The Roswell P. Rosengren Collection pertains chiefly to the colonel's service in the military. It includes correspondence, articles and addresses, military records, miscellaneous materials, and a few photographs.
The correspondence, which is intermittent between 1931 and 1966, is largely personal in character, but many of the outgoing letters contain information on his public relations work and interesting observations on the events and people with whom he was involved. The letters are arranged in several groups: a general file, 1931-1944; letters received while he was in England in 1944; personal letters from close friends received during World War II, letters to him while in Berlin in 1946, and letters to his mother while stationed in Korea, 1952-1953. Of particular interest in the last category are his observations on the visit to Korea of President-elect Eisenhower in 1952. Prominent correspondents include Bruce Barton, Edgar Bergen, Turner Catledge, Walt Disney, William O. Douglas, James Hagerty, Oveta Culp Hobby, J. Edgar Hoover, Joseph W. Martin Jr., Edward R. Murrow, Richard Nixon, Arthur Radford, Harold Stassen, David Sarnoff, Leland Stowe, Arthur H. Sulzberger Jr., and Wendell Willkie.
As public relations representative for various military staffs, Colonel Rosengren not only gave many speeches himself, but he also wrote addresses and statements for delivery by other officers. Thus, the papers include a file of speeches and articles by Rosengren, as well as an extensive collection of speeches and drafts of material prepared for other officers including General Walter Bedell Smith. The remainder of the collection is largely composed of printed matter concerning the occupation of Germany, military operations in the Far East, the U.S. Army Bureau of Public Relations, and the U.S. Army Supply and Maintenance Command. Unfortunately, the papers do not indicate the role Rosengren may have had in producing this material.
The visual materials contain photographs and transparencies some made by the United States Army and news agencies. Some photographs depict the activities of United States and South Korean civilians and military officials, circa 1952-1953, inlucding images of President Dwight D. Eisenhower during a visit to Korea. Also included are celebrations in New York, N.Y., honoring General Douglas MacArthur, on his return from Japan after his removal from command, May 20, 1951, with images of a tickertape parade, MacArthur with his wife and son, crowds gathered for the ceremonies, and MacArthur receiving keys to the city.
