Category Archives: 2010s

William Dennis Grubb in Colombia

Place of Service: Zipacón

Service Type: Community Development

Dates in Service: 1961-1963

Keywords: Business, Community Development

Accession Date: January 14, 2022

Access: No restrictions

Collection Size: 1.5 linear feet

Document Types

  • Correspondence
  • Photographs
  • Reports
  • Publications
  • Film/Video
  • Sound

Related Items in Other Repositories:

JFK Library: Peace Corps, 1962: January-March subcollection- see scans 36-38, 60-61 for an advertisement featuring Grubb, a report on an administration trip to Colombia, and a letter about Grubb from Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps Director, to Gordon Tullock, a University of Virginia professor

Finding Aid:

Box 1

  1. Documents
    1. Documents, 1961-July 1963, undated
    2. Documents, August 1963-1970
    3. Documents and Photos on National Politics, c. 1978-1984
    4. Documents and Similar Materials, 1981-1986
    5. Documents and Similar Materials, 1988-1990, undated
    6. Documents, 2008-October 2010, undated
    7. Documents, c. November 2010-2018
    8. Documents from Grubb’s passing and funeral, 2021
    9. Graduate Projects, 1966-1969
    10. Stamps, Money, and Envelope, undated
  2. Newspaper Articles
    1. Newspaper Articles and Photos, 1961
    2. Newspaper Articles, 1962-1964
    3. Newspapers, 1983-1984
    4. “After the Yankees Left For Home,” article, September 29, 1986
    5. Oversized Articles, c. 1961-1969 [in oversized collections]
  3.  Photos
    1. Photos, c. 1961-1963
    2. Photos, c. 1960s
    3. Photos, c. 1980s
    4. Large Photos, c. 1961-1963
    5. Filmstrips and Related Photos, c. 1960s
  4. Publications
    1. Making a Difference: The Peace Corps at 25, autographed by Loret Miller Ruppe, Peace Corps Director, 1981-1989
    2. Portrait of a Peace Corps Gringo by Paul Arfin, autographed by Arfin, 2009
    3. New York City and Bogotá Maps, 1971, 2007
    4. Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Poster [in oversized collections)
  5. Audiovisual (Box 2)
    1. DVDs/ CDs
      1. American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver, 2008
      2. School at Ricon Santo, undated
    2. Miniature tape labeled “TV,” undated
    3. 6 film reels
  6. Other
    1. Peace Corps Colombia button, c. 2010s

 

Peter Reid in Tanzania

Place of Service: Mwanza (Bwiru Boys Secondary School)

Service Type: Education

Dates in Service: 1964-1966

Keywords: Education, Youth,

Accession Date: April 13, 2023

Access: No restrictions

Collection Size: 5 linear feet

Document Types

  • Correspondence
  • Photographs
  • Reports
  • Publications

Related Items in Other Repositories:

Nunn Center Oral History Interview

Finding Aid:

Note: Peter Reid is also the author of Every Hill a Burial Place: The Peace Corps Murder Trial in East Africa. Most of these documents are from Reid’s research and writing process for the book.

