O'Neal, Gerald L. Papers

Officer, United States Navy.

The papers of Gerald L. O’ Neal consist of four unpublished monographs relating to President Truman and his yacht, the USS Williamsburg.

Size: 2.5 linear inches (about 400 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: No donation of copyright was received with this collection.
Processed by: Randy Sowell (2022).

Gerald L. O’Neal served aboard President Truman’s yacht, the USS Williamsburg, from April 1948 to May 1952, according to biographical information he provided to the Truman Library. He retired with the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy.

The papers of Gerald L. O’Neal consist of four unpublished monographs containing information about President Truman and his yacht, the USS Williamsburg. O’Neal compiled much of this information from his own recollections and from the reminiscences of other Naval personnel who served aboard the Williamsburg or assisted the President during his vacation trips.

The monograph entitled “True Sea Stories” includes anecdotes and other information about life aboard the Williamsburg, provided by O’Neal and his former shipmates. The other monographs contain general information about President Truman, the history of the Williamsburg, and other vessels that were used as yachts by U.S. Presidents.

O’Neal gave the monographs to the Harry S. Truman Library in 2002. They were originally open for research as part of the Miscellaneous Historical Documents Collection [MHDC 863].

Related collections at the Harry S. Truman Library include the papers of Rose Conway (which include logs of the President’s vacation trips), William M. Rigdon, Leo W. Roberts, William W. Janssen, and Mariano Floresca.