Summary Information
- Publisher: United States Naval Academy. Special Collections & Archives.
- Publisher Address:
589 McNair Road
Annapolis, Maryland 21402-5029, USA
Phone: 410-293-6917
https://www.usna.edu/Library/sca/index.php - Call number: MS 444
- Location: Special Collections & Archives Department - Manuscripts
- Title: Percival Eaton McDowell Papers
- Dates: 1799-1984
- Bulk Dates: 1893-1974
- Size: 6.97 linear feet
- Container Summary: 11 manuscript boxes, 1 half-manuscript box, 1 flat box
- Creator: McDowell, Percival Eaton, 1900-1982
- Language(s) of material: English
- Abstract: Percival Eaton McDowell was an officer in the United States Navy and a member of the United States Naval Academy Class of 1923. The Percival Eaton McDowell Papers document the United States Navy career of Percival Eaton McDowell, and to a lesser extent, that of his father, Willis McDowell, with a focus on the younger McDowell's work in the areas of Navy personnel classification and human behavior in a military setting.
Biography of Percival Eaton McDowell
Percival Eaton "Pete" McDowell was born on April 10, 1900 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Captain Willis McDowell and Grace Adelaide Delamater McDowell. Having received a Presidential Appointment, McDowell was admitted to the United States Naval Academy as a member of the Class of 1923 on June 11, 1919.
Following his graduation from the Naval Academy in 1923, McDowell served aboard U.S.S. West Virginia (Battleship: BB-48) as a Gunnery Officer. McDowell would continue to focus on ordnance and gunnery throughout the early part of his career, studying the subject at the Naval Postgraduate School in 1929 before serving at the Naval Gun Factory in Washington, followed by a tour with Destroy Squadron One as Operations Officer and Senior Gunnery Instructor at the Destroyer's Battle Force Gunnery and Torpedo School beginning in 1937.
World War II began with McDowell serving in Washington, DC, first in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations, followed by duty at the Bureau of Navigation. In 1943, McDowell was attached to U.S.S. New Jersey (Battleship: BB-62) as Executive Officer during her fitting out. Duty as Chief Training Officer for the U.S. Atlantic Fleet's Amphibious Training Command followed in January 1944, after which McDowell received command of U.S.S. Catoctin (Amphibious Command Ship: AGC-5) in February 1945. Throughout his service at these duty stations, McDowell worked to develop and implement systems of personnel classification for both officers and enlisted Navy personnel.
After a second tour at the Naval Gun Factory beginning in 1946, McDowell assumed command of Destroyer Flotilla Three, based in Tsingtao (Qingdao), China, followed by a tour as Chief of Staff of Destroyers Pacific in 1948. In 1950, McDowell returned to Washington, DC where he finished out his Navy career as a member of the Sarnoff Commission on manpower utilization and as Chair of the Human Behavior Working Group.
Following his retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1953, McDowell developed The Cove recreation area in Gore, Virginia. Percival Eaton McDowell died July 18, 1982 in Winchester, Virginia.
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Description of Contents
The Percival Eaton McDowell Papers, comprising 6.97 linear feet of documentation, span primarily from 1893 to 1974, with documents dating as early as 1799 and as late as 1984. The papers document the United States Navy career of Percival Eaton McDowell, and to a lesser extent, that of his father, Willis McDowell, with a focus on the younger McDowell's work in the areas of gunnery, Navy personnel classification and human behavior in a military setting.
Included in the collection are memoranda, reports, orders, dispatches, letters, pamphlets, photographs, certificates, a notebook, and a painting.
The McDowell Papers are organized into four series by document type and creator. The entirety of Series 1: Orders and Official Correspondence and Series 2: Subject Files, as well as roughly half of Series 4: Photographs, document the career of Captain Percival Eaton McDowell. Series 1 and Series 2, composed largely of orders, memoranda, and reports, detail not only McDowell's tours of duty, but more specifically his work on and interest in the role of psychology in the classification and training of Navy officers and enlisted personnel. The materials also focus on McDowell's World War II service aboard U.S.S. New Jersey and command of U.S.S. Catoctin, and post-war command of Destroyer Flotilla Three, both in terms of general operations and McDowell's personnel classification work, as well as his earlier work in naval gunnery. Series 4: Photographs includes portraits of Percival Eaton McDowell, as well as images of the vessels he commanded.