  1. Box 1: 1960s Documents
    1. Tanganyika Independence Act, 1961
    2. Training Directory, 1964
    3. Tanganyika Directory, December 1965
    4. State Department file scans on trial; 1966, 2012; Part 1
    5. State Department file scans on trial; 1966, 2012; Part 2
  2. Box 2: Note Cards
    1. Note Cards with research for Every Hill a Burial Place
  3. Box 3: Every Hill a Burial Place Writing, Drafts and Publishing Logistics
    1. Reviews and Descriptions
    2. Table of Contents
    3. Every Hill a Burial Place draft, c. 2018
    4. FOIA Requests, 2012
    5. Every Hill a Burial Place Annotated Outline, 2019
    6. Responses to Every Hill a Burial Place draft, c. 2018-2019
    7. Dollar-Pound Calculations, 2017
    8. Opinion Polls and Folder Notes, c. 2018
    9. Every Hill a Burial Place draft comments, 2014-2017
    10. 1966 Timeline
    11. Abstract and Keywords
    12. Blurbs
    13. Book Cover
    14. Dramatis Personae
    15. Acknowledgements/Dedication
    16. Manuscript Submission 7/22/19
    17. Every Hill… Final Galley Prints
    18. Every Hill a Burial Place Index Drafts, c. 2020
    19. Kentucky Schedule
    20. Kentucky-Marketing
    21. UK Copy Edition-Annie Barva
    22. Manuscript cleanup
    23. Kentucky Readers Comments
    24. Map
    25. Every Hill
    26. Getty Images
    27. Peace Corps World Wide postings
    28. Tanzania PC Timeline
    29. Bibliography
    30. Kosmski [sic]
    31. Green/Hoover Library
    32. Clemmer permission
    33. Duncan Whitfield permission
    34. Ellison permission
    35. Essaye permission
    36. Georgiadis permission
    37. Hawes permission
    38. JFK permission
    39. McHay permission
    40. McPhee permission
    41. The Daily Nation photos
    42. Peppy Wedding Photo
    43. Every Hill a Burial Place draft photos, c. 2015-2019
    44. Michigan State
    45. Ohio U. Press
    46. Rutgers
    47. Stanford University Correspondence, 2019
    48. Brill Publishers
    49. PC Files I: March-April [1966]
    50. PC Files II: May-August [1966]
    51. PC Files III: 8/66-1/67
    52. PC Files PHR
    53. Manuscript 11/18
    54. End Notes
    55. Printed Academic Reviews
  4. Box 4: Every Hill a Burial Place Research (donor alphabetized by topic)
    1. A
      1. Assessors
      2. Autopsies-copies
      3. Anatomy/pathology
    2. B
      1. Book Locker
      2. Bagley, Gail
      3. Carroll Brewster
      4. Body disposition
      5. Bail
      6. Batimba Prison
      7. Brooke-Edwards
    3. C
      1. Clemmer, Betty
      2. Coyne online 2010
      3. Conclusion/epilogue materials
      4. Coyne, John
      5. Ceremony in Lone Tree
      6. Counsel [sic]
      7. Communication-Tanzania
    4. D
      1. Dower
      2. Daniels, Trish
      3. DAR, Maswa, Mwanza
      4. Dunne, Marianne
      5. Dockeray, G.C. Dr.
    5. E
      1. Ellison Letters
      2. Essaye, Terry
      3. Ellison, Phil and Ann
      4. Engle Ellison, Pam
      5. US Embassy/PC Roster, 1966-1967
      6. Erokwu, Judge
      7. Effiwat, Edenden
    6. F
      1. Ferenbach, Vicky Simons
      2. Fallen PCVs
      3. Fry, Donn
      4. National Archives, FOIA Request
    7. G-H-I
      1. Hawes, Charlotte
      2. Georgiadis-Notes from Talk
      3. Georgiadis, Byron (Nick)
      4. Harvard [?] Convictions, U.S.
      5. Hamilton, Donna
      6. Peace Corps Handbook
    8. J-K
      1. Kinsey, Bill
      2. Kinsey, Peverly
      3. Kennedy Library
      4. King, Barrington
      5. Kennedy Presidency
      6. Kifunta, Martin C.D. Inspector [?]
      7. Josephson, Bill
      8. Journal of Africa Law
      9. Kopjes, Geology
      10. Kajina, Timothy
    9. L
      1. Libel/Privacy
      2. Ledbetter, Delores
      3. Llamarada- Mt. Holyoke
      4. Father Robert Lepbure
    10. M
      1. Nancy Neaher Mass
      2. McHugh Documents
      3. Mganga, Philip AMO [?]
      4. Lawrence Mbogoni
      5. McPhee, Jack
      6. Gene Mihaly
      7. McHugh Sections
      8. Tom McHugh
      9. Mugobi, Fred
      10. Maps
      11. Mbeya
      12. Meisler, Stanley
      13. Mwanza
    11. N-O
      1. Nyerere, Julius
      2. Oliver, John
    12. P-Q
      1. Platt, Judge Harold
      2. Preliminary Hearing, 5 May 1966
      3. Platt Decision
      4. Post-trial Communication and Press
      5. Preliminary May Procedure in US and [?]
      6. Peace Corps Books
      7. Peace Corps L[?]
      8. Archives/Peace Corps
      9. Peace Corps History
      10. Peace Corps Online
    13. R
      1. Richter, Richard and Joan
      2. Ratigan, Barbara
      3. Ruth Reynolds, Sunday News NY[?]
      4. Read, Jamey
      5. [?], Stuart
      6. J. Read of Tanzania law[?] change, 1968
    14. Box 5: S
      1. Sullivan, Kathleen
      2. Sack, Paul
      3. OJ Simpson
      4. Site-Description
      5. Singh, Gurbachan
      6. Sayusayu
      7. Stevens, Robert
    15. T
      1. Time Magazine 9/16/66
      2. Tanzania VII COS Report
      3. Tarini [?], Charles Father
      4. Vilindo, M[?]-Witness [empty]
      5. Word/Pages in a book-estimates
      6. Teachers for East Africa
      7. Tanganyika 1923 Law of Property and Conveying Ordinance
      8. Tanganyika Order in Council, Prisoners[?]
      9. Tanzania Interim Constitution 1965
    16. W
      1. Women and the Peace Corps
      2. Tanzania Report on Party, 1965
      3. Website Links
  5. Publications
    1. Every Hill a Burial Place: The Peace Corps Murder Trial in East Africa, 2020, 2022
  6. Newspapers (in Oversize Collections)
    1. Newspapers, 1964-1965; 2009
    2. Newspapers, 1966, 1989

