War letters collection to open at Chapman University in November

A trove of approximately 90,000 pieces of personal war correspondence dating from the American Revolution to the war in Afghanistan is set to open at Chapman University in Orange County in November, thanks to a donation from collector, historian and author Andrew Carroll.

As the Los Angeles Times reported in December, the university will allow students and members of the public greater access to the letters, as well as assist in the preservation of the documents. A Chapman spokeswoman said this week that the opening ceremony has been scheduled for Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11.

The letters will be housed at the new Center for American War Letters, which will occupy a historic building on the perimeter of the Orange campus, said the spokeswoman.

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Carroll said in a phone interview that he has been amassing the letters for close to 15 years as part of the Legacy Project, his imitative to collect and preserve personal correspondences from active duty military personal, veterans and their family.

He said he became involved with Chapman when theater students at the university produced a play based on war letters from his collection. “If All the Sky Were Paper” was produced at Chapman under the direction of theater professor John Benitz and has traveled to other cities.

Carroll, who currently lives in Washington, said he was impressed with the level of care and dedication shown by the faculty and students, which led him to choose Chapman as a permanent home for the collection.

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