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Career army officer, speechwriter for military and political figures on army-related topics. Speeches, diaries, 1971 and 1973, copy of his mystery novel, and photographs.

The papers of Marvin M. Meerse consist of one linear foot of material and cover the years 1943-1978. Though the collection includes both professional and personal papers, the vast majority of the papers are professional, mostly texts of speeches written by Meerse from 1955 to 1968.

As these speeches are often discussions of freedom, containment, and the threat of communism, they provide insight into the soldier's perspective on these topics. Included in the collection are speeches written by Meerse for generals: A.C. McAuliffe, Bruce C. Clarke, Paul Freeman, Dwight Beach, C.H. Bonisteel, Creighton W. Abrams, Jr., George T. Duncan, Louis W. Truman, and W.C. Garrison. There is also a speech written by Meerse and delivered by President John Kennedy and speeches by Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Secretary of the Army Wilber Brucker, presumably also written by Meerse.