Scope and Content Note
The papers of Lee McCardell (1901-1963) span the years 1867 to 2009, with the bulk of the material dating from 1927 to 1963. The papers are in English and are organized into the following series: Pre-World War II , World War II , Post-World War II , Personal Writings , and Artifacts .
The Pre-World War II series consists of family and general correspondence, writings, clippings, and other materials from McCardell's early years as a journalist in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as his year-long stint working for newspapers in New York and Paris. The bulk of correspondence is between McCardell and then future wife Nancy Arnold during his time away from Baltimore. Letters exchanged from New York describe personal and vocational matters. Letters from abroad describe McCardell's arrival in London and crossing to Paris in 1928, and impressions of fellow American journalists and expatriates, French cuisine, museums, jazz clubs, and theaters. His last two weeks overseas spent traveling throughout Germany and Austria are also described. General correspondence consists of letters from friends and correspondence with publishers and magazines regarding his unsuccessful attempts to publish two novels: "Community Chest" and "The Bravest Are the Cazadores." Miscellany includes extensive notes and research for a series of articles on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Professional writings include dispatches from London and Paris, and various clippings, the majority of which were written by McCardell.
The World War II series includes correspondence, writings, clippings, photographs, and other materials from McCardell's work as a foreign correspondent in Europe and North Africa from 1942 to 1945. Also included are materials documenting a two week assignment reporting on the occupation of Iceland in August 1941. Correspondence is primarily between McCardell and his wife and three daughters: Mary Ann ("Dah"), Abby, and Sarah Susan ("Tilly"). Correspondence with his daughters consists mostly of picture postcards from places he travelled. In letters to his wife, McCardell often expressed frustration at being away from his family, the uncertainties of his travel assignments, and the difficulty of writing stories subject to army censors. His letters from 1942 describe his experience covering basic training and combat drills with the Twenty-Ninth Infantry Division before posting overseas. Letters from England describe hardships in London during wartime, visits to the country with the air corps, and competition among reporters and the challenges of transmitting stories by cable. Letters dating from January 1944 describe moving through North Africa and Italy; the battle of Monte Cassino and refugees from the monastery; and waiting for a ship back to England at an undisclosed location. From June 1944, McCardell's letters describe the Allied invasion of Europe and his experiences with the Ninth Air Force fighting in France, including, flying passenger in a bomber over the Normandy beaches on D-Day, the fall of Cherbourg to Allied forces, and catching a ride into Paris with members of the French resistance ahead of authorized United States entry, becoming one of the first American reporters to enter the liberated city. Other letters discuss the controversy of his termination from the Ninth Air Force for failure to report exclusively on Air Force activity, and subsequent reassignment to the U.S. Third Army for the remainder of combat. Miscellany includes several photographs taken by McCardell in the field and relayed to the Baltimore Evening Sun. Professional writings consist chiefly of newspaper stories by McCardell concerning the war industry buildup and Japanese internment camps in California, Europe in wartime, a well-known 1942 Christmas letter to his children that was published and reprinted in Baltimore newspapers, and his homecoming.
The Post-World War II series consists of correspondence, writings, clippings, photographs, and other materials from McCardell's postwar career, the bulk dating from 1945 to 1963. Included are materials from his appointments as chief of both the London and Rome bureaus of the Baltimore Evening Sun. Much of the family correspondence discusses his frequent trips throughout the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East while posted abroad. Letters dating from April 1946 recount his assignment on a diplomatic voyage to the Eastern Mediterranean aboard the Missouri (battleship), including stops in Istanbul, Athens, Piraeus, Algiers, and Tangiers. During his posting in London, his letters describe the austerity still pervasive in England following the war. Letters from March 1947 were posted during his travels through Malta, Egypt, Palestine, and Jordan. From Rome, McCardell's letters discuss setting up the Rome bureau office and reporting on the Middle East. Letters dated October to November 1957 are postmarked Amman, Tehran, Istanbul, Beruit, Ankara, Tunis, and Jerusalem. Professional writings focus on events in North Africa and the Middle East. A notable ten-part series, published in September 1957, details McCardell's week spent among Arab revolutionaries in Algeria during the Algerian War of Independence. The piece presents the war from the Arabs' point of view, and was discounted by the French authorities. Another 1949 series explores the progress of the Marshall Plan throughout Western Europe. McCardell also wrote a regular column from Rome. Miscellany consists chiefly of pamplets, maps, programs, and other items from Rome and the Middle East.
The Personal Writings series consists of biographies, diaries and notebooks, family history, novels, plays, poems, and short stories written by McCardell and not printed in newspapers. The majority are unpublished works and date from 1920 to 1963. Ill-Starred General, a biography of Revolutionary War General Edward Braddock, is McCardell's only published monograph. Fiction pieces cover a variety of topics, and include some short stories about journalism: "Apprenticeship"; "How Newspaper Is Developed"; and "How to Be a War Correspondent."
Artifacts in the collection consist of press ribbons, armbands, and buttons, dated 1938-1939; a button reading Czechoslovakia Shall Be Free Again; a pair of goggles; and a military uniform hat, seen worn by McCardell in photographs.