Biographical/historical information

Luther G. Williams, Jr. was born May 12, 1943 to Luther George Williams, Sr. (1917-1992) and Gladys Earline Crisp Williams (1921-2011). Williams spent his childhood in Rocky Mount, North Carolina before enlisting in the United States Army in 1961. A veteran of The First Gulf War, Williams served as both an active duty service member and reservist until his retirement at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 2003. Professionally, Williams worked as a pharmacist in Greenville, North Carolina while spending his time outside of work volunteering as a local Boy Scout leader and as a Civil War researcher.

Scope and arrangement

The Luther G. Williams, Jr. Papers document the life of a United States Army veteran and pharmacist with an interest in Scouting and the Civil War. Most significant in the collection are the materials that document Williams' service during the First Persian Gulf War (1990-1991). Also of interest are materials related to the role Williams played in providing medical aid to the Hmong population in Thailand in 1980, documentation of the Scouting culture in Eastern North Carolina (1950-1980), materials related to Luther G. Williams, Sr. service during World War II (1944-1946), and Williams' Civil War research on the Battle of White Hall and the murder of Theodore Parkman (1862-2009).

Materials related to the donor's childhood include baby books, school report cards, photographs of Williams' football teams, Cub Scout and Boy Scouts merit badges, rank cards, course certifications, photographs, and items from his enrollment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to documenting Williams' early years (1943-1952), the baby books also provide family history, including photographs of Williams' parents and siblings. Indexes with the baby books identify the subjects and locations of the photographs with anecdotes about family life, details regarding his father's military service, and other genealogical information. Notable in the folder with materials from Williams' time at the University of North Carolina are fliers protesting the Vietnam War, the Kent State Massacre, and single issues of The Rightish, The Carolina Renaissance, and The Daily Tar Heel publications (1969-1971).

Materials which document Williams' professional career and adult life include select issues of The Carolina Journal of Pharmacy (1978-1986). These include articles highlight Williams' commitment to service, such as a 1980 trip to Thailand during which Williams delivered medical supplies to Hmong tribesman in Nan Province. Additional materials found in the collection related to this event include mission maps, clippings, photographs, articles, and correspondence documenting the mission. Williams' activities as a Boy Scout leader in Greenville, North Carolina are also described in the Carolina Journal of Pharmacy, and additional materials related his leadership in Scouting can be found in the collection.

Enlisting in 1961, Williams joined the United States Army and served in both active and reserve duty roles until 2003. Materials throughout the collection document his military service from photographs with Company D, 1st Battalion, 1st Training Regiment, Fort Jackson, South Carolina (1961); photographs, clippings, medals, reports, forms, maps, field guides, and newsletters which document his service in Kuwait during the First Gulf War (1990-1991); and photographs of training exercises in Germany (2003).

Most significant among materials related to Williams' military service are those from the First Gulf War where Williams served as the Officer in Charge of a medical helicopter landing zone (1990-1991) at the 312th Evacuation Hospital, Base Camp Walston, Saudi Arabia and as a driver transporting intelligence officers from Saudi Arabia into Kuwait. Materials include hand-drawn maps from Hafar al Batin, Saudi Arabia, into Kuwait sketched by Williams or intelligence officers he worked with. On these trips, Williams visited Al Jara, Kuwait, and took photographs and video footage around the Multa Pass of the "Highway of Death". These 82 photographs and the 12-minute video document the destruction by United States-led coalition forces of Iraqi military vehicles and commandeered civilian vehicles. An index included with the photographs provides details of scenes, along with descriptions of the February 26-27, 1991, event and its aftermath. The video includes Williams narrating what he is capturing and is graphic with images of deceased Iraqi combatants. The video also includes an interview with a Kuwaiti interpreter named Mohammad working with Williams, who provides a second-hand account of the February 26-27 battle and his reaction to the war.

Another item of note is a two-hour documentary titled 312th Evacuation Hospital in Saudi: Operation Desert Storm, 19 Jan- 3 May 91. The 312th Evacuation Hospital is a reserve unit headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, and includes a Greenville, North Carolina medical unit. Williams was a member of this unit. The documentary tells the story of the 312th's time in the conflict from activation on November 17, 1990 through their return May 3, 1991 with parts of the film shot by soldiers and added by video editors at Fort Bragg, North Carolina with segments filmed by Williams. The majority of the video footage shows a tour of the hospital and camp with many interviews of the soldiers stationed there. While most of the video shows soldiers at ease with plenty of footage of military life on the base, part of the film does contain graphic imagery as combat scenes are captured, as well as footage of injured Iraqi prisoners of war and American soldiers in the hospital receiving treatment for combat injuries. Of note is a Purple Heart ceremony conducted in the hospital with Private First Class Natasha Green of the 498th Support Battalion receiving the commendation.

