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Finding aid of the Howard T. Douglas Records
H1957.2
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Title: Howard T. Douglas records
Dates: 1917-1921
Collection number: H1957.2
Creator:
Douglas, Howard T., circa 1887-1921
Collection Size:
1 archives half-carton + 1 oversize box
(0.2 linear foot).
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd
Library.
Claremont, CA 91711
Abstract: Appointments and awards, letters of condolence, writings, and
published and newspaper accounts, 1917-1921, relating to the life and career of
Howard T. Douglas and to the Alaska Flying Expedition of 1920.
Physical location: Please consult repository.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English
Collection open for research.
All requests for permission to publish must be submitted in writing to Special
Collections.
[Identification of item], Howard T. Douglas records. Special Collections,
Honnold/Mudd Library, Claremont University Consortium.
Gift to Honnold Library from Mrs. Gordon Douglas (sister-in-law), Covina, California,
May 9, 1957.
Collection processed by Michael P. Palmer, June 2004; revised by Michael P. Palmer,
May 2010.
Howard T. Douglas was born in Covina, California, in about 1883, the second son of
Summerfield Douglas, of the Covina Realty Company. He graduated from Covina Union
High School and the University of California at Berkeley. He enlisted as a private
in the United States Army in January 1917, joining a coast artillery unit in Covina.
Upon the United States declaration of war in April 1917, he was sent to officer
training school at the Presidio in San Francisco. Upon receiving his commission as a
first lieutenant of infantry, he proceeded via Camp Lewis to the school of fire at
Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In January 1918, he proceeded to France where he served as an
aerial observation officer, where he served with distinction, being twice
recommended from promotion to Major, and receiving the Distinguished Service Medal.
Following the armistice he was placed in command of an aviation unit in Germany; he
returned to the United States in the summer of 1919. He then entered the Regular
Army with the rank of Captain, and was attached to General Mitchell, Chief of Air
Service. He served as Mitchell's aid and flying companion, directing a cross-country
flight and playing a vital role in the Alaska flying expedition of 1920. He helped
write the War Department's first aviation manual. He was drowned in the Chesapeake
Bay, off Tangier Island, on June 22, 1921, during a practice bombing raid on the
hulk of the battleship San Marcos, after his plane collided with another flown by
Lieutenant Marll J. Plumb. His body was not recovered until July 1, 1921. He was
buried in Oakdale Cemetery, Covina, on July 12, 1921.
Sources:
- "Covina Aviator Killed in Chesapeake Bay Fall", Los Angeles Times , June 23, 1921, p. i (1).
- "Covina Airman's Body Recovered from Chesapeake," Los Angeles Times, July 2, 1921, p. ii (8).
- "Last Honor for Hero at Covina," Los Angeles Times , July 13, 1921, p. ii (13).
Scope and Content of Collection
Appointments and awards, letters of condolence, writings, and published and newspaper
accounts, 1917-1921, relating to the life and career of Howard T. Douglas and to the
Alaska Flying Expedition of 1920. The collection comprises a single series, arranged
as follows: (1) Biographical Materials, (2) Writings, (3) Printed Materials, (4)
Newspapers, and (5) Fragile Materials, removed from other folders.
The Biographical Materials include a recommendation for promotion (1918), papers
appointing Douglas First Lieutenant and Captain (1919), and a letter (1920) from the
Aero Club of America awarding Douglas the Aviation Medal of Merit (the medal itself
is now in the Arthur L. Neuman '23 Collection of Aeronautical Medals [NC010],
Numismatics Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton
University Library), as well as a carbon copy typescript report on Douglas' body;
several letters of condolence, most from Douglas' military superiors, but including
one signed by the explorer Roald Amundsen; and a photograph (1920) of Douglas in
military uniform.
The Writings include Douglas' travel orders for, and a 137-page carbon-copy
typescript account of the Alaska Flying Expedition of 1920, as well as carbon-copy
typescripts of two articles Douglas had prepared for publication at the time of his
death.
The Printed Materials consist of a single item, a published history of the San
Gabriel Valley towns of Azusa, Baldwin Park, Charter Oak, Covina, Glendora, and
Puente, during World War I. The history includes accounts of the war service of both
Howard T. Douglas and his brother, Gordon C. Douglas.
The Newspapers include clippings and pages, July-October 1920, from the
Nome Nugget,
New York
Times
,
New York Tribune, and unidentified
newspapers, relating to the Alaska Flying Expedition; clippings and pages, June-July
1921, from the
Pasadena Evening Post, the
Nome Nugget, the
Covina
Argus
(2 copies of the complete issue for July 21, 1921), and
unidentified newspapers, relating to the death and funeral of Douglas.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Aeronautics--1910-1920
Aeronautics--History
Alaska--History--1867-1959
Douglas, Howard T., circa 1887-1921
The Aero Club of America Aviation Medal of Merit awarded Douglas in 1920 (see letter
of award in box 1, folder 1) is now in the Arthur L. Neuman '23 Collection of
Aeronautical Medals (NC010), Numismatics Division, Department of Rare Books and
Special Collections, Princeton University Library.