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Robert Lee Sherrod Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: --
Date: Jan 1967

Biographical History

Robert Lee Sherrod (1909-1994) was an American war correspondent, editor, and author. Born on February 8, 1909 in Thomas County, Georgia, he graduated from the University of Georgia in 1929 and began his newspaper career (1929-1935) as a reporter for various newspapers in the south. From 1935-1952, he served with Time and Life magazines as their Washington correspondent, associate editor and War and Far East Correspondent. From 1952-1966, he worked for the Saturday Evening Post as magazine editor, editor and editor-at-large. In 1965, he also took on the responsibilities of editorial coordinator for the Curtis Publishing Company and was named its vice-president in 1965.

Sherrod covered several battles during World War II, and went ashore with the U.S. Marines at the Battle of Tarawa, an experience narrated in his book Tarawa: the story of a Battle (1944). The U. S. Navy Department commended Mr. Sherrod at the Battle of Attu and at the Battle of Tarawa in 1943. In 1944, he was the recipient of the Headlines Club award for war reporting. He also received the Benjamin Franklin award in 1954, and the Overseas Press Club Certificate in 1955.

Sherrod's other books include On to Westward: the Battles of Saipan and Iwo Jima (1945), and History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II (1952). He co-authored the text for Life's Picture History of World War II (1950) and Kobonshi's Picture History of the Pacific War in Japanese.

Sherrod's first wife, Elizabeth Hudson, whom he married in 1936, died in 1958, leaving two children, John and Robert Lee. In 1961 Mr. Sherrod married Margaret C. Ruff; after their divorce in 1972 he married Mary Gay Labrot Leonhardt, who died in 1978.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Robert Lee Sherrod Papers include biographical material, correspondence, manuscripts, cabled press dispatches, photographs, notebooks, scrapbooks, published material and letters in a frame.

Correspondence comprises both incoming and outgoing correspondence. Subject files include published material, manuscripts, and correspondence. Cables consists of cabled press dispatches written or edited by Mr. Sherrod. Notebooks contain Sherrod's own handwritten notes. Subjects of Photographs include the Aleutian Islands, Attu, Iwo Jima, and Tarawa as well as family, friends, and Sherrod himself. Scrapbooks on various time periods and topics include published material, photographs, and letters. Manuscripts includes manuscripts of articles, books, book reviews, press copy, drawings, radio scripts, interviews, and speeches. Published material contains articles, books, magazine and newspaper clippings, press releases, and other printed items.

Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence and subject files are arranged alphabetically. Cables, notebooks, and scrapbooks are arranged chronologically. Manuscripts and published material are arranged alphabetically by type and within that by title.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Several of the notebooks in the original collection were returned to the donor in 1973. These are noted in the inventory below.

A few published books have been transferred to Rare Books for separate cataloging, as noted in the inventory below. Please refer to the Classic Catalog to locate these items.

Subject Headings

Persons

Agee, James, 1909-1955.
Auchinleck, Claude John Eyre, 1884-1981.
Baldwin, Hanson Weightman, 1903-1991.
Bradley, Omar Nelson, 1893-1981.
Byrnes, James F. (James Francis), 1882-1972.
Clark, Mark W. (Mark Wayne), 1896-1984.
Forrestal, James, 1892-1949.
Frick, Ford C.
Gellhorn, Martha, 1908-1998.
Henle, Raymond, 1899-1974.
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963.
Luce, Henry Robinson, 1898-1967.
Martin, Joseph W. (Joseph William), 1884-1968.
McBride, Mary Margaret, 1899-1976.
Menninger, William Claire, 1899-1966.
Mydans, Carl.
Neuberger, Richard L. (Richard Lewis), 1912-1960.
Nimitz, Chester W. (Chester William), 1885-1966.
Pineau, Roger, 1916-1993.
Radford, Arthur William.
Rayburn, Sam, 1882-1961.
Reischauer, Haru Matsukata, 1915-
Roosevelt, James, 1907-1991.
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. (Arthur Meier), 1917-2007.
Sevareid, Eric, 1912-1992.
Sherrod, Robert Lee, 1909-1994.
Shoup, David M. (David Monroe), 1904-1983.
Smith, Holland M. (Holland McTyeire), 1882-1967.
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972.
Wead, Frank W. (Frank Wilber), 1895-1947.
Winchell, Walter, 1897-1972.

Corporate Bodies

Time, inc.

Subjects

Editors -- United States.
Journalists -- United States.
Operation Crossroads, Marshall Islands, 1946.
Saipan, Battle of, Northern Mariana Islands, 1944.
War correspondents -- United States.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Journalists.

Genres and Forms

Articles.
Awards.
Bills of sale.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Dispatches.
Drawings (visual works)
Interviews.
Manuscripts for publication.
Notebooks.
Photographs.
Press releases.
Radio scripts.
Receipts (financial records)
Scrapbooks.
Speeches (documents)
Telegrams.

Occupations

Editors.
Journalists.
War correspondents.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Robert Lee Sherrod Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Robert L. Sherrod, 1966.

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Subject files

Cables

Notebooks

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Manuscripts

Published material

Inventory