Walter J. P. Curley papers

The papers document Walter J. P. Curley’s public service career and experiences abroad, in particular his service in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific and China during World War II and his work as United States ambassador to Ireland (1975-1977) and France (1989-1993). The papers consist of correspondence, public service papers, speeches, writings, and photographs.

Curley’s time in the Marines is documented in detail by letters he wrote to his parents about his experiences as an infantry officer in the Iwo Jima campaign and as a general’s aide in Okinawa and northern China. Most of these letters have been published in Walter J. P. Curley, Letters from the Pacific, 1943-1946, but several have remained unpublished.

The materials concerning his Ireland ambassadorship primarily document the routine operations of the embassy including invitations, visitors, and assistance provided to Americans in Ireland. The Ireland papers include a file list which inventories all of Curley’s office files, but not all of these files were included in this collection and archivists have simplified the organization of the remaining files to ease researcher access.

The correspondence and public service files regarding his ambassadorship in France contain less material concerning routine embassy operations and more material concerning U.S.-France relations, but the latter is still quite limited. Much of the correspondence is personal in nature but includes a small amount of correspondence with George H. W. Bush, James Baker, and French leaders which provides some insight into policy. Among the public service files, there are notes Curley wrote of a meeting between French president François Mitterrand and American vice president Dick Cheney. The materials concerning Curley’s ambassadorship in France came to the archives with little original order.

The papers also provide insight into the role of and the controversies over politically-appointed ambassadors including a draft paper on the topic, a file concerning the Reagan-Bush presidential campaign, and correspondence from Curley's ambassadorships.

The speech files probably provide the best overview of his work as ambassador to Ireland and France in these papers. His writings include extensive memoir and autobiographical works covering virtually all aspects of his life from childhood.

The papers contain little from his career in business and venture capital.