This collection (c. 1880-2001) contains the papers of three generations of U.S. Navy officers whose service covered the years 1891 through 1963. Correspondence, orders, reports, photographs, certificates, publications, a diary, ships histories, clippings and reminiscences document their careers and that of Waldron McLellon's uncle who served in the U.S. Navy from 1934 through 1952. Waldron M. McLellon graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1941 and copious material relates to the lives of the USNA Class of 1941 members through 2001. Other papers concern the genealogy of Waldron McLellon's family.
Waldron Murrill McLellon (b. 1918) enlisted in the Navy in June of 1936 and was discharged in June of 1937 to enter the U.S. Naval Academy. He graduated in 1941 and joined the USS OKLAHOMA in the Pacific Fleet. After the OKLAHOMA was sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the USS PERKINS. In 1942 McLellon applied for the Civil Engineer Corps and attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for postgraduate work in engineering. Throughout 1945 and 1946, McLellon served in Guam as Commander of the 30th USNC Battalion, Public Works Officer (PWO) at the U.S. Naval Medical Center and Resident Officer in charge of construction. In 1947 he was attached to Cheatham Annex of the U.S. Naval Supply Center (Norfolk) in Williamsburg, VA, as PWO and later that year to the Naval Supply Center in Norfolk. During the 1948-1952 period, Lt. Commander McLellon took a series of radiological courses and special weapons employment courses at the Army Chemical Center in Edgewood, MD, the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School at Annapolis, MD, Ohio State University, and Sandia Air Force Base in New Mexico. While stationed at Sandia, Cmdr. McLellon participated in atomic energy tests in Operation Ivy (fall 1952) with the Control Group of the Rad-Safe Unit and in Operation Castle (winter 1953-1954) as Commander Task Group 7.1 with Joint Task Force SEVEN on Eniwetok and Bikini atolls in the Marshall Islands. He also participated in atomic energy testing in Nevada as part of Operation Teapot in the spring of 1955. In 1955 McLellon was District Public Works Officer (DPWO) in San Diego and in 1957 moved to the Bureau of Yards and Docks in Washington, D.C., where he was Manager of the Atomic Energy Branch (1958) and Director of the Engineering Division (1958-1960). In 1960 Captain McLellon became the PWO and the Resident Officer in charge of construction at the Charleston Naval Shipyard. He returned to Washington, D.C., to be the Navy Representative and Chief, Operations and Training Division, of the Joint Civil Defense Support Group, Chief of Engineers Office, U.S. Army (September 1961-September 1963).
Captain McLellon retired in 1963, received a Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and taught at Clemson University from 1966 to 1969, and at Florida Technological Institute (now called University of Central Florida) where he was Chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science from 1969 to 1981 and retired as emeritus professor. After retiring from teaching, McLellon became active with reunions for the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1941 and the USS PERKINS, and with his own writing. For the fifty-year reunion of the Class of 1941 in 1991, he wrote a biography of the class titled "Proceed Immediately . . ." In 2001 he continued the Class of 1941 biography when he wrote "Double Up and Secure" for the sixty-year reunion. He also has written his memoirs "Recollections" and an addendum to it as well as numerous other reminiscences, historical articles and poems.
Other people figuring heavily in this collection are Waldron's father Commander Clyde Hall McLellon, Waldron's grandfather Lieutenant Christian Jacob Crone and Waldron's uncle David Waldron Crone, all of whom served in the U.S. Navy.
This collection is organized and described in the following eight series: Waldron M. McLellon, United States Naval Academy Class of 1941 Reunions, Genealogy, Clyde Hall McLellon, Christian Jacob Crone, David Waldron Crone, Photographs and Oversize Materials.
Series I contains files relating directly to Waldron M. McLellon and covers all aspects of his career in the Navy and his post-Navy retirement years. There is a large amount of biographical materials, school records (1925-1967), duty-related documents and orders, clippings and some correspondence found in this series. Duty and Orders files reflect his activities as Public Works Officer and Construction Officer in his various locations. The Duty files also contain material concerning come of his professional association activities, comments concerning articles he wrote and information about projects in his office. A file on radiology courses (1949-1951) and another on Eniwetok (1952-1954) reflect his activities and interests in atomic energy. The Eniwetok file contains certificates of participation in Operations Ivy and Castle and a book of cartoons put together by the men involved in Operation Castle. The cartoons are accompanied with a written description by McLellon of activities there.
