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William Budd Matlock Papers, 1934-2003

By Rachel Lilley

Collection Overview

Title: William Budd Matlock Papers, 1934-2003

Predominant Dates: 1934-1976

ID: MSS Matlock

Primary Creator: Matlock, William Budd

Extent: 0.5 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: Collection is arranged into the following three series: Series 1. Academic Records, 1934-1940; Series 2. Military Service and Employment Records, 1939-2003; and Series 3. Photographs, 1937-1945.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The William Budd Matlock Papers are comprised of materials generated and collected by Oregon State College alumnus William Budd Matlock, and reflect his student experience, work as an engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers, and military service during World War II. In addition to photographs, this collection contains certificates, dance cards, diplomas, coursework, employment records, military records, and artifacts.  Matlock graduated from Oregon State College with a degree in civil engineering in 1939.

Scope and Content Notes

The William Budd Matlock Papers are comprised of materials generated and collected by Oregon State College alumnus William Budd Matlock, and reflect his student experience, work as an engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers, and military service during World War II.

Series 1, Academic Records, includes several papers Matlock completed in the course of his studies in Civil Engineering at Oregon State College. Of special note in this series is a paper Matlock wrote for his Hydraulic Machinery course in Spring 1938. The paper, entitled “The Tangential Wheel and the Reaction Turbine as Hydraulic Prime Movers,” is annotated by Professor Fred Merryfield, Oregon State engineering professor and a founding engineer of the CH2M consulting firm. This series also includes commencement programs and diplomas for both Tillamook High School and Oregon State College; two ROTC chevron patches and an OSC letterman’s patch; and fourteen dance cards.

Matlock’s association with the military, from participation in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps while at Oregon State College, to retirement from the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in 1976, is documented in Series 2. Materials in this series include correspondence regarding promotions and placements; documentation of enrollment in the U.S. Army’s Engineer School; and Matlock’s Officer’s Pay Data Card, Immunization Register, and Reports of Physical Examinations. Matlock’s World War II service is also documented in this series and includes a handwritten list of his wartime assignments, and Military Record and Report of Separations forms, which include information regarding his service in the Southern Philippines. Series 2 also includes oversize certificates documenting Matlock’s continuing military training and promotions, and wartime publications such as the Engineer Edition of the Sixth Army News Pictorial for August 1945, and an “I Corps in the Philippines” newsletter from June 1945.

The employment records in Series 2 illustrate Matlock’s pre- and post-World War II military career, and include correspondence to prospective employers regarding open positions, and offers of employment and promotions; personal history forms; and resumes and job applications. Of special note is an undated pamphlet entitled “Your Work in the Army Corps of Engineers,” in which duties, salary grades, entitlements, and advice (e.g. on “job adjustment,” transportation, and housing) are presented.

The 133 photographs in Series 3 (79 prints, 54 negatives) depict Matlock’s experience as a student at Oregon State College, and as an engineer, both before and after World War II. OSC-related photographs include images documenting the building of a pontoon bridge over American Lake (near Lakewood, Washington) while at a ROTC summer camp in July 1937; photographs of Matlock and his friends in their ROTC uniforms and, later, in their graduation caps and gowns; of “stream gaging” in canoes on the Willamette; and of a Gamma Phi picnic at Gellatley’s Grove. OSC alumni featured in these images include Frank Marks, Larry Metcalf, Dar Anderson, Al Aspaugh, and Shirley Stage.

Of particular interest are photographs documenting Matlock’s wartime service, both domestically and abroad. Several images document Matlock’s first domestic assignment, working in Bonneville, Washington as an engineer with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Seattle district. Also documented is his association with the construction of the Mud Mountain Dam near Enumclaw, Washington. This series also includes 19 black and white prints, and one panorama, documenting the construction of Moses Lake Air Field in 1942. All of these prints are marked “RESTRICTED,” and an index to the images is included.

Materials documenting Matlock’s service in the Philippines are primarily comprised of negatives, with only one black and white print. The caption on this print reads: “Baquio, 1945: Where Yamashita surrendered the Philippines to MacArthur. President’s summer palace?” Research suggests that it is actually a print of the American Residence in the Philippines. Series 3 also includes sixteen prints of sketches done by combat artist Edward J. Dollriehs, who served with the HQ Battery of the 37th Infantry Division during World War II.

Biographical / Historical Notes

William Budd Matlock, great grandson of early Palouse pioneer Preston Hale Matlock, was born to Ruby Budd Matlock and Ray Matthias Matlock on May 19, 1916 in Sandpoint, Idaho. His childhood was spent in Calgary, Alberta; Seattle, Washington; and Tillamook, Oregon. He attended Broadway High School in Seattle, but graduated from Tillamook High School in 1934. He matriculated at Oregon State College in 1935, and received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1939.