Marian Oakleaf in South Korea

Place of Service: Seoul 

Service Type: Setting up The Peace Corps’ South Korea office  

Dates in Service: 1966-1967 

Keywords: Business 

Accession Date: April 23, 2016 

Access: Third Party Donation, no rights; one restricted folder 

Collection Size: 1 linear foot 

Document Types 

  • Correspondence 
  • Scrapbooks 

Finding Aid: 

  1. Box 1: Documents  
    1. Training and Service Log, June-December 1966 
    2. Peace Corps Correspondence, 1965-1966 
    3. Correspondence Received, 1966-1967 
    4. Peace Corps Volunteer Questionnaire, 1965 (Restricted) 
    5. Obituary, 2016 
  2. Box 2: Scrapbook, 1965-1967, 1999 

Darrel Young in Colombia

Place of Service: San Pablo

Service Type: Community Development

Dates in Service: 1961-1963

Keywords: Community Development

Accession Date: December 17, 2015; October 15, 2022

Access: No restrictions

Collection Size: 0.1 linear feet (located in Friends of Colombia, Box 50)

 

Document Types

  • Publications

 

Finding Aid:

  • “Peace Corps Random Writings/Designs,” 2015
  • “Peace Corps Random Writings/Designs,” 2022 update

 

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and the Third Goal

The Peace Corps has always operated with a three-point goal in mind: serve host countries, introduce host countries to Americans, and to help Americans better understand non-Americans. [1] Peace Corps Volunteers do not stop fulfilling this third goal when they finish their service. One of the ways that Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) have accomplished this goal is by establishing organizations that work to help their country of service.

The American University Archives features materials from these organizations, whether donated by a Volunteer or the organization itself. Returned Peace Corps Volunteers often founded these associations in the final decades of the twentieth century. Many have the title “Friends of [Country of Service].” These groups provide a way for members who served together or in the same country to keep in touch. However, they also have a central focus on providing resources to and keeping American attention on their country of service. As such, they continue to fulfill the third goal of the Peace Corps.

This flyer shows how the Friends of Costa Rica Organization clearly thought of themselves as fulfilling the Peace Corps’ third goal and wanted other RPCVs to do the same. Friends of Costa Rica, “Third Goal Forum!” 1996, American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

The Peace Corps Community Archive has materials from organizations for RPCVS from five countries: Colombia, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and the Dominican Republic. A former fellow has written an amazing post about materials from the Friends of Nigeria, but the other four groups’ collections are also fascinating. Of especial note is the Friends of Colombia, which has been donating material since before the Peace Corps Community Archive began. The archive now has several decades of the organization’s materials, as well as the collections of dozens of Colombia RPCVs. These boxes are filled with stories, such as the organization’s founding, Colombian RPCV reunions, and donations and events that the group facilitated to help Colombians. However, Friends of Colombia has also worked to make a wider circle of Americans become more familiar with Colombians, such as through their participation in President Clinton’s 1992 inaugural parade. [2]

The founders of the Friends of Colombia in the living room where they started the organization. Photo undated, circa 2000. American University, Washington D.C.

