Roy L. Carver (1904-1984), Papers, 1920-1984 (C3849)

.8 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

Papers of Roy Lee Carver of Columbia, Missouri, director of the Missouri Division of Veterans' Affairs, 1953-1973; and active member of the American Legion for 39 years. The papers consist of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, speeches, reports, programs, and miscellaneous material relating to his activities in behalf of veterans and veterans' organizations.

DONOR INFORMATION

The Roy L. Carver Papers were donated to the University of Missouri-Columbia, by his wife, Pauline B. Carver, on 26 November 1984 (Accession No. 4600).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Roy Lee Carver was born on 24 March 1904 on a farm in Howard County, Missouri. After high school he worked for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad in various jobs. Carver married Sadie F. Sachsenheimer in 1927. They had four children and moved to Columbia in 1930. Joining the National Guard in 1931, Carver worked during the Depression as a caretaker at the Columbia National Guard Armory. He was called to federal service on 24 November 1940, serving part of World War II in the European Theater of Operations with the Sixth Armored Division of the Third Army.

Carver began working for the Missouri Division of Veterans' Affairs in 1946, holding the position of director from 1953 until his retirement in 1973. The day after he was discharged from the army, he joined Columbia's Herbert Williams Post 202 of the American Legion, the organization he would serve, in numerous offices and capacities at the local, state, and national level, for the next 39 years. Carver also held membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, and La Societe des Quarantes Hommes et Huit Chevaux (popularly called the Forty et Eight), the honor society of the American Legion.

After his first wife's death, Carver married Pauline B. Richmond in 1982. He died in 1984 at the Harry S. Truman V.A. Hospital in Columbia, Missouri.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Roy L. Carver Papers consist of correspondence, photographs, speeches, newspaper clippings, programs, reports, and miscellaneous material, primarily documenting Carver's many years as an active member of the American Legion and as director of the Missouri Division of Veterans' Affairs. The papers are arranged into three series arranged alphabetically by topic:

The Personal series focuses on Roy Carver as an individual, but still in his capacity as a veteran and as a worker for veterans' causes. It consists of awards, biographical information including photographs, material relating to Carver's successful American Legion campaigns for National Committeeman (1962) and Department Commander of Missouri (1976), Commander's Messages, correspondence, and several speeches given by Carver at various functions. The speeches are concerned with Legion activities, veterans' issues, and various patriotic topics.

The American Legion series, the largest of the collection, is arranged alphabetically by topic, then chronologically within each subject. It includes correspondence, programs, bulletins, newsclippings, photographs and other material dealing with the American Legion at the local (individual posts), district, state or departmental, and national levels. Because this series reflects the various offices and positions held by Roy Carver through the years, it is quite detailed in some areas and time periods (such as membership information from 1978-1982), while very sketchy in others. The majority of material in the series is included in the Department of Missouri or Columbia Herbert Williams Post 202 sections. Much of the correspondence deals with membership, elections, ceremonies, and the organizational operations of the Legion. However, occasionally, it does deal with contemporary issues, such as veterans' organizations' opposition to President-Elect Jimmy Carter's proposed pardon of Vietnam draft evaders in 1976. Also included in this series is material relating to such special Legion projects as the Missouri State Highway Patrol Cadet Patrol Academy and the Pershing Memorial Museum Development Fund, as well as the activities of the honor society of the American Legion, the Forty et Eight.

The Veterans' Affairs series, also arranged alphabetically by topic, consists of correspondence and newspaper clippings of issues relating to veterans' concerns not specifically connected to the American Legion. Some issues included are benefits and World War I and World War II bonuses; legislation and government action, including veterans' stance on such issues as the possible elimination of the U.S. Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and the debate over the treatment of the American flag; other veterans' organizations; and miscellaneous other veteran issues.

FOLDER LIST

Personal Series

f. 1Awards, 1957-1978, n.d.
f. 2Biographical information, c. 1945-1978
f. 3Campaigns, 1962, 1976
f. 4Commander's Messages, 1976-1977
f. 5Correspondence, 1963-1982, n.d.
f. 6Speeches--Awards/Dedications
f. 7-8Speeches--Holidays
f. 9Speeches--Installations
f. 10-11Speeches--Miscellaneous
f. 12Speeches--Veterans' Affairs

American Legion Series

f. 13-15Cadet Patrol, 1978-1984
f. 16-20Clippings, 1948-1983, n.d.
f. 21-24Department correspondence, 1976-1984
f. 25Department Executive Committee minutes, 6 Mar 1977
f. 26-27Department membership, 1978-1982
f. 28Department officers/committees, 1977-1984
f. 29-30Department programs, 1957-1983
f. 31District 8, 1976-1983
f. 32District 14 Bulletins, 1976-1983
f. 33Forty et Eight constitution/ceremonies
f. 34Forty et Eight correspondence/reports, 1970-1983, n.d.
f. 35-36Forty et Eight membership rosters, 1975-1982
f. 37Forty et Eight resolutions
f. 38Miscellaneous items
f. 39Miscellaneous posts--Missouri
f. 40National Membership Record, 1920-1962
f. 41Out-of-state posts
f. 42Pershing Memorial, 1978
f. 43-44Post 202 bulletins, 1976-1984
f. 45Post 202 membership list, 1976
f. 46Post 202 miscellaneous, 1967, 1978-1983
f. 47Post 202 officers, 1979-1984
f. 48Post 202 programs, 1967-1982
f. 49Resolutions

Veterans' Affairs Series

f. 50Benefits/Bonuses, 1953-1963
f. 51Legislation/Government action, 1955-c.1981
f. 52Miscellaneous, 1956-1983, n.d.
f. 53Veterans' organizations, 1955-1959

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at The State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.