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Vern Haugland Papers, 1908-1987

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Haugland, Vern, 1908-1984
Title
Vern Haugland Papers
Dates
1908-1987 (inclusive)
Quantity
11.75 linear feet and 1 oversized box
Collection Number
Mss 153 (collection)
Summary
Vern Haugland was a journalist who served in World War II and covered flight and space exploration. The collection contains a variety of materials collected and produced by Haugland as part of his journalism career, personal writing, and enduring interest in the military.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and the University of Montana--Missoula.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for creating this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Vern Haugland was born May 27, 1908, to Olaus and Hannah Haugland of Litchfield, Minnesota, the eighth of eleven children. In 1913, the family moved to a ranch in Meagher County, Montana. After graduating from Gallatin High School, Haugland attended the University of Washington for two years, and finished his degree at the State University of Montana in Missoula in 1931, receiving his BA in Journalism. He then worked for two years with the Missoula Sentinel and the Daily Missoulian. In 1933, he moved to Butte, Montana, and worked as a general reporter for The Montana Standard, and in 1936 Haugland joined the Associated Press' Salt Lake City Bureau. Two years later he transferred to the Los Angeles Bureau. While there he was given the assignment of dating the ten most eligible ladies of Hollywood.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Haugland volunteered for overseas duty. He was the first AP reporter to arrive in Brisbane, Australia. On August 7, 1942 the B26 bomber, the Martin Marauder, that Haugland was traveling in ran out of fuel, forcing him and the crew to bail out over New Guinea. Haugland was lost in the New Guinea jungle for 47 days. He wrote a book, Letter From New Guinea, about his experiences in 1943. In recognition for his heroism, General MacArthur pinned a Silver Star on Haugland on October 1, while he was still delirious from starvation and exhaustion. Haugland was the first civilian to receive the Silver Star. After recovering, he continued to cover the war in the Pacific. He returned to the United States in mid-1944 for a short stay, during which he married his long-time sweetheart, Tesson McMahon. He and Tess had two daughters, Taya and Marcia. Towards the end of the war, Haugland became an Air Correspondent with the Associated Press. This special group of correspondents were the first to arrive in Shanghai and visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the dropping of the atomic bombs. At the end of the war, he was assigned to cover the Indonesian Revolution.

He was forced to return to the United States in March of 1946 after contracting jaundice. Haugland was assigned to the AP's Washington Bureau and in 1951 took over as aviation editor. Starting in the 1950s until his retirement, he covered the NASA space program. NASA called him "the world's most experienced splashdown reporter." Haugland retired from the AP in 1973 and moved with his wife Tess to San Clemente, California. Haugland never retired from writing, though. He wrote two books on the Eagle Squadrons, a group of American men during World War II who flew for the British before America entered the war. He was finishing the third book when he died on September 15, 1984. His wife finished the book for him.

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Content Description

The collection contains a variety of materials collected and produced by Haugland as part of his journalism career, personal writing, and enduring interest in the military. Correspondence from his career was mostly conducted for research purposes and includes exchanges with many military personnel. Writings include manuscripts of articles, including those written for the Associated Press and his novel. There are financial materials related to his many travels for his work, along with his travel documents like passports. There are research materials related to NASA and the space program, as well as K'tut Tantri in Indonesia. There are clippings of many of his articles, some personal materials, and memorabilia. Last, there are photographs of Haugland and that he collected for his work.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to the University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

Vern Haugland Papers, Archives and Special Collections, The University of Montana--Missoula.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is divided into ten series:

Series I: General Correspondence, 2.75 linear feet, 1942-1984

Series II: Writings, 3.75 linear feet, 1942-1983

Series III: Financial Records, 29 folders, 1938-1981

Series IV: Legal Documents, 12 folders, 1942-1977

Series V: Research Materials, 1.75 linear feet, 1943-1987

Series VI: Clippings, 1.25 linear feet, 1930-1986

Series VII: Personal, 1.25 linear feet, 1908-1987

Series VIII: Memorabilia, 2.0 linear feet, 1942-1978

Series IX: [empty]

Series X: Photographs, 1936-1983

Series XI: Lithographs, 1 folder, undated

Custodial History

The materials in this collection were originally donated to The University of Montana School of Journalism in 1988. Upon receipt of the materials, the School of Journalism retained all bound books for display purposes while all other materials were immediately transferred to the K. Ross Toole Archives. In 1990 the School of Journalism transferred all bound books and subsequent materials received from the donor to the archives for final processing.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the University of Montana School of Journalism, 1990.

Processing Note

The actions of the original processor are unknown. In 1998 the collection was rearranged and divided into ten series. Several items were placed in oversize boxes for preservation purposes. The photographs in this collection were separated during original processing. Procedures for processing the photographs were not documented. Some of the photographs may have been entered into the archives general photograph collection without attribution to the Vern Haugland Papers. In 2003, 384 unprocessed photographs were identified and re-associated with the Vern Haugland Papers.

Separated Materials

The following books were moved to the Mansfield Library's general book collection during 1998 processing:

The Aerospace Corporation its Work: 1960-1980, Portz, Matthew H.

All About Helicopters, Howard, Jean Ross

Always Another Dawn: The Story of a Rocket Test Pilot, Crossfield, A. Scott with Clay Blair, Jr.

A New Way of the Cross, Ather M. Raymond, O.C.S.O.

Apollo, Chappell, Russell

Apollo at Go, Sutton, Jeff

Apollo Expeditions to the Moon, Cortright, Edgar

Around the World in 1,000 Pictures: A Photographic Encyclopedia of Travel to Foreign Lands, Runyon, A. Milton and Bergane, Vilma F.

