Captain O.C. McDavid World War II Letters

Collection

Identifier: 2011-008

Staff Only

This collection primarily consists of correspondence from Captain O.C. McDavid during his service in World War II in the South Pacific. The collection also includes a handful of correspondence addressed to Captain McDavid, newsletters from his service, memorabilia collected while abroad, a sketch drawn by Captain McDavid, newspaper clippings, and Letters from OC: The War Years--1940 through 1945, compiled by Gene McDavid.

Correspondence from Captain McDavid is arranged chronologically while letters addressed to Captain McDavid have been arranged alphabetically by author. The remaining materials have been arranged chronologically.

Dates

1943-1945

Creator

McDavid, O. C., 1911-1998 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Special Collections owns the physical items in our collections, but copyright normally belongs to the creator of the materials or their heirs. The researcher has full responsibility for determining copyright status, obtaining permission to publish from copyright holders, and abiding by current copyright laws when publishing or displaying copies of Special Collections material in print or electronic form. For more information, consult the appropriate librarian. Reproduction decisions will be made by Special Collections staff on a case-by-case basis.

Extent

2.00 linear feet

Additional Description

Biographical Information

O.C. McDavid was born on May 30, 1911, in Ruth, Mississippi. At the urging of his high school English teacher, McDavid forged a non-traditional path into a career in the newspaper industry. He secured his first job sweeping up the print shop at the Enterprise Journal while in high school. As his responsibilities grew to include running the print shop as well as writing, he attended high school part-time so that he could pursue his new career full-time.

McDavid's career took an unexpected turn as the United States' involvement in World War II became imminent. As a member of the National Guard, McDavid received his federal induction and was quickly tapped to publish a camp newspaper named The Dixie. After the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, McDavid was stationed in the South Pacific. There, in New Guinea, McDavid was placed in charge of establishing village governments with the local population and helped to provide local services such as sanitation, security, and health.

Following the war, McDavid returned to the newspaper industry, finally retiring at the age of 70. He turned his time and energies to sculpting and painting, earning the George Ohr Public Service Award (honoring Mississippians who have supported crafts as art) in 1976.

He died on March 12, 1998 in Jackson, Mississippi. The following year the Mississippi Press Association established an annual student journalism conference in his name.