You are Norwich History

A primary obligation of Archives and Special Collections is to be the repository for much of what NU creates. This includes financial records, policies, board meeting minutes, University publications, photographs and film, and student scholarship — just to list a few. These records are called upon when an alum is eager for some tangible evidence of past athletic glory, when a contract from decades ago is suddenly relevant again, or when a student is researching the evolution of cadet books over the years.

However, the materials produced at and by Norwich are only part of the larger NU story. As highlighted in a blog post from March of this year, entire assignments have been created by instructors around our alums experiences after they leave Norwich. One of our most prized collections, the Gordon Russell Sullivan Papers, 1941-2024, “documents the professional career of General Gordon R. Sullivan [Class of 1959], particularly his years as U. S. Army Chief of Staff.” Sullivan is one of Norwich’s most illustrious sons, but no matter how exceptional Sullivan may have been as a cadet, it is a small portion of what he accomplished — the initial chapter of his story which we are now happy to be able to preserve.

While military careers are often integral to the post-Norwich lives of our alumni, these are not the only experiences that are valuable. Another collection that was mentioned in an earlier blog post was that of Frank C. Gaylord. Gaylord did serve as a paratrooper during World War II, but what he is most remembered for is his career as a sculptor, including the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington. As NU has had a significant civilian student population for decades, the Archives wants to ensure that our collections represent that diversity in our alumni population.

We endeavor to share the types of material we have in our collections on social media and through exhibits while working to ensure that sensitive information is restricted as per our privacy policy. Materials donated by an individual or their family may include diaries, scrap books, photograph albums, commendations and awards, orders and assignments, correspondence, ledgers, and even love letters. Contemporary donations are more likely to include both physical and digital content. If someone with an NU connection wants to share their amazing story but does not have materials to donate (or are not quite yet ready to part with them) they can consider contacting us to provide an oral history.

Archives and Special Collection at Norwich University has hundreds of wonderful collections, but we are always interested in filling gaps and expanding our offerings. While many of us experienced Desert Storm or 9/11 directly and have clear memories of those events, current students were not even born when those landmark times occurred, and so they can only research them in places like an archive.

Title image: Photograph from Operation Desert Storm by LTC David Currid, USA (Ret.), approximately 1991-1992.

Visit the Archives' blog, Mining for Old, to read more Norwich stories.