Series 3: Willis McDowell Files, as well as roughly half of Series 4: Photographs, consists of documentation from the career of Percival Eaton McDowell's father, Captain Willis McDowell. These papers focus on Willis McDowell's Naval Academy studies and U.S. Navy commissions, while also including several Navy publications kept by the elder McDowell. In addition to portraits of Willis McDowell, the photographs also feature images of McDowell's Naval Academy class, as well as the torpedo boats on which he served.
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Arrangement
The Percival Eaton McDowell Papers are organized into the following four series:
- Series 1: Orders and Official Correspondence, 1918-1973
- Series 2: Subject Files, 1799-1984
- Series 3: Willis McDowell Files, 1893-1957
- Series 4: Photographs, 1896-1952
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Access and Use
Access
Access to any potentially classified material is restricted.
Copyright and Permission
The Percival Eaton McDowell Papers are the physical property of Nimitz Library. Copyright belongs to the authors or creators of the works, or their legal representatives. For further information, consult the Head, Special Collections & Archives.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure written permission to publish, reprint, or reproduce material from Special Collections & Archives. The researcher assumes responsibility for infringement of copyright or literary or publication rights. Please contact the Head, Special Collections & Archives for permission to publish and for further information.
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Acquisition and Appraisal
Provenance and Acquisition
Gift of Azalea McDowell Leckszas in June 2016. Accession No. 17-02.
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Related Materials
Related Archival Material
Additional material pertaining to Percival Eaton McDowell's time at the Naval Academy and U.S. Navy career can be found in his Midshipman Personnel Jacket and Alumni Jacket, Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library.
Additional material pertaining to Willis McDowell's time at the Naval Academy can be found in his Midshipman Conduct Record and Alumni Jacket, as well as in the Edward Hoopes and Willis McDowell Notebooks, 1893-1899, MS 325, Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library.
Additional biographical material pertaining to McDowell, as well as information on his classmates, is available in the United States Naval Academy Class of 1923 Records, MS 430, Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library.
Materials Cataloged Separately
No materials have been removed from this collection and cataloged separately.
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Processing and Other Information
Preferred Citation
Percival Eaton McDowell Papers, MS 444
Special Collections & Archives Department
Nimitz Library
United States Naval Academy
Processing Information
This collection was processed by David D'Onofrio in March 2017. Finding aid written by David D'Onofrio in March 2017.
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Subject Headings
Name and Subject Terms
- Catoctin (Amphibious command ship: AGC-5)
- Manpower planning -- United States
- McDowell, Percival Eaton, 1900-1982
- McDowell, Willis, 1875-1944
- New Jersey (Battleship : BB-62)
- Ordnance, Naval
- Psychology, Military
- United States -- Foreign relations -- China
- United States Naval Academy. Class of 1923
- United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development. Applied Psychology Panel
- United States. Navy -- Personnel management
- United States. Navy. Destroyer Flotilla 3
- West Virginia (Battleship : BB-48)
Genre Terms
- Certificates
- Correspondence
- Manuscripts
- Orders (military records)
- Pamphlets
- Photographs
- Reports
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Contents List
Series 1: Orders and Official Correspondence, 1918-1973 Boxes 1-2, 13[OS]
Series DescriptionOrders and correspondence documenting McDowell's duty assignments, transfers, citations, commissions, promotions, qualifications, travel, leave requests, and special projects. Projects covered in the series include work in the areas of gunnery and human resources, including Mark IX gun breech design, the use of target drones, Navy personnel classification, amphibious personnel selection, reserve officer retention, and manpower utilization. Included in the series are memoranda, orders, vouchers, certificates, and reports. Also included in the series is McDowell's commission as a captain.
