, they are distinct from the Naval Diaries in that they do not reflect information or observations regarding his military assignments. The diaries contain personal observations related to Pence's civilian daily routine, life events, as well as an occasional record of real estate transactions. Arranged chronologically.

Series 5) PHOTOGRAPHS. Arranged in eight subseries: A) Portraits of Pence, B) Pence with Others, C) Others, D) Ships and Aircraft, E) Places, F) Events, and G) Photograph Albums.

A) Portraits of Pence

B) Pence with Others: Arranged alphabetically by name of the other person. Includes photographs of crew members who served with Pence aboard various ships.

C) Others: Arranged alphabetically by personal name. People of particular interest are President Warren Harding (inscribed to Pence), Admiral Edward Kalbfus, Admiral Niblack, and Dr. Enrique Olaya Herrera.

D) Ships and Aircraft: Arranged alphabetically by ship name. Includes photographic prints of nearly every ship Pence served aboard or commanded, as well as numerous ships of interest to Pence. Also included are photographs of aircraft (zeppelins and planes).

E) Places: Arranged alphabetically by location. The photographs reflect the foreign ports, cities, and countries Pence visited during his assignments and cruises. Of interest are the folders entitled "Balkans," "Russia - Odessa" and "Scapa Flow." The "Scapa Flow" folder contains an image of the German Fleet at the Scapa Flow. In addition to the foreign locales visited by Pence, there is a folder titled "Miscellaneous US Locales" containing photographs taken in the United States from both Pence's official assignments, as well as vacation and civilian excursions.

F) Events: Arranged alphabetically by event title. Of interest are the folders entitled "Battle of Jutland," "Surrender of the German Fleet (WWI)" and "Surrender of the German High Seas Fleet." The "Battle of Jutland" folder contains prints of a number of British vessels involved in the Jutland engagement, including the sinking of the HMS Invincible. The "Surrender of the German Fleet (WWI)" folder contains an oblique aerial image of the surrender taken from the HMS Seymore (a dirigible).

G) Photograph Albums: Albums documenting Pence's professional and personal experiences during several military assignments including documentation of the Great White Fleet tour. Albums are arranged chronologically.