During McLellon's time with the Joint Civil Defense Support Group, he and Col. A. D. Chaffin, Jr., Corps of Engineers, headed up the National Fallout Shelter Survey and Marking Program beginning in late 1961 and ending with the publication of survey results in June 1963. The Joint Civil Defense Support Group was responsible for developing and administering the National Fallout Shelter Survey, and compiling the results. The collection contains articles he wrote about the survey process and results for publications, and several Civil Defense publications (1959-1966).
There's a lot of material pertaining to McLellon's personal life such as school records, biographical documents, resumes, correspondence and clippings. Also found here are documents related to his search for a school to attend after his Naval retirement in 1963 in order to obtain his PhD, and related to post-retirement job opportunities. Along with the biographical material are his voluminous writings--reminiscences, poetry and his autobiography "Reflections." World War II is a major focus of his writings, but he also writes about other aspects of his military career as well as non-military experiences. Although McLellon did not serve in the Vietnam War, there is some material concerning problems that veterans of that war experienced as gleaned from some of the engineering students he taught that were veterans of the Vietnam War. Found with McLellon's writings are poetry by Kenneth Shirk (a firecontrolman first class aboard the USS PERKINS, 1941-1943) and reminiscences of Charles Lee Burbage about Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway Island. Correspondence with Glenn Huxley of Australia includes his article about the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour the night of May 31-June 1, 1942. He specifically recounts the sinking of the HMAS KUTTABUL of which his father Stoker W. Huxley was a survivor.
Several files give duty and background information on the USS OKLAHOMA and the USS PERKINS and contain articles on the PERKINS and other World War II battleships. There is also a copy of Boys to Men: Stories of men who served aboard the USS PERKINS [DD-377] during World War II by William P. Mitchell (2002) and a videocassette documenting the 1996 USS PERKINS crew reunion. In addition, there is an incomplete run (1991-2000) of The Perk-U-Lator, the newsletter of USS PERKINS Association.
Included in the collection in Series II are McLellon's research notes and correspondence with classmates in the United States Naval Academy Class of 1941 which were used in compiling the fifty- and sixty-year reunions books (the Lucky Bag) for that class. The copious correspondence for the fifty-year reunion book is filed alphabetically by classmates' last names while the less voluminous but still sizeable correspondence for the sixty-year reunion publication is filed by date. These letters contain a wealth of reminiscences about World War II service. Copies of the Class of 1941's twenty-year and twenty-five year reunions books as well as programs for the fifty-year reunion are found here. This series also includes clippings from the United States Naval Academy Alumni Association's publication Shipmate; almost every column about the Class of 1941 for the period of 1941 through 2000 is included in the collection.
Series III deals with the McLellon, Murrill, Shaw and Crone family genealogies. Included are genealogy notes, copies of the official Civil War service records for James Claudius Shaw of Ohio, Charles Henry Murrill of Virginia, and William Henry Crone of Pennsylvania (later of Virginia), printed material and correspondence. There's an 1888 booklet titled "Roll of the Twenty-Second National Encampment of the GAR, Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 12, 13 and 14, 1888." The McLellon Family files notes some of the genealogy of Ohio and West Virginia relations while some genealogical notes can be found in the series containing his father's and grandfather's papers and with the photographs.
Commander Clyde Hall McLellon (1885-1975) was Captain McLellon's father. He enlisted in the Navy in Boston in 1903 and rose from gunner's mate to chief warrant officer. In 1917 he received a temporary appointment as ensign and in 1918 as lieutenant jg. Until 1917, he shipped on the USS LOUISIANA, the USS CULGOA, and the USS NEW HAMPSHIRE specializing in torpedo work. In 1918 he was assigned to Fromentine, Vendee, France, as aeroplane armament officer. From 1919-1921 he commanded several Eagle Boats at Portsmouth, N.H., and then as lieutenant shipped on the USS ARKANSAS (1923-1926) and the USS ANTARES (1929-1931). He attended the Chemical Warfare School at Edgewood Arsenal in 1926 and was in charge of the Rifle Range Party at Guantanamo Bay (1930-1931). Retiring in 1931, he was reactivated as lt. commander in 1942 with refitting, conversion, and outfitting duty. In 1944 he was convoy commodore in the Eastern Sea Frontier and the Panama Sea Frontier. Commander McLellon retired from active duty in June 1945.