Series ArrangementArranged alphabetically by document type, thereunder chronologically.
Box 1 Folder 1
Citations, 1928-1973
Includes letters of commendation and congratulation.
Box 13[OS] Folder 1
Commissions and Certificates, 1947-1948
Captain's commission and commemoration of command of Destroyer Flotilla Three.
Box 1 Folder 2
Leave Requests, 1939-1953, undated
Box 1 Folder 3
Official Letters, 1931-1939
Includes information on the designs for the breech mechanism on 8" Mark IX guns, gun mount piping, radio controlled target drones, 1.10" machine guns, and Gunnery School duty.
Box 1 Folder 4
Orders, 1918-1941
Box 1 Folder 5
Orders, 1942-1953
Box 1 Folder 6
Orders (Miscellaneous), 1944-1946
Box 1 Folder 7
Original Orders, 1942-1956
Box 1 Folder 8
Personal File - Lieut. McDowell, Gunnery Officer, 1937-1939
Includes material on 5"/38 guns safety, Fleet Problem XIX, and McDowell's duty as a gunnery instructor.
Box 1 Folder 9
Personal File - CMDR P. E. McDowell, 1944-1945
Includes material on the officer classification and placement program, retention of reserve officers for the Regular Navy after World War II, amphibious training programs, personnel classification, combat zone questionnaires for Project N-117, and amphibious personnel selection.
Box 1 Folder 10
Personal File - CAPT P. E. McDowell, 1952-1953
Includes material on the Working Group on Human Behavior Under Conditions of Military Service and the Citizens Advisory Commission on Manpower Utilization in the Armed Services.
Box 2 Folder 1
Retirement Papers, 1918-1955
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Series 2: Subject Files, 1799-1984 Boxes 2-11, 13[OS]
Series DescriptionDocumentation of McDowell's career in the United States Navy, including his work in the areas of Navy human resources and personnel selection, as well as his membership of the United States Naval Academy Class of 1923 and studies at the Naval Postgraduate School. Specifically, the materials focus on projects conducted by the National Defense Research Committee's Applied Psychology Panel, McDowell's work on developing and implementing systems of classification for Navy personnel, his World War II service aboard U.S.S. New Jersey and command of U.S.S. Catoctin, his command of Destroyer Flotilla Three in the Pacific, the work of the Working Group on Human Behavior Under Conditions of Military Service, the production of McDowell's report entitled Research in Applied Psychology. The Selection and Training of Naval Personnel Ashore and Afloat, activities of the Naval Academy Class of 1923, and McDowell's service in the Gunnery Department aboard U.S.S. West Virginia as an ensign. Included in the series are memoranda, reports, dispatches, letters, pamphlets, handbooks, certificates, and a painting.
Included in the series are documents pertaining to the ancestors of the collection's donor, Azalea McDowell Leckszas, including a 1799 militia commission for William Huff.
Series ArrangementArranged alphabetically by topic and document type.
Box 2 Folder 2
Applied Psychology Panel, 1944
General background and proposals for future work.
Box 2 Folder 3
Applied Psychology Panel - Project N-109: Selection and Training of Telephone Talkers, 1944
Box 2 Folder 4
Applied Psychology Panel - Project N-117: Job Analysis Qualifications and Placement of Personnel in the Amphibious Forces, 1944-1945
Box 2 Folder 5
Basic Need for DOD, 1953-1954
Paper on the need for job analysis in the field of personnel and manpower in the Armed Forces.
Box 2 Folder 6
Battle Noise Equipment, 1944-1945
Material on the use of battle noise recordings and equipment for identifying emotionally unstable personnel. Includes a report on the Applied Psychology Panel's Project N-113: Research on a Personal Inventory and Other Tests for Selection of Special Service Tasks.
Box 2 Folder 7
Bowles - Higher Education, 1946-1974
Correspondence with Frank H. Bowles of the College Board. Includes a paper on the role of education in American society.