While the archives does not have as much material from the Friends of the Dominican Republic, Ghana, or Kenya, these collections are still incredibly interesting. The Friends of Ghana organization has donated materials including meeting notes, newsletters, and the donation information. Members of the Friends of the Dominican Republic donated materials from their time assisting the organization (a list of members and related blog posts can be found here). Robert Scully donated materials from the Friends of Kenya. These groups also helped to facilitate connections between RCPVs, the country in which they served, and other Americans. For example, Robert Scully’s collection features Friends of Kenya materials from the 1990s and early 2000s, when he served on the organization’s board. During his tenure, the group donated to causes such as fighting polio in Kenya. Similar to Friends of Colombia, the group also interacted with Kenyans at the highest levels of government. This included the Kenyan ambassador to the United States, as seen below.

This is Robert Scully’s invitation to the thirty-third anniversary celebration of Kenya’s independence, courtesy of the Kenyan ambassador to the United States. American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

All of these organizations have also continued to carry out the Peace Corps’ third goal. The Peace Corps Community Archive has information on dozens of charitable projects that these five organizations alone have assisted. As shown above, these groups frequently have a great deal of influence due to their ties to the Peace Corps and former country of service. Meetings with ambassadors or other high-ranking officials from their countries of service, such as Scully’s, are not uncommon. Such work has made it more likely that other Americans will learn about their countries of service. These groups have all helped Americans, whether or not they are RPCVs, better understand non-Americans, therefore fulfilling a key Peace Corps purpose.

 

 

 

 

[1]”2020 Fact Sheet,” Peace Corps, December 2019, https://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/about/pc_facts.pdf.

[2] “Friends of Colombia (FOC) Activities,” c. 1996. American University Archives, Washington, D.C.

Robert T. K. Scully in Kenya

Place of Service: Bungoma (St. Mary’s Kibabii Secondary School)

Service Type: Education

Dates in Service: 1964-1966

Keywords: Education, Youth

Accession Date: March 23, 2023

Access: No restrictions

Collection Size: 3 linear feet

Document Types

  • Correspondence
  • Photographs
  • Reports
  • Publications
  • Film/Video
  • Sound

Related Items in Other Repositories:

Oral History Interview [Kennedy Presidential Library]

Finding Aid:

