The Harold Kamps papers and photographs are organized into three series: Service and Disappearance, Research, and Still Images.
Service and Disappearance (1938-1998) is subdivided by Personal Papers, Government Reports and Military papers. The papers within each subseries are arranged alphabetically. The bulk of this series consists of government reports regarding the shoot down of the C-130 plane that Kamps was on. Included is a crash report compiled by Raymond Kamps, along with government memorandums and reports over the course of several decades documenting government knowledge of the crash. Of particular interest is a translated Russian report of the crash. The photographs that belong with this report are located in the Still Images series. Personal papers contains biographical information regarding Kamps prior to his military service, and documentation of his burial, including a video of his reinterment at Arlington National Cemetery. In addition there is a folder regarding the Vigilance Park Memorial that was built in honor of those killed on September 2, 1958, which also includes a video recording of the park's opening ceremony. See Still Images series for photographs relating to reinterment and Vigilance Park Memorial Service. The subseries Military Papers consists mainly of Kamps service records, including award certificates he received, and documentation regarding his missing person compensation.
Research (1957-1999) is subdivided into Correspondence, Kamps Research, News, General Research, and Reference. All items are arranged alphabetically within each subseries. The Correspondence subseries makes up the bulk of this series, and primarily documents the Kamps family's attempt to gain information regarding the disappearance of Harold. Included are correspondence with congressmen, senators, and presidents over the course of many decades as his brother, Raymond, attempted to access information regarding his brother. There is also correspondence with the Department of the Air Force and Director of Military Personnel, which includes the telegram that the Kamps family received informing them that Harold was missing in action. In addition, there is correspondence from Raymond Kamps to other service families who lost loved ones during Soviet attacks on American surveillance aircrafts. All of the correspondence offers insights into political attitudes and fears during the Cold War, and frustrations of the families. Interviews taken from Armenian villagers, who witnessed the crash, can be found within the Kamps Research subseries, and have been translated by government officials. The News subseries includes military newsletters, newspaper clippings about Kamps and the shoot down, and many articles related to the C-130 incident. These items range in date from the time of the shoot down (1958) to after Kamps' reinterment (1999). These items enhance the collection by providing insight into changing public opinion on this issue, the amount of information provided to the families over time, and it provides the opinions of other military veterans on the subject. The subseries on General Research provides information on other shoot downs that occurred during the Cold War and Korean War. There is also a folder with information about a private detective who attempted to get more information from the government regarding these shoot downs, and the possibility of having American prisoners of war returned from Russia. Oversized posters for the private detective are located in Box Ov38. Reference includes briefing booklets that provide information on congressional hearings and government jargon.
Still Images (ca. 1950-1998) is subdivided by Photographs and Negatives. The Photograph subseries is arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are images of the crash site and crash memorial in Armenia that were taken by Raymond Kamps after the Soviet Union fell. Included in the photographs are many family images of outings and holidays, as well as photographs of Kamps while in active military service. There are several images of the reinterment ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery that enhance the video and biographical information of the first series, along with images relating to the Vigilance Park Memorial. Finally, there are photographs taken by the Russian military of the attack on the C-130 and crash site, that relate to reports in the first series. These images are all numbered and have description on the back, and are in chronological order. Many of these images are grainy and difficult to make out, however several are graphic in nature. The negatives are of a similar subject matter to the family photographs in the previous subseries.
