Edmund H. Gleason collection
Scope and Contents
This collection contains flyers, posters, scrapbooks, photographs, slides and film related to the naval career of Commander Edmund Gleason.
Of particular note are the materials related to the U.S. Navy Passage to Freedom Operation in 1954. The Passage to Freedom material includes a photograph scrapbook of refugee camps, transport ships, and other related activities; 2 reels of film documenting the operation; Vietnamese political flyers and posters; newspaper clippings about the operation; and correspondence with his family.
There are also materials related to his tour in Danang, Vietnam in 1967-1968. These include film, slides, and a photo of the Preventive Medicine Staff.
The collection also includes materials related to the 1966 NEY Award competition (photo scrapbook) and materials related to fellow U.S. Navy officer Thomas A. Dooley (book and clippings).
Dates
- Creation: 1950 - 1986
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.
Biographical Note
Edmund H. Gleason was born in Newton, Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1949 with a degree in Public Health. He joined the U.S. Navy and was promoted to Lieutenant (Medical Service Core) in 1951; to Lieutenant Commander in 1955; and to Commander in 1961. He retired from the Navy on July 1, 1970 with the rank of Commander. He served two tours in Vietnam (1954 and 1967 - 1968). He was involved with Operation Passage to Freedom from August - September 1954. Operation Passage to Freedom was the term used by the U.S. Navy to describe its transportation in 1954 - 1955 of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam (the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) to South Vietnam (the State of Vietnam, later to become the Republic of Vietnam). He died on September 24, 1986 at the age of 71.
Extent
1 Cubic Feet (, papers, photographs, scrapbooks, film)
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisiton
Sandra Gleason,HC 00830,1,cu. ft.,Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections
Materials Specific Details
Reels 1 and 2 of the Passage to Freedom film and the 1967 Vietnam film have been digitized (2010). The DVDs are in folder 13 and have also been copied onto a hard drive.
Legal Status
Copyright: Michigan State University Property Rights: Michigan State University
- Title
- Edmund H. Gleason Collection
- Status
- 4 Published And Cataloged
- Author
- E. Busch
- Date
- December 2009
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives and Historical Collections Repository
Conrad Hall
943 Conrad Road, Room 101
East Lansing MI 48824 US
517-355-2330
archives@msu.edu