Additional materials from this period include Standing Operation Procedures for Transportation of Chemically Contaminated Patients and for Litter Bearers for the 312th Evacuation Hospital, After Action Reports, Desert Packing Lists and checklists for deployment, forms or policies related to war souvenirs, a report from Williams on receiving enemy casualties, a map of the camp and the 312th Evacuation Hospital, Iraqi, Saudi, and Syrian currency, a record of medals received by Williams, and the Southwest Asia Service Medal and the Liberation of Kuwait Medal from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fifteen additional maps of the region are included in the oversized folder with most labeled as Combined Joint Operations Graphic and Joint Operations Graphic (Air) Maps (1990-1991).

Also included in the collection are Civil War research materials used by Williams in the writing of his book A Place for Theodore: The Murder of Dr. Theodore Parkman, Boston, Massachusetts and Whitehall North Carolina A Lesson in Culture, first published in 1997. These materials include photographs of Seven Springs, North Carolina (2000-2002) highlighting the tombstone of William Whitfield, Jr., a copy of a 1912 plat map of Whitehall, correspondence from Elizabeth A.D. Blocker to Luther G. Williams, Jr. with transcriptions, a digital copy of a biography of Elizabeth A.D. Blocker by Jim Blocker (2007), correspondence from Colonel Charles R. Codman to his wife dated 1863 with transcriptions, an envelope from Mathew V. Scurry (1863), and a composite map of the Petersburg, Virgina Campaign, Plate LXIV from an Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (1895). The letters from Blocker provide an account of where Union soldiers were buried following the Battle of Whitehall, December 16, 1862. Blocker received this information from interviews with witnesses who were alive and living in the area during the Civil War.

Additional items of note in the collection include items include a copy of Tar-Bo-Rah yearbook (1938) with images of Gladys Earline Crisp Williams (1921-2011), military records of Luther G. Williams, Sr. (1917-1992), photographs of Williams, Sr's time stationed on Kwajalein Island (1944-1945), a photograph of Sherry Williams Thurston, sister of Williams, Jr., taken during her time at East Carolina University (1970), and a signed copy of "After Action Report of 11 September 2001 Terroist Attack and Subsequent Related Activities Submitted by Jeff Moore, SAIC/DAMO-SSD", 2007. Moore worked in the Pentagon when the highjacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the building. The report documents the event and the injuries he sustained.

Administrative information

Custodial History

June 9, 2003 (unprocessed) 1 item, 0.01 cubic feet; Composite map (May 21, 1862, July 28-30th, 1864) of the Petersburg, VA campaign during the Civil War consisting of PLATE LXIV from Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1861-1865. Julius Bien & Co. Lith. N.Y. 18-1/2" x 29-3/8" (44 cm x 71 cm). Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

June 9, 2003 (unprocessed addition 1) 17 items, 0.603 cubic feet; Collection (1974 - 1991) of printed maps, pamphlets, newsletters, newspapers, and a calendar relating to the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 (Operation Desert Storm / Desert Shield). Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

July 17, 2003 (unprocessed addition 2) 2 items, 0.0358 cubic feet; Videotapes (1990 - 1991) filmed by the donor while in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm / Desert Shield). 2 VHS T-120 videotape cassettes. VHS #123 - A: Kuwait (Original): The film, one of 6 filmed by Williams, includes following scenes: (1) Agent describing where they are going; minefield south of Kuwait City; (2) Six-Ring Road at a Kuwaiti car dearlership destroyed supposedly by Iraqis; (3) Mutla Pass just west of Kuwait City, the "Highway of Death." Notes: Voice over and film by Capt. Luther G. Williams on temporary duty with an intelligence unit driving Arabic interpreters to their homes in Kuwait. 12 mins. running time. VHS #456 - B: Saudi Arabia: 312th Evacuation Hospital (U.S. Army), Saudi Arabia, 60 miles west of Hatar al Batin, includes scenes of unit in action during Desert Storm. Notes: 312th Evacuation Hospital is a reserve unit headquartered in Greensboro and includes a Greenville medical unit. Parts shot by others added at Fort Bragg, NC to segments filmed by Williams. 60 mins. running time. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