Series IV contains material related to Clyde Hall McLellon such as reports, certificates, official and personal correspondence, reminiscences and military service records. The 1920-1921 correspondence concerns the outfitting and running of Eagle boats, and two Oct. 10, 1930, letters from a lawyer alude to possible Congressional dissatisfaction with the Act of June 4, 1920, which dealt with commissions. The 1930-1931 correspondence deals at length with the organization of the Rifle Range Party from the USSANTARES at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A World War I map of the U.S. Naval Air Station at Fromentine in France is included. Other items found here are his thesis from Chemical Warfare School (1926) titled "Use of Chemicals by the Navy Against Permanent Shore Fortifications," a booklet titled Small Arms Firing Regulations, U.S. Navy(1923), and "Recollections of Clyde Hall McLellon" by Waldron M. McLellon (1987). Photographs covering the various aspects of his career can be found in Series VII.
Lieutenant Christian Jacob Crone (1869-1951) was Captain McLellon's grandfather. As 3rd Class he served on the USS ST. LOUIS (1891) and later on the USS RICHMOND, the USS VERMONT, and the USS ANNAPOLIS. He was stationed in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans during the Spanish American War in both the Philippines and Puerto Rico. During and after World War I, he seved on the USS AVOCET minesweeping in the North Sea. He seved on the USS WANDANK, USS BUSHNELL, USS KEWAYDIN and USS WOODCOCK before retiring in 1930.
Material reflecting Lieutenant Crone's long naval career can be found in Series V. Several folders contain correspondence and orders covering the years 1891 through 1926. A diary (1902-1914) reflects his activities beginning with duty in Guam and is most complete for the 1902-1903 period noting the arrival and departure of ships, weather, visits to various points on the island, and occasionally people. He was transferred to Manila (Philippines) in 1903 and his service on the USS RAMBOCO as boatswain's mate (BM) and carpenter. There are no entries in the diary between May 28, 1903, and January 8, 1906. The diary picks up with him leaving Portsmouth, Virginia, for the Virgin Islands, and from there he goes to Trinidad in December 1907 and then to Rio de Janeiro in January 1908, around Tierra del Fuego to Chile and up to San Diego where he arrived on March 31. After another gap from early May 1908 to November 1911, he picks up aboard the USS CULGO which is in dry dock in New Jersey. The years 1912 to August 1914 find him on several short trips at sea that usually bring him back to Hampton Roads, Virginia. He visits Veracruz, Tampico, and Guantanamo. The inside front cover of the diary includes a photograph of Crone's wife Laura and three of their children aboard the SOLACE in 1900. Miscellaneous materials include a Boat Book, 1927, and Outstanding Events in U.S. Naval History, 1935. Also included is a book, Sweeping the North Sea Mine Barrage, 1919, honoring the efforts of the crews of the AVOCET and other ships. Included in the collection are photographs from Lieutenant Crone's career and they can be found in Series VII.
David Waldron Crone (1915-1981) was the son of Christian Jacob Crone and uncle of Waldron M. McLellon. He enlisted in the Navy in 1934 and variously served aboard the USS TUSCALOOSA (1935), the USS REINA MERCEDES (1938-1942), and the USS ALBANY (1951-1952). There is a small amount of his material included in this collection such as certificates, programs and clippings plus a file on "crossing the line" activities. A small number of photographs can be found in Series VII.
The collection contains several hundred photographs spanning the years from the late 1800s through 1986. The photographs are found in Series VII and they are organized into groups relating to the following topics: Waldron McLellon's life for the period of 1931 through 1986 including his Naval Academy days, the USS PERKINS, post-World War II years with USO, in Guam and aboard the USS ALBANY; Clyde H. McLellon; William Patrick Heaney (in GAR regalia); Christian J. Crone in Haiti, Cuba, Nassau, Mexico, in World War I, and in personal shots; and David W. Crone.
Oversize materials include four photographs: one of a formal dinner (November 24, 1919, Hotel Astor, New York City) held for minesweeper crews including C. J. Crone and with Josephus Daniels present, another of the USS BUSHNELL crew aboard ship in New London, Connecticut (1923), a third one of the Naval Academy Preparatory Class (1937) at Naval Training Station in Norfolk, Virginia, and a fourth of Waldron McLellon's Graduating Platoon (1936) at Naval Training Station in Norfolk, Virginia. Also included with the oversize materials are the December 1, 1918, issue of Le Miroir (a photo journal of the effects of WWI on France) and the front page of the October 15, 1921, issue of the Army and Navy Register.
Note that folders containing acidic materials will have those materials filed in a separate sequence at the end of each folder.
Gift of Dr. Waldron M. McLellon
Processed by M. Boccaccio; A. Prokop; M. Elmore, February 2010
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.