Guide to the Joseph Gervais Papers 1924-2005 Inclusive Dates
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Guide to The Joseph Gervais Papers 1924-2005 Inclusive Dates: 1937-2004 20 Linear Feet Accession Number: 118-05 Collection Number: H118-05 Prepared By Paul A. Oelkrug, C. A. 18 May 2006 CITATION: The Joseph Gervais Papers, Document Name, Folder Number, Box Number, Series Number, Special Collections Department, McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas. Special Collections Department McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas Table of Contents Historical Sketch................................................................................................................. 1 Sources:........................................................................................................................... 2 Related Sources:.............................................................................................................. 2 Series Description ............................................................................................................... 3 Series I: Research Documents, 1937-2002. 23.2 linear feet......................................... 3 Series II. Correspondence, 1958-2004. .8 linear feet.................................................... 3 Series III. Newsletters. .8 linear feet............................................................................. 3 Series IV. Book Manuscripts and Screenplays. 1.25 linear feet................................... 3 Series V. Lawsuits, 1970-1994. 1.25 linear feet........................................................... 3 Series VI. Philatelic and Personal Material. .2 linear feet. ........................................... 3 Series VII. Video Tapes (VHS Format). .8 linear feet.................................................. 3 Series VIII. Images. 3 linear feet. ................................................................................. 3 Series IX. Audio Tapes. .8 linear feet........................................................................... 3 Series X. Oversized Material. 2 linear feet................................................................... 4 Series XI. Memorabilia. 2.25 linear feet....................................................................... 4 Scope and Content .............................................................................................................. 4 Provenance Statement......................................................................................................... 4 Literary Rights Statement ................................................................................................... 4 Note to the Researcher........................................................................................................ 5 H118-05 JOSEPH GERVAIS PAPERS: CONTAINER LIST..................................... 6 Series I. Research Documents, 1937-2002 ............................................................... 6 Series II Correspondence, 1958-2004 ..................................................................... 20 Series III Newsletters................................................................................................ 21 Series IV Book Manuscripts and Screenplays.......................................................... 22 Series V. Lawsuits .................................................................................................... 25 Series VI Philatelic and Personal Material ............................................................... 26 Series VII Video Tapes (VHS)............................................................................... 27 Series VIII Images................................................................................................... 28 Series IX Audio Tapes.............................................................................................. 33 Series X. Oversize Material...................................................................................... 35 Series XI Memorabilia.............................................................................................. 36 ii Historical Sketch Joseph Gervais was born 19 May 1924 in Tyningsboro, Massachusetts. He joined the United States Army Air Corps at Fort Davis, Massachusetts on 10 November 1942 and took basic training in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Gervais went to Truax Field Wisconsin, after basic training where he took the Airborne Radio Operator course, and upon completion of this course, Gervais was selected for pilot training. He was sent to Douglas, Arizona where he graduated 10 April 1944. He then received combat crew training in B-24 Liberator bombers as an aircraft commander. Having successfully finished all of his training, Gervais was assigned to the 484th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force, based in Italy. While serving with the 484th Bomb Group, Gervais completed twenty-six combat missions that took him over Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Northern Italy. After completing his combat tour, he was assigned to the Air Depot Group as a test pilot until VE Day. From 1951 to 1959 Gervais served at Griffiss Air Force Base as a B-29 aircraft commander. Some of his missions included flying radar evaluation and electronic countermeasures flights. In 1959 Gervais received an overseas assignment as a C-130 Air Craft Commander where he flew airlift missions for SEATO in Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand. In 1962 Gervais was assigned to Nellis Air Force Base as Assistant Director of Administration, Base Postal Officer, and Top Secret Control Officer until his retirement in 1963. It was while stationed in Okinawa that Major Gervais first became interested in the Amelia Earhart mystery. He received orders to fly four C-130s to Australia in order to transport members of the Rockefeller family to New Guinea to investigate the disappearance of their son. While in New Guinea, Gervais visited Lae, the place where Amelia Earhart was last seen alive. He talked to several people who were present when she and Fred Noonan took off for Howland Island in 1937. In 1960 Major Gervais started Operation Earhart along with fellow Air Force officers Major Bob Dinger and Colonel Paul Briand, Jr. Dinger and Gervais were squadron mates and Briand was an Air Force Academy professor whose thesis and eventual book, Daughter of the Sky, helped get the group started. Eventually, Air Force superiors ordered the group to stop all investigations into the Earhart disappearance. Briand obeyed but Gervais refused, resulting in his retirement from the Air Force. Gervais continued his research into the Earhart disappearance, gaining the help of Joe Klass, a former military pilot. Their quest for answers began with a search for the remains of Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, believed to have crashed in the Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. No aircraft wreckage was found, but their research led them to Saipan where native residents claimed to have seen Earhart and Noonan alive as Japanese prisoners. Eventually their search led them to a woman living in the United States who resembled Earhart, not just in appearance, but in her speech and other mannerisms as well. Gervais believed this woman, Irene Bolam, was indeed Amelia Earhart. They believe that Earhart and Noonan, while “spying” for the United States, were forced down and captured by the Japanese. After the war, she returned home under the assumed name Irene Craigmile and later married Guy Bolam. 1 Joe Klass, using Gervais’ research, wrote a book titled Amelia Earhart Lives. Bolam sued Klass, Gervais, and the publisher, McGraw-Hill with the result that McGraw-Hill agreed to withdraw the book. Many theories have been given by many different people; some bordering on the absurd, some plausible. Gervais’ theory as to what happened to Amelia Earhart is one of the plausible ones. Gervais and his colleagues were seasoned Air Force pilots, and thus, understood the problems in flying long distances over water as well as the technical aspects of flying aircraft. Their experience and some of the documents and leads uncovered in their research led them to believe that Amelia Earhart did indeed survive. Sources: Klass, Joe. Amelia Earhart Lives: A Trip Through Intrigue to Find America’s First Lady of Mystery. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1970. “Joe Gervais Memorial Dinner.” June 25, 2005. Published in conjunction with a memorial dinner for Joe Gervais. Joseph Gervais Papers, Series Number VI, Box Number 1, Folder Number 6, Special Collections Department, McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas. Related Sources: Amelia Earhart Collection, Box Number 0, Folder Number 1-19, Special Collections Department, McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas. Clara Adams Collection, Box Number 11, Folder Number 5, Special Collections Department, McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas. Erik Hildes-Heim Collection, Box Number 4, Folder Number 0, Special Collections Department, McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas. Captain J. H. (Stormy) Mangham Collection, Box Number 2, Folder Number 77, Special Collections Department, McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas. Retha McCulloh Collection, Box Number 1, Folder Number 2, Special Collections Department, McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas. 2 Series Description Series I: Research Documents, 1937-2002. 23.2 linear feet. Boxes 1-10 are arranged alphabetically, folders 6-10 in box 10 are arranged chronologically. Boxes are composed of mixed material such as images, articles, newspaper clippings, maps, charts, interview transcripts,