The Birth of Aviation: Kitty Hawk, N.C., Brown, Aycock

The Book of Mars, Glasstone, Samuel

Catcher in the Rye (A Critical Commentary), Salinger, J.D.

Celebrating the National Air and Space Museum, CBS Publications

Chariots from Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft, Brooks, Courtney G.; Grimwood, James M.; Swenson, Lloyd S., Jr.

Crusade for Airpower: The Story of the Air Force Association, Straubel, James H.

Discussions of the Novel, Sale, Roger

Famous First Flights Across the Atlantic, Delear, Frank J.

Flying Saucers from Outer Space, Keyhoe, Donald E.; Major U.S. Marine Corps, Retired

Footprints on the Moon, The Associated Press

For There is in London, Tour Book

From the Captain to the Colonel: An Informal History of Eastern Airplanes, Sterling, Robert J.

From the Wright Brothers to the Astronauts: The Memoirs of Major General Benjamin D. Foulois, Glines, Colonel C.V., USAF

Guam Interlude, Arnhym, Albert A.

The History of Rocket Technology, Emme, Eugene M.

History of Rocketry and Space Travel, von Braun, Wernher; Ordway III, Frederick I.

It's Really Round, Anderson, Don

Journey to Tranquility: The Long Competitive Struggle to Reach the Moon, Young, Hugo; Silcock, Bryan; Dunn, Peter

Kill Devil Hill: Discovering the Secret of the Wright Brothers, Combs, Harry with Caidin, Martin

Loud and Clear: The Full Answer to Aviation's Vital Questions: Are the Jets Really Safe?, Sterling, Robert J.

Men of the Pentagon: From Forrestral to McNamara, Borkland, C.W.

NASA Astronauts: Fact Sheet; Release Ne. 75-20, January, 1975

The Next Fifty Years of Flight, Bergaust, Erik

On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini, Hacker, Barton C.; Grimwood, James M.

Orders of Magnitude: A History of NACA and NASA, 1915-1976, Anderson, Frank W., Jr.

The Partnership: A History of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Ezell, Edward Clinton; Ezell, Linda Neuman

The Pilot Maker, Lloyd L. Kelly as told by Robert B. Parke

The Probable Cause_The Truth about Air Travel Today, Sterling, Robert J.

Project Vanguard: The Story of Project Vanguard by its Head of Propulsion, Stehling, Kurt R.

The Putt-Putt Air Force: The Story of the Civilian Pilot Training Program and the War Training Service (1939-1944), Strickland, Patricia

Reporting to Remember: Unforgettable Stories and Pictures of World War II, Correspondents of the Associated Press

Revolt in Paradise, Tantri, K'tut

Rockets and Missiles, Bergaust, Erik

Safety in General Aviation, Hoekstra, Harold D.; Huang, Shung-chai

Seven Decades of Progress: A Heritage of Aircraft Turbine Technology, General Electric

The Sky Pirates: The Complete, Authoritative Story of Aerial Hijacking, Describing What Has Happened and Why, Arey, James A.

Spaceport U.S.A.: The Story of Cape Canaveral and the Air Force Missile Test Center, Caidn, Martin

Spinoff 1977: An Annual Report, Haggerty, James J.

Spun Sequence, Poems by John Varney

The Story of the Winged-S: Late Development and Recent Photographs of the Helicopter: An Autobiography, Sikorsky, Igor I.

Supermarine Spitfire, Bowyer, Chet

This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury, Swenson, Lloyd S.; Grimwood, James M.; Alexander, Charles C.

TRW Space Log 1970-1971, TRW Systems Group

Two Hundred Thousand Flyers: The Story of the Civilian-AAF Pilot Training Program, Winer, Willard

UFOS-Identified, Klass, Philip J.

Underwater Man: His Evolution and Explorations, MacInnis, Joseph B., M.D.; Lindbergh, Jon M.

The Viking Mission to Mars, Marietta, Martin

War Eagles: The Story of 71 Eagle Squadron, Childers, James Saxon

Wernher von Braun, Bergaust, Erik

The Wild Blue: The Story of American Airpower, Loosbrock, John F.; Skinner, Richard M.

World Atlas, C.S. Hammond & Company

The World in 1968: History as We Lived It, The Associated Press

The World in 1969: History as We Lived It, The Associated Press

The World in 1971: History as We Lived It, The Associated Press

The World in 1972: History as We Lived It, The Associated Press

Related Materials

The U.S. Air Force Academy Library holds some materials related to Haugland.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Americans--Great Britain
  • Americans--New Guinea
  • Fighter pilots--Great Britain
  • Fighter pilots--United States
  • Outer space--Exploration
  • World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American
  • World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, British.
  • World War, 1939-1945--Journalists
  • World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Ocean
  • World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
  • World War, 1939-1945--New Guinea

Personal Names

  • Tantri, K'tut

Corporate Names

  • Associated Press
  • University of Montana--Missoula--Alumni and alumnae
  • Great Britain. Royal Air Force. Eagle Squadron
  • United States. Army Air Forces
  • United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Geographical Names

  • Indonesia--History
  • New Guinea--Description and travel

Form or Genre Terms

  • Personal papers
  • Photographs

Occupations

  • Authors, American.
  • Journalists--United States
  • War correspondents--United States

Finding aid prepared by Jannie Prawitz (1998) and Anne Sullivan (2003)
2003

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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