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THIS IS THE SECOND OF TWO PAGES housing materials culled from the
Wilburt S. Brown collection in the Marine Corps Research Center (CLICK
HERE FOR PAGE 1).
These materials were selected because they shed some
light on events in Las Segovias and Nicaragua and the agency of
Nicaraguans in shaping their own history during this period.
Only some of this material was written by Brown — a good portion
consists of the letters, reports, memos, and cards that he
received and saved.
Smart, perceptive, effective & canny, Brown was also proficient in
Spanish and wrote very well in English; his reports brim with
details & specifics (see e.g.
PC-DOCS BROWN
27.12.07). A 2nd Lieutenant in the
Nicaraguan campaign, Brown went on to become a Major General in
World War II. His
Wikipedia biography (offsite) offers a crisp synopsis of his military
career. In 1963, after his retirement from the Marines,
the 63 year-old Brown earned a Ph.D. in History at the
University of Alabama. A brief biography and inventory of materials in the Brown collection can be found online by searching the holdings of the
Marine Corps University, or by clicking here (offsite
link to PDF file).
This page houses 48 JPEG files comprising 27 documents produced from 1927 to
1960. Most exciting to find were two sets of letters on
two key Nicaraguan players in the Sandino drama: the
Telpaneca lawyer Nicanor Espinosa — executed by the Sandinistas
in 1929 for his collaboration with the Marines — and José Santos Rivera of San Rafael del Norte, an
important informant and guide for the Marines & Guardia early in
the war. The collection also includes the only known
original letter written by the Mexican Sandinista General Manuel
Echeverría (15 Dec. 1927). We also see Brown remembering
back a third of a century to the Nicaraguan campaign.
There's a lot here.
Grateful acknowledgement is extended to the
staff of Archives & Special Collections of the MCRC; to Lebanon
Valley College students Olivia Edwards, Nicole Wilhelm, and Mary
"Katie" Yost for their excellent work at the MCRC for three days in
early January 2015; and to the Arnold Grant in Experiential
Education for funding this research.
Click on thumbnails below to view full images
(JPEG files), with the Espinosa, Rivera & Echeverria letters in
high-resolution scans (600 dpi) and the remainder photographed
(72 dpi).
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March 31, 1927. "Protection for
Matagalpa - Managua road gang." Gen. R. Y.
Rhea, Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Forces On Shore in
Western Nicaragua, Managua, to the C.O. 3rd Battalion,
5th Regt., Matagalpa.
xxx
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September 12, 1927. "Orders." From
C.O. 5th Regt. Jinotega to 2nd Lt. W. S. Brown,
Jinotega, p. 1.
xxx
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September 12, 1927. "Orders." From
C.O. 5th Regt. Jinotega to 2nd Lt. W. S. Brown,
Jinotega, p. 2.
xxx
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September 16, 1927. Radiogram from Berry,
Managua, to C.O. 3rd Battalion Matagalpa. xxx
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September 21, 1927. "Operation Orders,"
from C.O. Jinotega to 2nd Lt. W. S. Brown, Jinotega, p.
1.
xxx
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September 21, 1927. "Operation Orders,"
from C.O. Jinotega to 2nd Lt. W. S. Brown, Jinotega, p.
1.
xxx
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November 27, 1927. Letter to "My dear
Brown" from Capt. R. W. Peard, Ocotal, p. 1.
xxx
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November 27, 1927. Letter to "My dear
Brown" from Capt. R. W. Peard, Ocotal, p. 1.
xxx
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December 1, 1927. Letter to Capt. Dick
Livingston from Capt. Frank D. Strong.
xxx
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December 2, 1927. J. Díaz, Santa Rita, to
Sr. Coronel don Nicanor Espinosa, Telpaneca.
xxx
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December 5, 1927. J. Díaz, Santa Rita, to
Sr. Coronel don Nicanor Espinosa, Telpaneca.
xxx
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December 10, 1927. Brigade Operations
Order Number 40 (Confidential), p. 1.
xxx
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December 10, 1927. Brigade Operations
Order Number 40 (Confidential), p. 2.
xxx
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December 11, 1927. Brigade Operations
Order Number 41 (Confidential).
xxx
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December 12, 1927. J. Díaz, Santa Rita, to
Sr. Coronel don Nicanor Espinosa, Telpaneca.
xxx
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January 5, 1928. Letter from Capt. F. D.
Strong, Managua, to 2nd Lt. Wilburt S. Brown.
xxx
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May 18, 1928. "Information
requested re article 'THIS IS WAR, GENTLEMEN,' by
Carleton Beals, appearing in the Nation Magazine, dated
6 March 1928," from Brigade Inspector Henry L. Larsen,
Managua, to Lt. W. S. Brown, Matagalpa.
xxx
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June 11, 1928. 1st Endorsement by
Lt. W. S. Brown, Matagalpa, to Brigade Inspector Henry
L. Larsen,
Managua, p. 1.
xxx
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June 11, 1928. 1st Endorsement by
Lt. W. S. Brown, Matagalpa, to Brigade Inspector Henry
L. Larsen,
Managua, p. 2.
xxx
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June 22, 1928. "Information
requested re article 'THIS IS WAR, GENTLEMEN,' . . . "
Capt. R. W. Peard, Ocotal, to Brigade Inspector Henry L.
