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 This page houses the personal diary
of Colonel Robert L. Denig, USMC, during his stint as Northern
Area Commander in Ocotal in 1929-30, along with other
papers & photos in the Denig collection pertaining to Nicaragua.
The originals are housed in the
Archives & Special Collections room of the Marine Corps Research
Center in Quantico, VA. (Right: Denig, at
center; detail of photo in Denig Collection, MCRC)
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.
I
dedicate this page to the memory of Dr. David Clark Brooks,
native of Deep River, CT, longtime public servant in the US
State Department, historian of Nicaragua, and a very dear
friend who died much too young in April 2014. David
introduced me to Denig's "Diary of a Guardia Officer," and we had many long
discussions & arguments about how to read it & what it meant &
means. I remember back in October 1990 in the city of
Ocotal, David balancing a dog-eared copy of the "Diary" on
his lap reading selections aloud, in spontaneous Spanish
translation, to the esteemed Dr. Emilio Gutiérrez Gutiérrez in
the good doctor's sitting room in his home next to the town's central square. In his inimitable way, David charmed the
socks off this 89 year-old pillar of Ocotal high society, to
whose home he had somehow managed an invitation, and used
Denig's "Diary," something tangible & authentic & real, as a cultural bridge to
help bring these very different
worlds together in greater mutual understanding. That was
Dave.
Always seeking authentic human connections and to bring out the best in people, Dr. David Clark Brooks, US State Department, with the
exceptionally talented emerging comic book artist Machai
Ferreira, Luanda, Angola, 2013.
Click on the image below to access the
full text of Denig's "Diary" in one large PDF file.
Warning: the file weighs in at a hefty
183 MB.
Other papers & photos in the Robert L. Denig Collection
in the MCRC (click on thumbnails for JPEG images; the
first nine items were photographed at 72 dpi; the remaining
images & photos were scanned at 600 dpi):
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June 25, 1930.
Patrol Report of Captain O'Leary, Las Nubes, to Col.
Denig, Ocotal, with translation of note by Juan Pablo
Umanzor appended.
xxx
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June 26, 1930.
Col. R. L. Denig, extract from telegram from Jefe
Director.
xxx
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August 3, 1930.
"Great Northern News," Ocotal, cover, p. 1.
xxx
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August 3, 1930.
"Great Northern News," Ocotal, p. 2.
xxx
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August 3, 1930.
"Great Northern News," Ocotal, p. 3.
xxx
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August 3, 1930.
"Great Northern News," Ocotal, p. 4.
xxx
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ca. August 3,
1930. Cartoon drawing of "His Royal
Highness" Col. Denig with his mule Geniveve.
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January 12, 1930.
Sketch of battle of Las Cruces near Quilalí.
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ca. January 12,
1930. "Sketch Map of San Juan Area."
xxx
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August 3, 1930.
"Great Northern News," Ocotal, cover.
(Scanned in high resolution)
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ca. January 12,
1930. Cartoon depiction of "The First Plane
Drop, Peña Blanca, 1927."
(Scanned in high
resolution.) A fascinating lampooning &
exocization of Nicaraguans as half-naked Pacific
Islanders, or native savages, or something.
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ca. 1930.
Col. Denig in Ocotal, with who appears to be Liberal
Gen. Augusto Caldera of the Nicaraguan Voluntarios
(second from left). No caption, no date.
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ca. 1930.
Col. Denig in Ocotal with who appears to be Gen. Augusto
Caldera at his left (to the viewer's right). No
caption, no date.
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ca. 1930.
Rear of photo reads: "Maria Theresa
Salcedo, School Teacher of Ocotal & her staff. Colonel
R. L. Denig of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua."
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END OF ROBERT L. DENIG COLLECTION.
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