William C. Lambert Papers

The William C. Lambert papers consist mostly of correspondence. Also included are ink and chalk drawings, representing flights that William Lambert participated in. The collection also contains handwritten and typed manuscripts of his book Combat Report, and writings of interest to Lambert. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by its creator unless otherwise noted.

Series I: General Correspondence The correspondence contained in this series span the entirety of William Lambert's adult life, although the bulk of the letters were written after 1972, the year he published Combat Report. This is the largest series in the collection, and has been broken apart into four different time periods to make it more manageable for researchers: 1917-22 which is almost entirely made up of correspondence relating to the WW I; 1923-45 which is post-WW I through his service in WW II; 1946-72 from WW II until publication; and 1973-82 post-publication.

Series II: Correspondence to Mrs. Lambert The vast majority of the letters in this series were written by Mr. Lambert during World War II. In addition to these letters there are greeting cards from both Mr. Lambert and Clyda, Mrs. Lambert's daughter from her first marriage.

Series III: Professional Life The materials in the professional life series are from the 1930s and 1940s. Included are invention suggestions to automobile and aviation companies, patent correspondence, and letters from his employment from 1939 - 1941. Of note in this series are two letters that bear the signatures of Eddie Rickenbacker and J. Edgar Hoover, both of which can be found in Box 2, File 12.

Series IV: Publishing The bulk of the materials are from Mr. Lambert's first book Combat Report. Included are Mr. Lambert's letters to publishing companies and a literary agent, invoices and other sales records, and a typed and handwritten manuscript of Combat Report.

Series V: Photographs & Drawings The bulk of the photographs in this series are from World War I. There is also one 11 x 8 World War II portrait photograph, and the remainder are from later in his life. The drawings are all from World War I, and include ink and chalk drawings. One drawing has been separated from the main collection and is being stored in Oversize Location 25, File 5. The researcher should be aware that chalk drawings must be handled with care, as constant rubbing or friction could remove the imprint.

Series VI: Publications & Writing of Interest This series is made up of documents that Mr. Lambert chose to save throughout his lifetime. A sampling of the documents included are newspaper clippings, jokes, Patton's D-Day invasion speech, and a short story.

Series VII: Maps This series consists entirely World War I era large sized maps of Europe, France and Germany. Of note, the maps are in French and German. Due to their size the maps have separated from the main collection and are being stored in Oversize Location 78, File 8.