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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the FAQ section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 2.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 650 items) |
| Abstract | Richard James Rendleman of Salisbury, N.C., served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy during World War II. After the war, he returned to Salisbury, where he worked in the chemical field and became a well-known businessman. The collection includes correspondence, official United States Navy documents, and photographs, 1921-1969, with the bulk dating 1943-1946, when Richard James Rendleman was serving in the Navy. Letters deal with the Port Chicago explosion and its aftermath, as well as Rendleman's daily life during his service in Guam; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan. Included are a few items relating to a tennis tournament in Guam at which Rendleman met several players, including Bobby Riggs. Official documents relate to Rendleman's naval service during and after World War II and include service records, travel expense vouchers, orders to report to various bases, separation records, and discharge records. Many of the photographs, 1941-1946, provide visual evidence for subjects described in the letters, including the Port Chicago Incident; the tennis tournament in Guam; and a typhoon that hit Okinawa while Rendleman was stationed at the naval base there. Individuals in the photographs include Rendleman, his parents, friends, and Bobby Riggs. Also included is a photograph album that contains images, 1942-1946, mostly of family members, many of them unidentified. |
| Creator | Rendleman, Richard James, 1920-2002. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
Richard James Rendleman was born in Salisbury, N.C., on 21 November 1920. After graduating from Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., he worked for two years as an assistant manager at a chemical company. During World War II, Rendleman enlisted in the United States Navy and was commissioned an ensign on 26 December 1942. Upon completing probationary training at Dartmouth College and Princeton, N.J., he was assigned to the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, Calif. He was on temporary duty in Vallejo, Calif., when, on 17 July 1944, two ammunition ships exploded in Port Chicago, Calif., killing 320 sailors. From 1945 to 1946, Rendleman was stationed in Guam; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan. After being separated from active duty, he returned to Salisbury, N.C., and resumed work in the chemical field, becoming a well-known businessman in the Salisbury, N.C., community until his death on 2 January 2002. Rendleman was the father of Richard James Rendleman, Jr. (b. 1949), music composer and professor of finance at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Scope and Content
The collection includes correspondence, official United States Navy documents, and photographs, 1921-1969, with the bulk dating 1943-1946, when Richard James Rendleman was serving in the Navy. Letters deal with the Port Chicago explosion and its aftermath, as well as Rendleman's daily life during his service in Guam; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan. Included are a few items relating to a tennis tournament in Guam at which Rendleman met several players, including Bobby Riggs. Official documents relate to Rendleman's naval service during and after World War II and include service records, travel expense vouchers, orders to report to various bases, separation records, and discharge records. Many of the photographs, 1941-1946, provide visual evidence for subjects described in the letters, including the Port Chicago Incident; the tennis tournament in Guam; and a typhoon that hit Okinawa while Rendleman was stationed at the naval base there. Individuals in the photographs include Rendleman, his parents, friend Bob White, and tennis player Bobby Riggs. Also included is a photograph album that contains images, 1942-1946, mostly of family members, many of them unidentified.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Correspondence, 19 February 1943-12 July 1969.
Arrangement: by subject, then chronological.
| Folder 1 |
Port Chicago letters #05167, Series: "1. Correspondence, 19 February 1943-12 July 1969." Folder 1Includes letters sent by Richard James Rendleman to his parents Mr. and Mrs. John L. Rendleman, describing the Port Chicago Incident and its aftermath. The letters also deal with the death of Lieutenant Robert White, a close friend of Rendleman, in the explosion, and Rendleman's subsequent trip to Springfield, Mo., to escort White's remains home. Also included are a letter and a newspaper article from 1969 about the United States Navy's attempts to purchase the town of Port Chicago, Calif. |
| Folder 2 |
Overseas letters #05167, Series: "1. Correspondence, 19 February 1943-12 July 1969." Folder 2Includes letters from Rendleman to his parents dealing with his overseas service during and following World War II, including stops in Guam; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Okinawa, Japan. Letters mostly deal with military life and recreation. In particular, a series of letters describes a tennis tournament held at the naval base in Guam and Rendleman's conversations with tennis players Bobby Riggs, Don Budge, and Frank Parker. |
| Folder 3 |
Other letters and clippings #05167, Series: "1. Correspondence, 19 February 1943-12 July 1969." Folder 3Includes miscellaneous letters, postcards, and birthday cards to and from Rendleman, as well as newspaper clippings from the local Salisbury, N.C., newspaper, the Post, telling of his experiences in the United States Navy. |
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Series 2. United States Navy Documents, 4 November 1921-10 December 1956.
Arrangement: by subject, then chronological.
Documents pertaining to Richard James Rendleman's service in the United States Navy during and after World War II. Most of the documents are from personnel files. They include service records, travel expense vouchers, orders to report to various bases, separation records, and discharge records. Note that original file folder order has, for the most part, been retained.
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Series 3. Photographs, 1941-1946.
Arrangement: by subject.
Photographs, 1941-1946, document Richard James Rendleman's service in the United States Navy during and after World War II. Many of the photographs provide visual evidence for some of the subjects described in the letters, including the Port Chicago Incident; the tennis tournament in Guam; and a typhoon that hit Okinawa, Japan, while Rendleman was stationed at the naval base there. Individuals in the photographs include Rendleman, his parents, friend Bob White, and tennis player Bobby Riggs. Also included is a photograph album that contains images, 1942-1946, mostly of family members, many of them unidentified.
Note that some of the loose photographs are duplicates of those in the photograph album.
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Items Separated
Items separated include photographs (P-5167) and a photograph album (PA-5167)
Back to TopProcessed by: Jesse Brown, October 2004
Encoded by: Jesse Brown, October 2004
Revisions: Finding aid updated in April 2006 by Nancy Kaiser.
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