August 15, 2003 (unprocessed addition 3) 24 items, 0.126 cubic feet; Collection (1969-1986) of manuscripts, clippings, maps, periodicals, printed forms, broadsides, framed photographs, etc. relating to the donor's education at Rocky Mount (NC) High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his career as a pharmacist and boy scout leader, and his travels in Great Britain, Switzerland, Israel, and Thailand. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

September 8, 2003 (unprocessed addition 4) 24 items, 0.126 cubic feet; Collection (1943-1952) including donor's "Baby Book" of his early life in Fayetteville, NC, compiled by his mother, Gladys Earline Crisp Williams, and his son, including inventory of donation, notes by his mother and son, photographic prints, lock of his hair; photographic prints taken by his father, Luther George Williams, Sr., on Kwajalein Island in the Pacific Ocean; his father Notice of Separation form U. S. Naval Service, dated 4/29/1946; and memorabilia, including bronzed baby shoes, silver cup, two bells, one with teething ring attached, three zinc 1943 pennies, Steamer Put-in-Bay medal, and life-boat tag No. 191, Station 101 Raft, Boat 5, Atlantic Coast Line 25 years service button. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

October 3, 2003 (unprocessed addition 5) 75 items, 0.25 cubic feet; Collection (1938-1986) of manuscripts, photographic prints, printed materials, medals, and ephemera, relating to the donor's childhood, education, and family in Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina including Braswell, elementary school and R. M. Wilson Junior High School records; Cub Scout and Boy Scout badges, medals, and photographs; American Legion football team photograph and medal; First Baptist Church programs; Federal and State tax returns, property and insurance records. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

November 7, 2003 (unprocessed addition 6) 2 items, 0.1 cubic feet; Baby Book #2 (1943-1952), a scrapbook compiled by the donor's mother, consisting of manuscripts and photographic prints, with biographical and genealogical information about the donor's childhood, education, and family in Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina including First Presbyterian Church School Kindergarten and Braswell School, Rocky Mount, NC; and a 12 page printed transcription of the Baby Book, by the donor. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

March 4, 2004 (unprocessed addition 7) 3 items, 0.07 cubic feet; Medals (1991, 1993) received by Luther George Williams, Jr., including the Southwest Asia Service Medal, with two battle stars; Liberation of Kuwait Medal with bar, in presentation container, given by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for his service in the Persian Gulf War, 1990-1991; also a copy of a Department of Defense certificate accompanying the medals. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

May 24, 2007 (unprocessed addition 8) 7 items, 0.25 cubic feet; Collection (2007) of digital and typescript materials relating to the publication of A Place for Theodore: The Murder of Dr. Theodore Parkman, Ph.D., Massachusetts & North Carolina: A Lesson in Culture, A True Story of the Civil War, 1861-1865, by Luther George Williams, published in 1997 and revised in 2001 (ISBN 0-9656484-0-0) including information sheet, inventory of the illustrations, and thumbnail prints of 273 slides, on 3 compact discs, used as illustrations in the book. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

September 26, 2007 (unprocessed addition 9) 1 item, 0.011 cubic feet; Map (1929) of Munich, Germany entitled München und Umgebung Kleine Ausgabe. Greiben Reiseführer Band 179: 1929. 37. Auflage Mit 3 Karten. Berlin Greieben-Verlag, Albert Goldschmidt, 1929; including pocket map. See preliminary inventory attached. Pamphlet. German language. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

January 15, 2008 (unprocessed addition 10) 16 items, 0.01 cubic feet; Collection (ca. 1960-1961, 1993, 2007, undated) including an after action report by Jeffrey Miller Moore, who was in the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 2001 attack, compact disk of the report & photograph of Moore holding his report; 6 postcards of Rocky Mount, North Carolina; Poem "A Beatnick's Look at Santa Clause" by Tommy Basden and illustrated by George Williams with inventory; Elizabeth A. D. Blocker letters explaining where her mother said the Yankee soldiers were buried after the Battle of White Hall, 16 December 1862, in Wayne County, NC with transcript & compact disk. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

March 9, 2009 (unprocessed addition 11) 3 items, 0.003 cubic feet; Collection (1861-1988) of maps including of World War II world situation in 1939; 1939 New York World's Fair; and plat map of White Hall, N.C., 1912. See preliminary inventory attached. Donor: Luthur G. Williams, Jr.

