Scope and Content Note
The papers of John Dougall Metcalfe (1918-2000) span the years from 1878 to 1996, with the bulk of the material dating from 1941 to 1963. The collection documents Metcalfe's career in the United States Navy from 1941 to 1963, particularly his service during World War II and his postwar activities relating to nuclear weapons testing and training, and a small amount of material pertaining to Metcalfe's post-military career in electronics. The papers are in English.
Although not comprehensive in scope, the collection covers in detail Metcalfe’s naval career from his early years as a radio operator monitoring the coastal harbor and ship stations from Sitka, Alaska, to his postwar work pertaining to the Navy's involvement in the testing of nuclear weapons and its training of personnel for its nuclear program. The bulk of the collection is made up of letters from Metcalfe to his family, which he signed by his nickname "Jack." The letters are almost journal-like in their descriptions of Metcalfe’s assignments both at sea and on shore as well as his activities while on leave. The collection documents Metcalfe's training as a radio technician at Naval Station Treasure Island, near San Francisco, California (1943), his time as a student and instructor at Texas A & M University radio school (1943), his service on the Shangri-La (aircraft carrier) during nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands (1946), his participation in "Operation Highjump" on the Currituck (seaplane tender) for Richard Evelyn Byrd's fourth Antarctic expedition (1946-1947), his tenure as an instructor at Radio Matériel School, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. (1947-1948), his assignments as part of the atom bomb tests at the Sandia Base Albuquerque, New Mexico (1948), his activities at the Naval Training Center San Diego, California (1952 to 1953), and his sea duty on the Pacific Ocean with stops at Hawaii, Japan, and Hong Kong (1957). The family correspondence also provides details of Metcalfe’s shore leaves, including hikes in Alaska and the Muir Woods of California as well as sightseeing in Washington, D.C. A few letters contain a map or drawings relating to his location.
The general correspondence is made up mostly of letters from friends and acquaintances of Metcalfe and his wife, Jean Violet, with the bulk dating from 1985 to 1987. The subject file documents primarily Metcalfe's education and training; his employment, including a small amount of documentation relating to Metcalfe's post-naval employment with early electronics firms in northern California (now known as Silicon Valley) and with the Stanford Research Institute; and his naval orders, assignments, and commendations, located in the military file. Also in the subject file are photographs relating to Metcalfe's military service.