  1. Box 1: Peace Corps Experience and Connections, c. 1964-2001
    1. Correspondence
      1. Peace Corps Correspondence, 1964
      2. Peace Corps Correspondence, 1965
      3. Peace Corps/Kenya/Kibabii Correspondence, 1966 undated, January-June 1966
      4. Peace Corps/Kenya/Kibabii Correspondence, July-December 1966
      5. Kenya/Kibabii Correspondence, 1967-1968
      6. Kenya/Kibabii Correspondence, 1970
      7. Kenya/Kibabii Correspondence, c. 1971-1972
      8. Kenya/Kibabii Correspondence, c. 1973-1979
      9. Kenya/Kibabii Correspondence, 1980-1987
      10. Kenya/Kibabii Correspondence, c. 1994-2001
    2. Peace Corps Journal, 1964-1966
    3. Training Materials and Information
      1. Peace Corps Training Papers, 1964
      2. Peace Corps Training Notebooks, 1964
      3. Peace Corps Kenya Information, 1964
    4. Mary’s Kibabii Secondary School Materials
      1. Kibabii Student Essays, 1965 (1 of 2)
      2. Kibabii Student Essays, 1965 (2 of 2)
      3. Kibabii Student Essays, 1966
      4. Kibabii School Student Papers on Local History, 1966
      5. Kibabii Chronicle, 1966
      6. Drama Society Script Drafts, c. 1966
      7. Kibabii Student Reunion, 1995
    5. Publications
      1. Scully’s Kenya-Related Publications, 1969-1979
      2. Scully’s Thesis, “The Elgon Bantu Before the Coming of the Europeans,” 1970
      3. Box 2: Scully and Kibabii Publications, 1970-1995
    6. Miscellaneous
      1. Congregation of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Utrecht Yearbook, 1966-1967 [in Dutch]
      2. Ticket Books, 1966-1968
  2. Later Trips to Kenya with Students, c. 1970-1993
    1. Fort Sites
      1. Bukusu- South Mateka Fort Sites [Lumboka], 1970
      2. Bukusu- Seritanga Area Fort Site, 1970
      3. Bukusu- Chwele Area Maps and Fort Sites, 1970,
      4. Bukusu- Sangalo Maps and Fort Sites, 1970
      5. Chetambe Hill Project, Bukusu, Kenya, c. 1970
    2. Notebooks
      1. Numbered Field Report Books,1970-1971
      2. Unnumbered Field Notebooks, 1970-1971
      3. Scully’s Kenya Student Trip Reports, 1974 (1 of 2)
      4. Scully’s Kenya Student Trip Reports, 1974 (2 of 2)
    3. Publications and Assignments
      1. Scully’s Kenya Student Trip Reports: Related Correspondence and Publications, c. 1974-1993
      2. Dean Cowen 1974 Student Trip Report, “The History of Kibabii,” 1974
      3. Bukusu Clan Papers and Related History, c. 1970
      4. Scully Bukusu Fort publication, 1975
    4. Maps
      1. Bukusu Maps, c. 1970 (1 of 2)
      2. Bukusu Maps, c. 1970 (2 of 2)
  3. Friends of Kenya and National Peace Corps Association Materials, c. 1989-2011
    1. Documents
      1. Friends of Kenya Board Notes and Emails, c. 1996-1997
      2. Box 3: Friends of Kenya Peace Corps Correspondence, c. 1995-2011
      3. Friends of Kenya Newsletters including “Moto Moto,” c. 1994-2002
      4. Friends of Kenya Notes/Meetings; undated, 1989-2000
      5. Friends of Kenya Correspondence and Miscellaneous; undated, 1992-2003 (1 of 2)
      6. Friends of Kenya Correspondence and Miscellaneous; undated, 1992-2003 (2 of 2)
      7. Friends of Kenya Correspondence and Miscellaneous; undated, 1995-2002 (centered around 2000) (1 of 2)
      8. Friends of Kenya Correspondence and Miscellaneous; undated, 1995-2002 (centered around 2000) (2 of 2)
      9. Kibabii-St. Mary’s School Meetings and President Daniel Arap Moi Meeting, c. 1995-1998
      10. Friends of Kenya Correspondence and Related Publications; undated, c. 2000-2003 (1 of 2)
      11. Friends of Kenya Correspondence and Related Publications; undated, c. 2000-2003 (2 of 2)
      12. Peace Corps/Teachers for East Africa Alumni Meeting/ The Carter Presidential Library, c. 1998-2009
      13. Miscellaneous Correspondence, Friends of Kenya, Kibabii, Kenya Programs and Contacts; undated, 1993-1999
      14. National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) Board Notes; undated, 1997-2003 (1 of 2)
      15. National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) Board Notes; undated, 1997-2003 (2 of 2)
      16. Peace Garden Program, 1999
      17. Friends of Kenya-Polio Kenya Program, undated, 1996-1999
      18. Friends of Kenya Miscellaneous Correspondence; undated, 1997-1998, 2000-2002 (1 of 2)
      19. Friends of Kenya Miscellaneous Correspondence; undated, 1997-1998, 2000-2002 (2 of 2)
      20. Friends of Kenya Directory, 1994
    2. Other
      1. Friends of Kenya- Marafiki Tee Shirt, undated
      2. Box 4: Friends of Kenya and Friends of Malawi Miscellaneous Tapes, 1994-1995
  4. Photos, c. 1964-2000
    1. Peace Corps Kenya Photos, c. 1964-1969 (1 of 3)
    2. Peace Corps Kenya Photos, c. 1964-1969 (2 of 3)
    3. Peace Corps Kenya Photos, c. 1964-1969 (3 of 3)
    4. Chetambe Hill Project Photos, Bukusu, Kenya, c. 1970
    5. Miscellaneous Photos of Circumcision Ceremony, August 1966 (Content Warning)
    6. Miscellaneous Photos, c. 1964-2000
    7. Miscellaneous Negatives, c. 1964-2000

Ruth Chandler in Brazil

Dates in Service: c. 1964-1966

Keywords: Community Development, Education, Youth

Accession Date: September 29, 2022

Access: No restrictions on research. No deed of gift as donation through third party.

