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 THIS
IS THE FIRST OF TWO PAGES housing materials culled from
the collection of General Graves B. Erskine in
the MCRC's Archives & Special Collections (CLICK HERE FOR PAGE
2). As his Wikipedia entry aptly
summarizes (offsite),
the most historically memorable action of Gen. Graves Blanchard Erskine (June 28, 1897 –
May 21, 1973) was commanding the 3rd Marine Division during
the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. After the war he went on to play a key role in shaping US policy in East
Asia & Southeast Asia during the Cold War: "In June 1950,
the Secretary of Defense appointed General Erskine as Chief of
Military Group, Joint State-Defense Mutual Defense Assistance
Program Survey Mission to Southeast Asia. . . . he visited the
Philippines, French Indochina, Malaya, Thailand and Indonesia .
. . [he] received orders in December 1950 . . . as Commanding
General of the Department of the Pacific [and] performed
additional duties as Member of the Advisory Group, Western Sea
Frontier and Commanding General, Marine Corps Emergency Forces,
Western Sea Frontier." In 1949, he served as a consultant
for the Academy Award-nominated film, The Sands of Iwo Jima,
starring John Wayne. (Right: Capt. Graves B.
Erskine in Nicaragua, 1929).
The collection housed here goes back to the days when
Graves B. Erskine was a mere Captain in the Marine Corps.
It houses only six documents (in 24 JPEG files), but each is exceptional — like the
affectionate letter of March 3, 1932 from soon-to-be Jefe
Director of the Guardia Nacional and, soon after, dictator of
Nicaragua Anastasio Somoza
García. Another real gem is the fifth document, a record of events during
Capt. Erskine's service as Aide to President José María Moncada
from January 1 to May 1, 1929 (much of it handwritten and hard
to decipher, in 16 JPEG images — any intrepid volunteer
transcribers out there?).
PAGE 2 of this G. B. Erskine collection houses 20 photographs
of Nicaragua in the MCRC's
archives. The photos too are exceptional.
Grateful acknowledgement is extended to the
staff of Archives & Special Collections of the Marine Corps
Research Center in Quantico VA; 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.
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April 19, 1931.
Capt. Graves B. Erskine, "Radio Talk: Marines in
Nicaragua" (broadcast over station WHAT Philadelphia,
PA), p. 1.
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April 19, 1931.
Capt. Graves B. Erskine, "Radio Talk: Marines in
Nicaragua" (broadcast over station WHAT Philadelphia,
PA), p. 2.
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April 19, 1931.
Capt. Graves B. Erskine, "Radio Talk: Marines in
Nicaragua" (broadcast over station WHAT Philadelphia,
PA), p. 3.
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April 19, 1931.
Capt. Graves B. Erskine, "Radio Talk: Marines in
Nicaragua" (broadcast over station WHAT Philadelphia,
PA), p. 4.
xxx
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April 19, 1931.
Capt. Graves B. Erskine, "Radio Talk: Marines in
Nicaragua" (broadcast over station WHAT Philadelphia,
PA), p. 5.
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December 19,
1928. Agreement between Dr. L. Zelaya, Managua,
and Capt. Graves B. Erskine, USMC. Rental
agreement for Capt. Erskine to rent Zelaya's house in
Managua.
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June 1, 1931.
Letter from President José María Moncada, Managua, to
Capt. G. B. Erskine, Philadelphia.
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March 3, 1932.
Letter from Anastasio Somoza García, Subsecretario de
Relaciones Exteriores, Managua, to Capt. G. B. Erskine,
Filadelfia PA, p. 1.
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March 3, 1932.
Letter from Anastasio Somoza García, Subsecretario de
Relaciones Exteriores, Managua, to Capt. G. B. Erskine,
Filadelfia PA, p. 2.
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January 1 to May
1, 1929. Diary of Capt. G. B. Erskine as aide to
President J. M. Moncada, p. 1.
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January 1 to May
1, 1929. Diary of Capt. G. B. Erskine as aide to
President J. M. Moncada, p. 2.
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January 1 to May
1, 1929. Diary of Capt. G. B. Erskine as aide to
President J. M. Moncada, p. 3.
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January 1 to May
1, 1929. Diary of Capt. G. B. Erskine as aide to
President J. M. Moncada, p. 4.
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January 1 to May
1, 1929. Diary of Capt. G. B. Erskine as aide to
President J. M. Moncada, p. 5.
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January 1 to May
1, 1929. Diary of Capt. G. B. Erskine as aide to
President J. M. Moncada, p. 6.
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January 1 to May
1, 1929. Diary of Capt. G. B. Erskine as aide to
President J. M. Moncada, p. 7.
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January 1 to May
1, 1929. Diary of Capt. G. B. Erskine as aide to
President J. M. Moncada, p. 8.
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January 1 to May
1, 1929. Diary of Capt. G. B. Erskine as aide to
President J. M. Moncada, p. 9.
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January 1 to May
1, 1929. Diary of Capt. G. B. Erskine as aide to
President J. M. Moncada, p. 10.
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January 1 to May
1, 1929. Diary of Capt. G. B. Erskine as aide to
President J. M. Moncada, p. 11.
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January 1 to May
1, 1929. Diary of Capt. G. B. Erskine as aide to
President J. M. Moncada, p. 12.
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1970?
Oral History Transcript, General Graves. B. Erskine,
USMC (title page), p. 1.
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1970?
Oral History Transcript, General Graves. B. Erskine,
USMC (p. 101), p. 2.
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1970?
Oral History Transcript, General Graves. B. Erskine,
USMC (p. 102), p. 3.
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TO PAGE 2 OF
G. B. ERSKINE PAPERS |
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