Title: Henry J. Salomon Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1934-1962

Creator:

• Salomon, Henry J., 1917-1958

Call Number: U.S. Mss 166AN; AB 747

Quantity: 1.4 c.f. (3 archives boxes and 1 flat box) and 1 film

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research
Contact Information

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of Salomon, a creator, writer, and producer of television documentaries. Much of Salomon's collection focuses on World War II, either by means of his personal wartime correspondence; his participation in the preparation and writing of Samuel Eliot Morison's History of United States Naval Operations in World War II; or his involvement in the creation and production of Victory at Sea, an NBC television series based on the Navy's exploits during the war. Included are business and personal correspondence, research materials, correspondence and logs documenting his research activities during the war and in post-war Japan, scripts and clippings for Victory at Sea, a copy of the book adapted from the series and a promotional booklet from NBC, clippings and promotional booklets for Project XX (NBC), and biographical material including a film. Among the prominent correspondents are S. N. Behrman, Samuel Eliot Morison, Nathan M. Pusey, Robert W. Sarnoff, and Romney Wheeler.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0166an

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Henry (“Pete”) Salomon, Jr., was born March 17, 1917 in Providence, Rhode Island. He attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and in 1939 received a B.S. degree from Harvard where he majored in history. After graduation he worked as a writer for NBC radio in New York and freelanced for the Providence Journal. Early in 1942 Salomon joined the Navy and was assigned to the Public Relations Office of the Secretary of the Navy where he produced the radio program Victory Hour. Later the same year he joined the staff of Lieutenant Commander Samuel Eliot Morison, who had taught Salomon at Harvard and was preparing the fourteen-volume History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. For the next six years Salomon visited several theaters of the naval war and also went to postwar Japan to gather research material. For his work in the preparation and writing of the history Salomon received a naval commendation. In 1948 he was relieved from active duty and spent the next year in Europe as a freelance writer.

During this year Salomon conceived the idea of a “telementary” which would document the Navy's operations in World War II. For three years he examined millions of feet of film on the subject in the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and India. He introduced his plan to long-time acquaintance Robert Sarnoff, then director of unit production for NBC, and in January 1951 the network presented Salomon with a budget and a special unit to produce the project. After he provided the theme and wrote the narration, his film editor, Isaac Kleinerman, selected footage to present the proper mood and feeling for each weekly episode. In addition, Richard Rodgers composed a thirteen-hour symphonic score for the documentary. The resulting, highly acclaimed series, Victory at Sea, had its debut on October 26, 1952. In July 1954 the film division of NBC produced a condensed ninety-minute version of the program for distribution in motion picture theaters and in 1958 a book version with a narration written by Salomon was prepared. It was published after his death and dedicated to him.

In addition to Victory at Sea Salomon also created Project 20, a series of television specials which depicted major influences on man in the twentieth century. Individual shows included “Nightmare in Red,” which focused on Russia from the reign of Nicholas II to Khrushchev, and “The Twisted Cross,” which showed the rise of Adolph Hitler in Germany. Salomon's success with these documentaries led NBC to appoint him to head a newly created Special Projects division.

His sudden death at the age of 40 ended a promising career. Salomon died of a cerebral hemorrhage on February 1, 1958.

The collection contains extensive materials on World War II as it documents Salomon's involvement in the preparation and writing of the History of United States Naval Operations in World War II; his personal correspondence to family during the war; and his involvement in the creation and production of Victory at Sea, a television program based on the Navy's exploits during the war. The collection has been organized in five series: Biographical Information, Correspondence, Naval Career, Television Career, and Writings.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION includes biographical sketches, obituaries, and press releases about his death.

Business and personal communications comprise the CORRESPONDENCE series. Discussed in the business letters are routine financial affairs, efforts to publish his writings, critical comments about his writings by potential publishers, and attempts to find employment. Of special interest are a letter to the editor in which Salomon commented on civilian loyalties during the 1948 Communist uprising in Greece; a letter by S. N. Behrman in which he critiqued several of Salomon's writings; and a letter to Robert Sarnoff in which Salomon discussed the rights to the proposed program Victory at Sea. Most of this series consists of personal outgoing correspondence to family members, particularly Salomon's letters to his mother during the war. Salomon discussed his social activities, routine family affairs and financial matters, and the various overseas assignments he held during the war. Personal correspondence with members of his family and Samuel Eliot Morison can also be found here. Also included are several letters of condolence to Salomon's mother from acquaintances and friends such as Samuel Eliot Morison; Nathan M. Pusey, president of Harvard; Romney Wheeler, president of NBC International, Ltd.; and Robert W. Sarnoff, president of NBC.