Collection Size: 0.1 linear feet (located in small collections)

Document Types

  • Correspondence
  • Publications

Finding Aid:

  • Hot Lunch Digest Brazil VII newsletter, 1964-1965
  • Associated Correspondence with the newsletters, 1969, 2017
  • Missionary flier for RPCVs, undated

Peggy Walton in Ukraine

Country of Service: Ukraine
Service Type: 1994-1996: English teacher trainer; 2013-2016: Peace Corps Response volunteer
Dates in Service: 1994-1996; 2013-2016
Keywords: Education, Response

Accession Date: August 9, 2021
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 1 linear foot + 1 digital file

Document Types

  • Correspondence
  • Documents
  • Journals
  • Newspapers
  • Photographs
  • Scrapbooks

Digital Surrogates

Finding Aid

  1. Application and Training Materials  
    1. Passport 
    2. Acceptance letter 
    3. Training schedule  
  2. Correspondence 
    1. With friends 
    2. With parents 
    3. With sons  
  3. Journals 
    1. (2) 
  4. Maps & Memorabilia 
    1. Maps of Ukraine 
    2. Peace Corps Pins 
  5. Newspaper Clippings 
  6. Postcards and Photographs 
  7. Scrapbooks 
    1. (2) 
  8. “Ukrainian Adventures” 
    1. 11 parts and reflections 

John S. Jacoby in Nepal & South Africa

Country of Service: Nepal; South Africa
Place of Service: Bastipur (Nepal)
Service Type: Teacher at Bastipur High School in English (grades 6 & 7), Science (grade 6-8), & Math (grade 6); Peace Corps Country Director for South Africa
Dates in Service: 1970-1972; 2011-2014
Keywords: Agriculture, Architecture, Business, Community Development, Education, Environment, Health, HIV/AIDS, Information Technology, Libraries, Literacy, Sports, Urban Planning, Youth

Accession Date: April 4, 2021
Access: no restrictions
Collection Size: .5 linear feet (located in small collections and map room)

Document Types

  • Correspondence
  • Photographs
  • Reports
  • Publications

Finding Aid

  1. Correspondence, November 11, 1969-April 10, 1972 
  2. Negatives, Scans and Originals 
  3. Personal Documents and Training Materials (Passport, Description of Service, etc.) 
  4. Documents Pertaining to Jacoby’s Time as Peace Corps Country Director for South Africa, 2011-2013 
  5. Map Room, Drawer A9: Poster, no date 

“To Whom It May Concern”: The Peace Corps, Public Health, and COVID-19

In his capacity as tour manager for the University of Ibadan’s Shakespeare Traveling Theatre troupe, Tom Hebert brought renowned productions—like Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Hamlet among others—to audiences throughout Nigeria. The pictures above illustrate a core tenet of Shakespearian performance: audience interaction, which was anything but lacking in West Africa during the 1960s. In a recent blog post, Hebert recalls that millions of Nigerian students were required to study Shakespeare as part of their secondary education; consequently, audiences numbering in the “thousands would mouth the lines in an audible susurrus” during shows. [1] Hebert also came to understand that British colonialism and an entrenched caste system overshadowed the educational merits of theater: “literate African kids wandering the streets with nothing to do, and nowhere to go.”

In 1964, after two years of service as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV), the time had come for Hebert to return to the United States. Addressed “To Whom It May Concern,” a disease identity card (pictured below) marked Hebert’s return:

Disease Identity Card, April 1963, Shelf: 12.03.05, Box: “Tom Hebert,” Folder: “Hebert, Thomas L, Nigeria 1962-1964, Training Materials–Supplies and Medical Information,” Peace Corps Community Archive, American University Library, Washington, D.C.

In another example, an unnamed PCV received a similar card upon their return from India in 1968:

Disease Identity Card, 1968, Shelf: 12.03.02, Inquire for Box & Folder Information, Peace Corps Community Archive, American University Library, Washington, D.C.

