The Dickey Chapelle papers have been arranged in six series: Biographical Material and Personal Papers, Correspondence, Articles and Captions for Photographs, Book Drafts, Notebooks, and Visual Materials. Chapelle's papers document her career and travels as correspondent, photographer, and writer for major U.S. periodicals, with some material concerning her humanitarian aid projects.
The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL AND PERSONAL PAPERS consist of news clippings about Chapelle before and after her death; obituaries; transcripts of three interviews, one of which also involved Tony Chapelle; and materials concerning publication of her writings and lectures she gave. In the latter group are book reviews, contracts and royalty statements, lecture contracts and itineraries from lecture tours, and legal releases for photographs. Miscellaneous materials include unidentified and scattered correspondence, notes, and memos. Tape recordings in this series include a 1962 interview by Mike Wallace concerning Chapelle's work as a war correspondent; a 1962 interview by Patty Cavin of NBC, discussing What's a Woman Doing Here?; a speech by Chapelle, March 18, 1963, and an undated speech entitled “The Ultimate Weapon,” by Major William E. Meyer.
CORRESPONDENCE includes letters both to and from Dickey Chapelle and is arranged chronologically. There is a great deal of personal correspondence with her family, as well as professional correspondence concerning her career after 1950.
ARTICLES AND CAPTIONS FOR PHOTOGRAPHS has been arranged in four subseries: Material Created by Tony and Dickey Chapelle; Dickey Chapelle's Writings and Captions; Articles, by Geographic Location; and Other Articles and Reference Material.
The Material Created by Tony and Dickey Chapelle includes articles and captions mainly dealing with topics from the immediate post-World War II period. There are also a few scripts and notes for a proposed documentary film and television show. The film proposal as well as the article drafts and captions were prepared for the American Voluntary Information Services Overseas.
Dickey Chapelle's Writings and Captions include captions for World War II photographs of the South Pacific and Iwo Jima and for photographs of the Vietnam War which were taken solely by Dickey Chapelle and are filed separately. Also included is a folder of very early writings. The majority of Chapelle's articles, drafts, notes, caption data, and reference material have been arranged as Articles By Geographic Location. Within each geographic file the materials have been arranged chronologically, where possible, although many of the drafts are undated. The files represent Chapelle's interest in reporting and photographing war, revolutionary struggles, and especially after the mid-1950s, military action taken to combat communism. There are folders representing Algeria's rebellion against French rule; Cuba, and the anti-Castro forces training in Florida (with whom Chapelle worked); the Dominican Republic; Greece, Rumania, Yugoslavia, and Albania; and Hungary, particularly articles reflecting Chapelle's arrest and imprisonment in 1956-1957. There are also Chapelle's statement and a memo to her Hungarian interrogator, dated January 3 and 4, 1957. Other files concern India; Iraq; the World War II battles for Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Saipan; Iraq; Jordan; Korea; Laos; Lebanon; the Pacific in World War II; and Turkey. Articles and notes regarding the United States mainly concern Chapelle's interest in the military, armed forces training, and planning and strategy for war. Of particular interest to her was the U.S. Marine Corps, but material on the U.S. Sixth Fleet and the U.S. Army Special Warfare Center is also present. A major section of the series is comprised of Chapelle's numerous articles, drafts, notes, and reference material on Vietnam. These articles especially reflect Chapelle's active anti-communist ideology and her belief that the U.S. military and civilians should dedicate themselves to winning the war in Vietnam.
Chapelle's Other Articles and Reference Material includes miscellaneous articles which were not easily identified with a geographic area. Likewise, the reference material is a general file including miscellaneous articles, drafts, and notes of Chapelle's, printed copies of her articles, and miscellaneous printed and other material collected for reference use.
There are numerous BOOK DRAFTS from Chapelle's autobiographical work What's a Woman Doing Here? (formerly entitled “Trouble I've Asked For”), 1960-1961, and sample chapter drafts from “Another Day You'll Flinch” (also entitled “U.S. Reporter in a Red Prison”).
The collection also includes 99 NOTEBOOKS, kept by Chapelle for recording her notes for articles. The notebooks also contain what appear to be drafts of letters and cables; interview notes, mainly with members of the military; addresses and telephone numbers; and numerous shopping lists and personal financial notes. Many of the notebooks are not well identified as to subject nor dated. However, it appears that the collection contains notebooks corresponding to most or all of Chapelle's writings. Volume 100 is a pilot log book kept by Chapelle in 1939-1940, and Volume 101 is a scrapbook, apparently compiled by others, from Chapelle's speaking engagement at the Oklahoma College for Women Press Club Dinner, Chickasha, Oklahoma, February 10, 1964.
The AUDIO RECORDINGS include an interview, February 15-16, 1962, by Mike Wallace concerning Chapelle's work as a war correspondent; an interview, January 17, 1962, by Patty Cavin of NBC, discussing What's a Woman Doing Here?; a recorded speech by Chapelle, March 18, 1963; and an undated speech entitled “The Ultimate Weapon,” by Major William E. Meyer.
VISUAL MATERIALS include photographs from various assignments throughout her career including World War II--Pacific Ocean region, military training camps, India, Caribbean Sea region, Algeria, Mediterranean Sea region, Hungary and Hungarian protesters, East China Sea and South China Sea, Vietnam and Laos. Also includes photographs used for an unpublished book project, This Is My Outfit. Films include an interview with Chapelle by Donald Bruce and a profile of Chapelle on Entertainment Tonight.