Box 2 Folder 8
Arleigh Burke, 1955-1958
Personal correspondence between McDowell and Burke.
Box 2 Folder 9
U.S.S. Catoctin, 1945-1949, undated
Includes copies of a ship's publication entitled U.S.S. Catoctin Chinese Political Supplement.
Box 2 Folder 10
U.S.S. Catoctin - Asia-Pacific Cruise, 1945
Cruise book from Catoctin's cruise in Chinese waters after the close of World War II.
Box 2 Folder 11
U.S.S. Catoctin - Officers, 1945
Officer classification and qualification test results.
Box 3 Folder 1-2
U.S.S. Catoctin - Report: A Manual of Procedures for Processing And Using the Keysort Personnel Record File, 1945
Report prepared as part of Project N-106 of the Applied Psychology Panel.
Box 3 Folder 3
U.S.S. Catoctin - War History, 1945
Covers the Catoctin's participation in the invasion of Southern France and landings of American troops in China following World War II. Includes photographs.
Box 3 Folder 4
Clippings, undated
Newspaper clippings regarding McDowell's saving of a drowning civilian.
Box 3 Folder 5
Committee on Human Resources, 1943-1946
Personnel classification aboard U.S.S. New Jersey as developed by the Committee on Service Personnel-Selection and Training and the Applied Psychology Panel. Also includes a paper by McDowell entitled "Why Classification?"
Box 3 Folder 6
Destroyer Battle Problem Book, 1948
Prepared battle problems for training destroyer crews.
Box 3 Folder 7
Destroyer Flotilla Three - China Letters, 1947-1948
Correspondence, largely with the British Embassy in Shanghai, during McDowell's command of Destroyer Flotilla Three in Chinese waters. Includes Chinese currency.
Box 3 Folder 8
Destroyer Flotilla Three - Letters and Publications, 1947-1949
Organization and standard operating procedures of the Flotilla.
Box 3 Folder 9
Destroyers Pacific/Destroyer Flotilla Three, 1947-1949
Destroyer personnel issues, publication of a Manual for Prospective Officers of Landing Craft, staff organization, decommissioning of Destroyer Flotilla Three, psychological warfare, and anti-submarine warfare training.
Box 3 Folder 10
"Fear of German Weapons", 1943
Psychiatric report entitled "Fear of German Weapons Based on a Survey of Enlisted Men Recently Evacuated from North Africa."
Box 3 Folder 11
Flight Handbook, 1955
T-34 flight handbook.
Box 3 Folder 12
"Guide to Industrial Sound", 1944
Box 4 Folder 1
Handbooks, 1943-1944
First aid and travel handbooks.
Box 13[OS] Folder 2
William Huff, 1799-1921
A 1799 Jefferson County (Ohio) Militia commission for William Huff, and a 1921 certificate from the Republic of Chile presented to Senor Huff, step-grandfather of Azalea McDowell Leckszas.
Box 4 Folder 2
Human Behavior Working Group - Army War College, 1951-1952
Box 4 Folder 3-4
Human Behavior Working Group - Miscellaneous Letters and Papers, 1949-1968
Box 4 Folder 5
Human Behavior Working Group - Report of Working Group on Human Behavior Under Conditions of Military Service (Final Report), 1951-1953
Box 4 Folder 6
Human Behavior Working Group - Report of Working Group on Human Behavior Under Conditions of Military Service (Galleys), 1953
Box 4 Folder 7
Human Behavior Working Group - Report of Working Group on Human Behavior Under Conditions of Military Service (Revised Foreword and Summaries), 1951
Box 5 Folder 1
Human Behavior Working Group - Working Group Staff, 1951-1952, undated
Documentation of the group's composition, interim reports, and distribution of the group's report.
Box 5 Folder 2
Human Resources Research Office, undated
Army research office at George Washington University.
Box 5 Folder 3
Human Resources Study, 1951
Literature review study on human resources and manpower.