Larsen, Managua.
xxx
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August 12, 1928. Wilburt S. Brown,
Matagalpa, to Major W. H. Rupertus, Operations Officer,
Washington D.C., p. 1.
xxx
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August 12, 1928. Wilburt S. Brown,
Matagalpa, to Major W. H. Rupertus, Operations Officer,
Washington D.C., p. 2.
xxx
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February 8, 1929. Letter from Carlos
Haslam to Wilburt S. Brown, p. 1.
xxx
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February 8, 1929. Letter from Carlos
Haslam to Wilburt S. Brown, p. 1.
xxx
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May 2, 1929. Commendation of certain
enlisted men, Recommendation for," 2nd Lt. W. S. Brown,
Tuma, to Senior Member, Board of Awards, HQ, 5th Regt.,
Managua, p. 1.
xxx
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May 2, 1929. Commendation of certain
enlisted men, Recommendation for," 2nd Lt. W. S. Brown,
Tuma, to Senior Member, Board of Awards, HQ, 5th Regt.,
Managua, p. 2.
xxx
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May 2, 1929. Commendation of certain
enlisted men, Recommendation for," 2nd Lt. W. S. Brown,
Tuma, to Senior Member, Board of Awards, HQ, 5th Regt.,
Managua, p. 3.
xxx
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May 2, 1929. Commendation of certain
enlisted men, Recommendation for," 2nd Lt. W. S. Brown,
Tuma, to Senior Member, Board of Awards, HQ, 5th Regt.,
Managua, p. 4.
xxx
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May 2, 1929. Commendation of certain
enlisted men, Recommendation for," 2nd Lt. W. S. Brown,
Tuma, to Senior Member, Board of Awards, HQ, 5th Regt.,
Managua, p. 5.
xxx
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May 2, 1929. Commendation of certain
enlisted men, Recommendation for," 2nd Lt. W. S. Brown,
Tuma, to Senior Member, Board of Awards, HQ, 5th Regt.,
Managua, p. 6.
xxx
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January 11, 1930. Recommendation of
Daniel E. Macon, ex-Sgt., USMC, from 2nd Lt. Wilburt S.
Brown, USS Saratoga.
xxx
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October 1, 1930. Award of Nicaraguan
Medal of Merit & Citation, Major Gen. Commandant B. H.
Fuller to 1st Lt. Wilburt S. Brown.
xxx
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October 1, 1930. Award of Nicaraguan
Medal of Merit & Citation to 1st Lt. Wilburt S. Brown.
xxx
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November 20, 1930. Letter from
Wilburt S. Brown, Puget Sound WA, to Mjr. E. N.
McLellan, Washington D.C., p. 1.
xxx
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November 20, 1930. Letter from
Wilburt S. Brown, Puget Sound WA, to Mjr. E. N.
McLellan, Washington D.C., p. 2.
xxx
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November 20, 1930. Letter from
Wilburt S. Brown, Puget Sound WA, to Mjr. E. N.
McLellan, Washington D.C., p. 3.
xxx
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November 20, 1930. Letter from
Wilburt S. Brown, Puget Sound WA, to Mjr. E. N.
McLellan, Washington D.C., p. 4.
xxx
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November 20, 1930. Letter from
Wilburt S. Brown, Puget Sound WA, to Mjr. E. N.
McLellan, Washington D.C., p. 5.
xxx
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October 4, 1932. Award of la
Medalla del Mérito Nicaragüense to Major John F. Swift
Norris.
xxx
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November 20, 1940. Letter from José
Santos Rivera, San Rafael del Norte, to Sr. Major Dn
Wilburt Scott Brown, U.S.M.C., p. 1.
xxx
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November 20, 1940. Letter from José
Santos Rivera, San Rafael del Norte, to Sr. Major Dn
Wilburt Scott Brown, U.S.M.C., p. 2.
xxx
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January 4, 1941. Letter from José
Santos Rivera, San Rafael del Norte, to Sr. Major Dn
Wilburt Scott Brown, U.S.M.C., p. 1.
xxx
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ca. February 1, 1941. Letter from
Wilburt S. Brown, USS Pennsylvania, to José
Santos Rivera, San Rafael del Norte, p. 1.
xxx
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ca. February 1, 1941. Letter from
Wilburt S. Brown, USS Pennsylvania, to José
Santos Rivera, San Rafael del Norte, p. 2.
xxx
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February 2, 1941. Letter from to
José Santos Rivera, San Rafael del Norte, to Sr. Mayor
Don Wilburt S. Brown, USS Pennsylvania, p. 1.
xxx
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August 27, 1960. Reminiscences on
events on patrol in Las Segovias in December 1927 &
January 1928, p. 1.
xxx
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August 27, 1960. Reminiscences on
events on patrol in Las Segovias in December 1927 &
January 1928, p. 3.
xxx
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August 27, 1960. Map accompanying
reminiscences on events on patrol in Las Segovias in
December 1927 & January 1928, p. 3.
xxx
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END OF WILBURT S. BROWN COLLECTION.
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