Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. 9.4 lin. ft. (9 record cartons, 1 archival box)

Summary

1. The Jesse J. Johnson military Collection consists primarily of secondary sources and printed material, copies of documents held in public repositories, along with typescripts of his plays and one of his books. Johnson collected material about black men and women in the U.S. military, and in wars ranging from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War, all branches of service, and a wide selection of related subjects. The bulk of the collection is research material about these topics. There are also interviews Johnson conducted in the 1970s-1980s with retired African-American servicemen.
2. The Personal Papers series, 1942-2003, contains biographical information and family history discussing property in Mississippi. The series Writings, 1966-1994, consists of speeches Johnson delivered at military installations (1975-1983), typescripts for eleven plays and one short story with military themes (1966 and 1990s). Johnson's last book "The Soldier Samaritan: The Biography of Major Ernest C. Bradley" is represented by numerous drafts, including Bradley's handwritten draft of his autobiography.
3. The series Military History includes the subseries Wars, consisting primarily of secondary source material with the greatest number of files representing the Civil War and the Korean War. The Branches of Service subseries 1942-1994 (2.8 lin. ft.) consists of information pertaining to specific branches regardless of the time period or war including a few interviews Johnson conducted as well as a memoir (1919-1948), as told to Johnson, of Major Roy Brown who was stationed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, where the all-black 92nd and 93rd Infantry Divisions were trained. Sergeant George Weaver, who also served at Fort Huachuca, is represented by his memoir and certificates. Printed material discusses black sailors, integration in the Navy, primarily during World War II, and the history of blacks in the Navy going back to the American Revolution.

Subject

1. African American soldiers
2. Black author
3. Military bases > Arizona > Fort Huachuca
4. African American authors
5. Johnson, Jesse J., 1914-2006
6. United States > Armed Forces > African Americans > History
7. Bradley, Ernest C., 1915-
8. African American air pilots
9. Interviews
10. Air pilots, Military > United States > History
11. Fort Huachuca (Ariz.)
12. United States > Army > African American troops > History
13. African American sailors
14. African Americans > Biography
15. Brown, Roy, Major
16. African American soldiers > History > 20th century
17. African American dramatists

Genre/Form

1. Interviews.

Call number

1. Sc MG 200

Note

1. Photographs transferred to Photographs and Prints Division.
2. Audiotapes transferred to Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division.

Source (note)

1. Jesse J. Johnson

Biography (note)

1. An African American career soldier, Jesse J. Johnson authored eight books and several plays about the military service of black men and women in the United States Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines from 1619 to the late 20th century.

Author

1. Johnson, Jesse J., 1914-2006.

Title

1. Jesse J. Johnson military collection, 1942-2003.

Biography

1. An African American career soldier, Jesse J. Johnson authored eight books and several plays about the military service of black men and women in the United States Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines from 1619 to the late 20th century.

Connect to:

1. Finding Aid

Local subject

1. Black author.

Research call number

1. Sc MG 200