Box 5 Folder 4
Humorous Papers, 1932-1950, undated
Box 5 Folder 5
Infantry Journal, 1950
Box 5 Folder 6
Leadership in the Junior Naval Officer: A Study of Selection, Training and Evaluation, 1948
Ohio State University master's thesis by Charles E. McCombs.
Box 5 Folder 7
Letters - Navy, 1939-1977
Box 5 Folder 8
Letters - Navy (Change of Duty), 1948-1949
Box 5 Folder 9
Manpower Utilization, 1947-1954, undated
Research material for and drafts of McDowell's "Manpower Utilization: Administrative Requirements to Meet Standards for Satisfactory Use of Manpower."
Box 5 Folder 10
Manual of Classification Procedure for Amphibious Training Bases, 1944-1949
Box 5 Folder 11
Manual of Commands and Orders, undated
Box 6 Folder 1
McCormick, 1946-1956
Management and personnel practices at McCormick and Company. Includes a copy of Charles P. McCormick's The Power of People.
Box 6 Folder 2
Meetings, 1947-1953, undated
Materials pertaining to seminars and speaking engagements.
Box 6 Folder 3-4
Military Leadership, 1944-1946, undated
Research material for and drafts of "Military Leadership" by McDowell and LT R. L. Wickiser. Includes photographs.
Box 6 Folder 5
Military Order of the World Wars, 1955-1960
Box 6 Folder 6
Miscellaneous, 1942-1951, undated
Includes materials on semantics and principles of war.
Box 6 Folder 7
Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1938-1947
Includes materials regarding promotions and experiences aboard U.S.S. New Jersey.
Box 13[OS] Folder 3
Miscellaneous Correspondence, undated
Oversize birthday card.
Box 6 Folder 8
National Security Manpower Readiness Act of 1947, 1947
Miscellaneous material regarding the Naval Gun Factory in Washington, DC.
Box 6 Folder 9
Naval Gun Factory, 1946-1953
Box 6 Folder 10
U.S.S. New Jersey, 1942-1983
New Jersey's commissioning and recommissioning, and personnel classification aboard ship.
Box 6 Folder 11
Officer Classification Test (U.S. Navy), 1944-1945
Box 7 Folder 1
Officer Education Program, 1952-1956
Speech on the Navy's Officer Education Program and "Report on the Postgraduate Educational Program of the Navy."
Box 7 Folder 2
Officer's Manual, 1946
Proposed outline of the Armed Forces Officers' Manual.
Box 7 Folder 3
Papers and Manuscripts, 1947-1974
Primarily a response to Hanson Baldwin's "What's Wrong with the Regulars?" entitled "Handsome is as Handsome Does."
Box 7 Folder 4
Parole and Corrections, 1951-1952
Acceptance of felons into the Armed Forces.
Box 7 Folder 5
Personality Study of Successful Naval Officers, 1951
Final report of a study by the Washington School of Psychiatry.
Box 7 Folder 6
Personnel Classification, undated
Primarily officer classification forms, presumably for U.S.S Catoctin.
Box 7 Folder 7
Personnel (Enlisted), 1955, undated
Enlisted personnel classification and test scores.
Box 7 Folder 8
Personnel Journal, 1958
Box 7 Folder 9
Personnel (Miscellaneous), 1946-1954, undated
Correspondence regarding personnel serving under McDowell and personnel recommendations.
Box 7 Folder 10
Personnel Procedures Implementation School (19-27 July 1949), 1949
Box 7 Folder 11
Personnel Surveys, 1948, undated
Surveys for U.S.S. Tucson (Cruiser: CL-98), Norris (Destroyer: DD-859), and Brinkley Bass (Destroyer: DD-887).
Box 13[OS] Folder 4
Poole Quay, England, 1984
Painting of the harbor in Poole, Dorset, England.
Box 8 Folder 1
Postgraduate School - Notebook, undated
Box 8 Folder 2
Postgraduate School - Thesis Volume 2, 1930-1949
Includes material on 8 inch gun operations and design.