These cards were a reminder to PCVs as to the prevalence of disease in their country of service. They were also ostensibly a precautionary measure—designed to warn physicians that the returning PCV might well be a public health risk, in which case subsequent isolation, treatment, contact tracing, and the like would become necessary. [2] Thus, in addition to coping with “reentry, readjustment, and reverse culture shock,” returning PCVs further faced the (remote) reality that they themselves might inadvertently bring lethal pathogens—for which there was little protection against—home to friends and family. [3]

An example: there was no vaccine to combat Dengue Fever—one of several diseases that Tom Hebert was potentially exposed to in Nigeria—in the 1960s. To this day, a “safe, effective, and affordable vaccine” for Dengue Fever remains elusive. [4]

This is not to say that the Peace Corps only took steps to protect PCVs on the back-end of their service. Additional evidence from the Peace Corps Community Archive is revealing; even in the 1960s, the fledgling Peace Corps had a robust front-end health program. It featured preventive medicine (where possible) and pre-departure education designed to reduce disease transmission:

Vaccination Appointment & Record Card, Shelf: 12.03.02, Inquire for Box & Folder Information, Peace Corps Community Archive, American University Library, Washington, D.C.

PCV Medicine Book, Shelf: 12.03.05, Box: “Tom Hebert,” Folder: “Hebert, Thomas L, Nigeria 1962-1964, Training Materials–Supplies and Medical Information,” Peace Corps Community Archive, American University Library, Washington, D.C.

In the case that preventive measures such as vaccination and sanitation failed, the Peace Corps also offered active PCVs reactionary treatment in the form of a standard medical kit:

Peace Corps Medical Kit with Health Guide, ID # 2011.0228.36, Transfer from the Peace Corps, National Museum of American History, https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1412958

Medical Kit Inventory, Shelf: 12.03.05, Box: “Tom Hebert,” Folder: “Hebert, Thomas L, Nigeria 1962-1964, Training Materials–Supplies and Medical Information,” Peace Corps Community Archive, American University Library, Washington, D.C.

On balance, the health measures enacted by the Peace Corps—from pre-service medical training and vaccinations, reactionary treatment options during service, and disease identity cards upon return—were largely successful. From 1962-1983, 185 PCVs died during their service; of those 185, 40 died due to illness. For context: some 235,000 PCVs have served in hundreds of countries since the Peace Corps’ inception in 1961.

Relative to the Nigerians for whom he organized Shakespearean performances, Hebert enjoyed a position of privilege in terms of access to healthcare. For many PCVs, the prospect of becoming ill during service or bringing illness back to loved ones upon return was remote; indeed, the public health infrastructure of their home country, the United States, was robust compared to many countries where the Peace Corps operated.

However, what if the opposite were true? What if returning home was seemingly just as dangerous—if not more dangerous—to the well-being of PCVs? In March 2020, following the onset of COVID-19, this seeming impossibility came to fruition as all active PCVs were evacuated back to the United States. [5]

In a blog post for the Pacific Citizen, Kako Yamada—an evacuated PCV who had been serving in Comoros—recounts the abruptness of being evacuated due to COVID-19: [6]

Our plans for the remaining months or years of service vanished as we collected what we could of our belongings — some able to say their good-byes, others not so lucky.

I had been allotted one hour to pack and say my farewells to my host family — leaving my friends, students, teammates and co-workers in the dust.

Yamada did not fully grasp the gravity of the situation until she embarked on the long flight from Comoros—an island country off the coast of Africa—to her home in New York City:

On my layover in Addis Ababa, I saw people in full body suits; on the subsequent plane, flight attendants wore gloves and asked passengers not to help one another. Upon arrival at Newark Airport in New Jersey, a hollow silence echoed. Welcome home.

She also remembers questioning whether the evacuation was justified, especially because the situation in Comoros appeared much less dire (in terms of infection case numbers) than it did in the United States. It wasn’t until May 1 that the first case of COVID-19 was announced in Comoros; by then, in the month and a half since she had returned to New York, “there had been 304,372 reported COVID-19 cases in New York, a number that equated to half the population of Comoros.”

