White, Robert M., II (1915-2008), Interview, 1965 (C3398)

2 folders, 1 audio tape

RESTRICTED

INTRODUCTION

Tape and transcripts of an interview with the editor of Missouri's Mexico Ledger.

RESTRICTIONS

Researchers must obtain written permission from the donor to use this material. Contact the reference staff for more information.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Robert M. White II was born on 6 April 1915, in Mexico, Missouri. He graduated from the Missouri Military Academy in Mexico in 1933, and Washington and Lee University in 1938. His grandfather and father both served as editors of the Mexico Evening Ledger. After his graduation from Washington and Lee, White served as reporter for the Evening Ledger until 1940, when he entered the armed services. During the war White went to Australia with General R. L. Eichelberger and was involved in missions for General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters. After serving overseas White returned to the United States where he was on duty as a reporter at the White House. White served as a reporter for the U.S. Press Bureau in Kansas City and was briefly editor of the New York Herald Tribune. White returned to Mexico as the co-editor and publisher of the Evening Ledger in the late 1940s. He died on 20 November 2008.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This interview is one of four interviews with Missouri newspaper editors which constituted a pilot oral history project of the Western Historical Manuscript Collection. Mike Coogan, a graduate student in history, conducted the interviews.

The interview includes discussion of White's background, experiences with Harry S. Truman and Douglas MacArthur, views of being editor of the New York Herald Tribune and the Mexico Evening Ledger, and general reminiscences about people White knew in politics and news reporting.

The transcript was edited by Robert M. White in 1992. Included with the transcripts are Mike Coogan's overall impressions of the pilot oral history project, his general impression of White, and a tentative list of the questions to be used in the interview.

FOLDER LIST

Tape of interview

a.t. 1Tape of interview
f. 1Unedited transcript
f. 2Edited transcript

INDEX TERMS

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