Box 8 Folder 3
Postgraduate School - Thesis Volume 3, 1926-1932, undated
Includes material on aircraft gunnery, torpedoes, coastal artillery, gun battery care, Navy accounting, and ordnance material.
Box 8 Folder 4
The Potential Combat Officer, undated
Marine Corps medicopsychological study of officer candidates.
Box 8 Folder 5
Psychology, the Machine, and Society, 1953
Lecture by Leonard Carmichael.
Box 9 Folder 1
Research in Applied Psychology (1948), 1942-1949
Final drafts of Research in Applied Psychology. The Selection and Training of Naval Personnel Ashore and Afloat.
Box 9 Folder 2
Research in Applied Psychology (1949), 1948-1949
Box 9 Folder 3
Research in Applied Psychology - Correspondence, 1944-1950
Includes material pertaining to personnel classification aboard U.S.S. New Jersey and at the Amphibious Training Command.
Box 9 Folder 4
Research in Applied Psychology - Correspondence, 1946-1957
Box 9 Folder 5
Research in Applied Psychology - Revision/Rough Draft, undated
Box 9 Folder 6
Research in Applied Psychology - Rough Draft, undated
Box 9 Folder 7
Reserve Officers Board, 1945
Material regarding reservists seeking retention in the regular Navy.
Box 9 Folder 8
"The Retired Officer: His Economic Adjustment" (Original), 1950, undated
Report on the issues facing retired military officers.
Box 10 Folder 1
Retirement Position, 1947-1967
Box 10 Folder 2
"The Role of Psychological Operations in Naval Missions", 1968
Report by James M. Dodson, William W. Chenault, and M. Dean Havron.
Box 10 Folder 3
Scrap Book - USNATB Solomons, Maryland, 1945
Box 10 Folder 4
Ship Handling Destroyers, undated
Ship handling manual by CDR John W. Schmidt.
Box 10 Folder 5
Short Employment Tests, 1954
Specimen set from The Psychological Corporation.
Box 10 Folder 6
The Soviet Spies, 1947
The Soviet Spies: The Story of Russian Espionage in North America by Richard Hirsch.
Box 10 Folder 7
Speeches, 1932-1951
Speeches by McDowell and others regarding the Naval Gun Factory and the tools and training for naval warfare. Also includes selections from Why War: An Exchange of Letters Between Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud.
Box 10 Folder 8
Surrender of Japan, 1945
Text of the formal Japanese surrender at Seoul, Korea on September 9.
Box 10 Folder 9
U.S. Naval Academy - Bulletins, 1982
Washington Environs Chapter bulletins.
Box 10 Folder 10
U.S. Naval Academy - Holloway Plan, 1947-1948
Includes material on curricular changes at the Academy under Admiral James Holloway.
Box 10 Folder 11
U.S. Naval Academy - Menus and Programs, 1923-1961
Box 10 Folder 12
U.S. Naval Academy - Reunions, 1948-1983
Box 11 Folder 1
U.S. Naval Submarine Medical Center, 1967
Report Number 511 on personnel selection in the U.S. Navy.
Box 11 Folder 2
U.S.S. West Virginia - Gunnery Department Journal, 1924
Manual of Gunnery Department operations and procedures.
Box 11 Folder 3
U.S.S. West Virginia - Notes in Connection with Six Weeks Course of Instruction, Ford Instrument Company, Long Island City, 1924
Box 11 Folder 4
"What Needs Doing About Man-In-Space?", 1959
American Psychological Association Convention discussion.
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Series 3: Willis McDowell Files, 1893-1957 Boxes 11-13[OS]
Series DescriptionDocumentation from the U.S. Navy career and Naval Academy studies of McDowell's father, Captain Willis McDowell. Specifically, the materials pertain to the elder McDowell's Academy grades, studies in chemistry, overall record of naval service, commissions, and various Navy publications. Included in the series are orders, reports, pamphlets, bulletins, correspondence, certificates, and a notebook.