Shortly after graduation, Matlock began a long career with the Army Corps of Engineers, first as a Junior Engineer in the Hydrology Lab at the Bonneville Dam. Matlock played semi-professional softball with the Bonneville Engineers. It was also while working at Bonneville that Budd met his wife, Gloria Bradley, and the two were married in Seattle on July 4, 1942. That same year, Matlock was called into active duty for the war effort, first serving stateside out of the Seattle/Everett Corps office, and acted as the officer in charge of construction of the Moses Lake Army Air Base (which would later become Larson Air Force Base). Matlock was sent overseas in 1944, and served in New Guinea and the Philippines, and in Osaka, Japan during the Occupation.

After the war, Matlock continued to work with the Corps, most notably on the McNary and Chief Joseph dams (near Umatilla, Oregon, and Bridgeport, Washington, respectively). Matlock left the Corps in 1956 to work for International Engineering Company, a subsidiary of Morrison-Knudsen, producing feasibility studies for hydro-electric projects in Brazil and Bolivia. In 1967, Matlock took a position in the Public Works office at the U.S. Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island in Washington. In 1976, Matlock retired from the Army having achieved the rank of Colonel.

Together, William and wife Gloria raised two children, Dan and Diane. They moved from Oak Harbor, Washington to Woodinville, Washington in 1997, and Seattle in 2004. Matlock passed way March 27, 2005.



Author: Rachel Lilley

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 133 photographs; 3 boxes, including 1 oversize box

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The materials were transferred to the Special Collections & Archives Research Center in 2014 by Matlock's son, Dan Matlock.

Related Materials:

The Reserve Officers Training Corps Records (RG 058) consist of materials documenting ROTC programs at Oregon State, and extensive photographic documentation of ROTC programs are available in the Oregon State University Military Photographs Collection (P 002), Naval ROTC Photographs (P 253), and the Air Force ROTC Photographs (P 281).

SCARC's holdings also include several collections of alumni and faculty that document the military or military service: Edward D. Silver Military Service Collection (MSS Silver), Benjamin D. Boswell Military Records (MSS Boswell), Harvey L. McAlister Collection (MSS McAlister), Oregon State Yank Collection (MSS Yank), Ulysses Grant McAlexander Collection (MSS McAlexander), and the Bill Wilkins Papers (MSS Wilkins).

Collections related to World War II include the World War II Newsmaps (MAPS Newsmap), the Oregon State College History of World War II Project Records (MSS OSCWW2), the Wesley Ross Memoir of World War II(MSS RossW), the World War II Poster Collection (MSS WW2Posters), and the World War II Scrapbooks (MSS WW2Scrapbooks).

Preferred Citation: William Budd Matlock Papers (MSS Matlock), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Creators

Matlock, William Budd

People, Places, and Topics

Bonneville Dam (Or. and Wash.)
Civil engineering--History.
Engineering students--Oregon--Corvallis.
Matlock, William Budd
Moses Lake (Wash.)
Oregon State College
Oregon State College. School of Engineering
United States. Army. Air Corps.
United States. Army. Corps of Engineers.
United States. Army. Reserve Officers' Training Corps
University History
World War, 1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945--Journalism, Military.
World War, 1939-1945--Philippines

Forms of Material

Film negatives.
Photographic prints.


Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: Academic Records, 1934-1940
Series 1 includes papers Matlock completed in the course of his studies in Civil Engineering at Oregon State College; commencement programs and diplomas for both Tillamook High School and Oregon State College; two ROTC chevron patches and an OSC letterman’s patch; and fourteen dance cards.
Box-Folder 1.1: Tillamook High School: Commencement program and diploma, 1934
Box-Folder 1.2: Oregon State College: Coursework, 1938-1939
Box-Folder 1.3: Oregon State College: Commencement program and diploma, 1939
Box-Folder 1.4: Oregon State College: ROTC and Letter patches, n.d.
Box-Folder 1.5: Oregon State College: Dance cards, 1936-1940
Box-Folder 1.6: Oregon State College: Dance cards, 1937-1940
Series 2: Military Service and Employment Records, 1939-2003
Matlock’s association with the military, from participation in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps while at Oregon State College, to retirement from the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in 1976, is documented in Series 2. All of the materials in this series are from 1976 or earlier, with the exception of a piece of correspondence from 2003.
Box-Folder 1.7: World War II, 1939-1947
Box-Folder 1.8: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1947-2003
Box-Folder 1.9: Certificates, 1939-1967
Box-Folder 3.1: Certificates, oversize, 1937-1967
Series 3: Photographs, 1937-1945
The 133 photographs in Series 3 (79 prints, 54 negatives) document Matlock’s experience as a student at Oregon State College, and as an engineer, both before and after World War II.
Box-Folder 2.1: Tillamook, Oregon, 1937
Box-Folder 2.2: Oregon State College: Reserve Officers' Training Corp Camp, 1937
Box-Folder 2.3: Oregon State College, 1937-1941
Box-Folder 2.4: Bonneville Dam, Mud Mountain Dam, Columbia River, 1940-1941
Box-Folder 2.5: World War II: Moses Lake Army Air Base construction, 1942
Box-Folder 2.6: World War II: Philippines, 1945

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.