Moreover, in the United States, a crisis of public trust emerged—only compounding the threat posed by COVID-19. The situation rapidly devolved into a multifaceted culture war, one which pinned public health experts against conspiracy theorists and their sympathizers in government leadership. Anecdotal evidence and misinformation were disseminated to discourage mask wearing and promote unproven miracle cures, among other flashpoints of the culture war.

Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, for example, were frequently touted by right-wing conspiracy theorists as miracle drugs in the fight against COVID-19. With the benefit of hindsight, and given that credible public health experts have historically warned of the untested efficacy of these drugs, we are now certain that neither chloroquine nor hydroxychloroquine are safe to administer to COVID-19 patients. [7] Records from the Peace Corps Community Archive do show, however, the historical—and empirically proven—use of chloroquine as an antimalarial drug in locales such as Senegal:

Chloroquine Program Document, Shelf: 12.04.02, Box: “Cherie Lockett,” Folder: “Cherie Lockett, Senegal 1979-1981, Health Care N.D.,” Peace Corps Community Archive, American University Library, Washington, D.C.

 Yamada grappled with guilt, for although the situation in the United States appeared dire upon her departure from Comoros, her evacuation ensured a better chance of survival:

It came down to privilege. After months of integrating — through language, food and dances — in the end, I am privileged. In a pandemic, I, as an American citizen and Peace Corps Volunteer, got to fly out to a country with better health care.

I could not escape the fact that I was a volunteer that would disappear if things got bad.

People often ask: how will the history of COVID-19 be written? What will history tell us about our response to a global pandemic? Historians and public historians themselves are asking different, more pointed questions: how will we remember our global response to COVID-19? Who gets to shape the memory of the American experience with COVID-19? Is it the historian’s place to weigh the immeasurable suffering and loss of human life against the resilience and moments of unity that will get us through this? Likewise, who and what dictates how Comorians remember COVID-19? What are the stakes if we omit the lived experiences of those who were and are the most vulnerable to COVID-19? Do public historians have a responsibility to interpret/challenge those actors who downplayed and mismanaged the crisis from its outset? For Yamada, her answer is fairly straightforward:

The situation of a country miles away, often labeled as one of the poorest in the world, is very much mirrored here in the United States.

The characteristics of denial, governmental inadequacies and systematic vulnerabilities of certain social groups over others are paralleled. However, one quality is certainly different: we have the resources, and yet, we dared to fail.

[1] Tom Hebert,  “Shakespeare and the Ins and Outs of Education Reform,” Peace Corps Writers, n.d., http://www.peacecorpswriters.org/pages/2001/0109/109cllkheb1.html.

[2] Amy Lauren Fairchild, Lawrence O. Gostin, Ronald Bayer, “Contact Tracing’s Long, Turbulent History Holds Lessons for COVID-19,” The Conversation, July 16, 2020, https://theconversation.com/contact-tracings-long-turbulent-history-holds-lessons-for-covid-19-142511

[3] Peace Corps, RPCV Handbook: You’re on your way Home (Office of Third Goal and Returned Volunteer Services, n.d.), 10, https://files.peacecorps.gov/resources/returned/staycon/rpcv_handbook.pdf

[4] World Health Organization, “Questions and Answers on Dengue Vaccines,” Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals, April 20, 2018, https://www.who.int/immunization/research/development/dengue_q_and_a/en/

[5] Jody K. Olsen, “Peace Corps Announces Suspension of Volunteer Activities, Evacuations due to COVID-19,” Peace Corps, March 15, 2020, https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-announces-suspension-volunteer-activities-evacuations-due-covid-19/

[6] Kako Yamada, “Welcome Home? From Peace Corps Service to COVID-19 America,” Pacific Citizen, May 22, 2020, https://www.pacificcitizen.org/welcome-home-from-peace-corps-service-to-covid-19-america/

[7] United States Food and Drug Administration, “FDA Cautions Against Use of Hydroxychloroquine of Chloroquine for COVID-19 Outside of the Hospital Setting or a Clinical Trial due to Risk of Heart Rhythm Problems,” July 1, 2020, https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-cautions-against-use-hydroxychloroquine-or-chloroquine-covid-19-outside-hospital-setting-or