Series ArrangementArranged alphabetically by document type and topic.
Box 11 Folder 5
Citation, 1930
Citation from the Naval Gun Factory.
Box 13[OS] Folder 5
Commissions and Certificates, 1897-1925
Willis McDowell's Naval Academy diploma and Navy commissions, as well as commendation and crossing-the-line certificates.
Box 11 Folder 6
Orders and Correspondence, 1930-1931
Primarily related to McDowell's retirement from the Navy.
Box 11 Folder 7
Publications - Bulletins and Pamphlets, 1898-1907
North Atlantic Squadron Bulletins and description of the Bliss-Leavitt Mark I torpedo.
Box 11 Folder 8
Publications - Destruction of the U.S. Battle Ship Maine, 1898
Box 11 Folder 9
Publications - Navy Day Programs, 1928-1929
Washington Navy Yard souvenir programs from McDowell's tour as Captain of the Yard.
Box 11 Folder 10
Publications - Officer Registers and Rosters, 1906-1907
Box 11 Folder 11
Publications - Reports, 1905-1906
Target practice and Bureau of Navigation reports.
Box 11 Folder 12
Record of Service, 1944
Box 11 Folder 13
United States Naval Academy - Class of 1897, 1937-1957
Alumni bulletins and rosters.
Box 12 Folder 1
United States Naval Academy - Practical Work in Chemistry Notebook, 1893-1895
Box 12 Folder 2
United States Naval Academy - Relative Standing and Marks, 1893-1895
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Series 4: Photographs, 1896-1952 Boxes 12-13[OS]
Series DescriptionBlack-and-white photographs primarily documenting the lives and careers of both Percival Eaton McDowell and his father, Willis McDowell. Specifically, the photographs depict several of the duty stations and commands of the two McDowell's, notably U.S.S. Porter (Torpedo boat: TB-6) (and several other torpedo boats) and U.S.S. New Jersey (Battleship: BB-62). The series also includes portraits of both of the McDowells and their wives, as well as autographed portraits of President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon.
Series ArrangementArranged alphabetically by topic.
Box 12 Folder 3
U.S.S. Arkansas (Battleship: BB-33), 1910 (approximate), undated
Box 12 Folder 4
Five Inch Night Firing, undated
Image of firing exercise.
Box 12 Folder 5
U.S.S. Helm (Destroyer: DD-388), undated
CAPT Percival Eaton McDowell's first command.
Box 12 Folder 6
Percival Eaton McDowell, 1923-1952, undated
Portraits of McDowell. Includes images of his wife, Azalea Adelaide McDowell, and father, CAPT Willis McDowell.
Box 12 Folder 7
Willis McDowell, 1898-1930, undated
Portraits of Willis McDowell as well as images of an awards ceremony at the Naval Gun Factory. Includes images of McDowell's wife, Grace Adelaide Delamater McDowell.
Box 12 Folder 8
Memories of Yalta, 1945
Commemorative album from the Yalta Conference.
Box 12 Folder 9
U.S.S. New Jersey (Battleship: BB-62), 1943, undated
Primarily images from the ship's commissioning.
Box 12 Folder 10
Richard Nixon, undated
Autographed portrait. Includes autographed portrait of Pat Nixon.
Box 12 Folder 11
U.S.S. Oklahoma (Battleship: BB-37), undated
Box 12 Folder 12
U.S.S. Porter (Torpedo boat: TB-6), undated
CAPT Willis McDowell's command.
Box 13[OS] Folder 6
Torpedo Boat Squadron, undated
Box 12 Folder 13
U.S.S. Tucson (Light cruiser: CL-98), 1945 (approximate)
CAPT Percival Eaton McDowell's flagship as Commander, Destroyer Flotilla Three.
Box 13[OS] Folder 7
United States Naval Academy Class of 1897, 1896
Box 12 Folder 14
United States Naval Academy Class of 1897, 1897
Box 12 Folder 15
Washington Navy Yard Change of Command, 1930, undated