The NAVAL CAREER series contains a file on the Victory Corps, a national high school organization designed to mobilize students for more effective preparation for wartime services. Included are scripts for Victory Hour, speeches, and articles. The remainder of the series documents Salomon's involvement in the writing and preparation of the History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Much of the correspondence is between Salomon and historian Samuel Eliot Morison, on whose staff Salomon worked. Although some of their correspondence is routine, much of it describes specific World War II naval battles and events as they attempted to clarify their facts. Salomon also reports on his trip to postwar Japan to seek information on Japanese naval operations. Included in the Research Material are The Memoirs of Prince Fumimaro Konoye which discuss American-Japanese negotiations during the period of the Koneo Cabinet (April-October 1941); a report on the development of an American anti-submarine detachment organized to rid the seas of U-boats; a paper on German naval operations in Australia; notes about conversations with ex-naval officers of the Japanese Imperial Navy; and descriptions of South Pacific naval operations from August 1942 through the end of 1943. Of particular interest are Salomon's Navy logs or diaries in which he recorded events and his impressions of several operations he visited or in which he participated. Among these are the Marshall Islands, Bougainville, the Leyte Gulf, and Okinawa operations. Also included are entries for a 1948 trip to Europe.

The TELEVISION CAREER file includes the narrations for several episodes of Victory at Sea plus articles and reviews about the series, motion picture, and book. There are also articles and reviews and some promotional booklets about Project 20 in general and specific episodes such as “Three, Two, One--Zero,” “Nightmare in Red,” “Life in the Thirties,” “The Jazz Age,” “The Great War,” and “He Is Risen.” Also in this section is a film showing Salomon arriving in London.

WRITINGS consist of essays, short stories, and articles authored by Salomon. Included is a summary of a talk Salomon had with Edda Mussolini, daughter of the Italian dictator, in which she briefly discusses anti-Semitism in Italy after the war and the results of American demand for unconditional surrender. Also included are a playscript, It Came to Pass, and a poem written by Salomon. A small file of miscellaneous writings by Samuel Eliot Morison completes the collection.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Roger B. Salomon, Shaker Heights, Ohio, 1976. Accession Number: MCHC76-33

Processing Information

Processed by G. Siordia and Steve Masar, August 1976 and Christine Rongone, April 1978.

Box   1 Folder   1	Series: Biographical Information, circa 1941-1958
	Series: Correspondence	⇧
Box   1 Folder   2	Business, 1939-1958
Box   1 Folder   3-5	Personal, 1934-1959
	Series: Naval Career	⇧
Box   1 Folder   6	General Directives and Orders, 1942-1949
Box   1 Folder   7	Victory Corps, including Victory Hour scripts, 1942
	History of United States Naval Operations in World War II
Box   2 Folder   1-2	Correspondence, 1943-1950
Box   2 Folder   3	Research Material, 1943-1947, undated
Box   2 Folder   4-6	Navy Logs, November, 1943-April, 1945; February-May, 1948
Box   2 Folder   7	Clippings and Reviews, 1946-1947, undated
	Series: Television Career	⇧
	Victory at Sea Note: NBC in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, 1952-1953
Box   3 Folder   1	Narrations
	“Sealing the Breach,” March 11, 1952
	“Pearl Harbor: The Pacific Boils Over,” March 24, 1952
	“Killers and the Killed,” April 7, 1952
	“Battle of Midway: Midway is East,” April 29, 1952
	“Normandy: D-Day,” May 29, 1952
	“Murmansk-Alaska: The Magnetic North,” June 30, 1952
	“Rings Around Rabaul,” July 8, 1952
	“Beneath the Southern Cross,” July 28, 1952
	“Guadalcanal,” August 12, 1952
	“Mediterranean Mosaic,” August 21, 1952
	“Anti-Submarine Warfare: Pagan Victory,” undated
Box   3 Folder   2	Articles, Reviews, and Press Clippings, 1951-1959
Box   4	The National Broadcasting Company presents “Victory at Sea...” (a publicity book)
	Project 20 (NBC, 1954-)
Box   3 Folder   3	Articles, Reviews, and Promotional Booklets, 1954-1962
AB 747	Film showing Henry Salomon and NBC executive Edward Madden arriving at London Airport, circa 1952 Physical Description: 1 reel; 154 feet; silent; black and white; 16mm archival positive  Scope and Content Note: Shows departure from plane; welcome from unidentified officials; unloading of film cans; discussion with unidentified man; interview before NBC microphone.
	Series: Writings	⇧
Box   3 Folder   4-5	Essays, Short Stories, and Articles, 1942-1950, undated
Box   3 Folder   6	Playscript, It Came to Pass, undated
Box   3 Folder   7	Poem, “Storm,” undated
Box   3 Folder   8	Writings by Morison and others, undated
Box   4	Victory at Sea by Henry Salomon (New York: Doubleday, 1959).