May 12, 2009 (unprocessed addition 12) 2 items, 0.004 cubic feet; Collection (1985, 1990) of maps used during the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991, including Hafar Al Batin, Saudi Arabia: Provisional Edition Map 1985; also: Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia: Joint Operations Graphic (Air Map 1990. Printed. See preliminary inventory attached. 1 oversized folder. Joint Operations Map annotated in Arabic script. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

June 3, 2009 (unprocessed addition 13) 122 items, 0.25 cubic feet; Collection (1961-2009) including photographs taken on the "Highway of Death" in Kuwait City, Kuwait during the Gulf War, 1990-1991; also maps of Kuwait City, memoranda, Iraqi currency, pay vouchers, desert packing lists, after action reports, newspaper articles, ephemera, etc. relating to the donor's military career. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

July 21, 2015 (unprocessed addition 14), 0.027 cubic feet; Four letters and a postcard written in 1994 by Elizabeth Blocker (Mrs. Cecil Arlo Blocker) of Greenville, N.C., to Luther G. Williams, Jr., wherein she describes the area and people of Whitehall (later called Seven Springs), in Wayne County, N.C., during the Civil War time period. Also included is a map she drew of the area indicating where people lived at Seven Springs and where historical events occurred. The donor has included his transcriptions of her letters. Received June 8, 2011. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

July 21, 2015 (unprocessed addition 15), 0.05 cubic feet; Newspaper articles from the Rocky Mount Telegram (June 6, 2006; p. 1A and 2A; photograph from June 7, 2006) and The Daily Reflector (June 6, 2006; p. B1 and B3) document WWII artifacts belonging to and the ceremony honoring Maj. Leslie A. Shaw of Rocky Mount, N.C., a D-Day participant in WWII. 2 items, 4pages. Received November 8, 2006. Twenty-five color photographs taken of the remains of the Seven Springs, N.C., resort and one color photograph taken of the William Whitfield II tombstone at Seven Springs. 26 items. Received July 31, 2007. CD-R disk containing the 2011 Kindle version of A Place for Theodore by Luther G. Williams, Jr.; an envelope mailed from Tarboro, N.C., during the Civil War; and items relating to the death of Theodore Parkman and the subsequent loss of his body including a letter (and envelope) dated April 19, 1863, written from Newberne [New Bern], N.C., by Union Colonel Charles R. Codman, 45th Mass., to his wife in Boston, Mass., with a transcription, and two transcriptions of a letter dated March 10, 1863, also written from Newberne [New Bern], N.C., by Col. Codman to his wife Lucy. Also included are photocopies of obituaries for Col. Charles Russell Codman (1918) and Lt. Charles R. Codman, Jr. 7 items. Received September 27, 2013. Donor: Luther G. Williams, Jr.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Luther G. Williams

Processing information

Encoded by Mark Custer, December 17, 2007

Processed by John Dunning, March 2025

Copyright notice

This material is made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to taking precautions against infringement of copyright and respecting the publication rights of reproduced materials. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards. Any materials used should be fully credited with their source according to the example given in the Preferred Citation note. Requests for assistance with citations and images of publication quality should be directed to specialcollections@ecu.edu. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state law. The user assumes full responsibility for using such information and is advised that the disclosure of such information about identifiable living individuals without their consent may have legal ramifications.

Metadata Rights Declaration

Related material

Additional material related to Luther G. Williams, Jr. can be found in the Leslie Avery Shaw Papers (#0992)

Separated Material

Insurance forms, clippings, maps, childhood ephmera, journals, tax returns, compact discs returned to donor.

Key terms

Personal Names

Blocker, Elizabeth A.D.--Correspondence
Codman, Charles R. (Charles Russell), 1829-1918
Parkman, Theodore, 1837-1862
Williams, L. G. (Luther George)

Corporate Names

United States. Army--Medals, badges, decorations, etc.

Topical

Persian Gulf War, 1991
Resorts--North Carolina--Seven Springs--Photographs
Whitehall, Battle of, Seven Springs, N.C., 1862

Places

North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Seven Springs (N.C.)--History
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Maps

Container list