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James Wold Papers, 1943-2003
Collection Overview
Title: James Wold Papers, 1943-2003
ID: OGLMC1524
Primary Creator: Wold, James (1932-2003)
Extent: 12.25 Linear Feet
Date Acquired: 05/23/2007
Subjects: Legal, Military History - Prisoners of War (POW), Military History - Vietnam War, University of North Dakota - Alumni
Languages: English
Abstract
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The James Wold Papers date from 1943 to 2003 and have been divided into eleven series as follows:
Series 1: Personal History and Military Career
Series 2: Legal Career
Series 3: Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office
Series 4: POW/MIA Organizations
Series 5: Legislative Documents and Materials
Series 6: United States Russian Joint Commission
Series 7: Correspondence
Series 8: POW/MIA Reports and Media Documents
Series 9: Oversized Materials
Series 10: Photographs
Series 11: Artifacts
Collection Historical Note
James William Wold was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 18, 1932 to Peter and Hulda Christine (nee Olson) Wold. Peter, a native of Lillehammer, Norway, immigrated to the United States in the summer of 1923 and farmed briefly in North Dakota before permanently relocating his family to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hulda Christine, an American by birth, was originally from Colfax, Wisconsin. As a teenager, Wold attended Minneapolis South High School for two years before transferring to Hillcrest Academy in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. While studying at Hillcrest Academy, he became acquainted with Joan (JoAnne) Abigael Norheim, a fellow student who would later become his wife. Following graduation from Hillcrest Academy in 1949, he attended Augsburg College for one academic year.
In 1951, Wold enlisted in the United States Air Force wherein he attended the Russian Language Program at Syracuse University. After the language studies were completed, in August of 1952, Wold entered the Aviation Cadet Program. He received his aeronautical instruction through the 3505th Pilot Training Wing at Greenville Air Force Base located in Mississippi. On September 16, 1953, Wold received his commission with the rank of Second Lieutenant and the rating of Pilot. Less than a week after being commissioned, Wold married JoAnne in Pasadena, California.
As a result of being newly commissioned, Wold was briefly stationed at Mather Air Force Base in California, followed by another short assignment at Shaw Air Force Base located in South Carolina, where he flew the RB-45C reconnaissance aircraft. Once Wold became familiar with the new aircraft, he relocated to RAF Sculthorpe in the United Kingdom, where he flew missions with the 19th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron from May 1954 to June 1956. Following the completion of this placement, the Air Force assigned Wold to study mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Wold completed his bachelor's degree in two years, graduating in August 1958, whereupon he entered service with the 9th Bombardment Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho where he remained until 1961.
Thereafter, Wold was assigned to March Air Force Base in California to serve on staff, Headquarters, 15th Air Force. During Wold's various assignments worldwide, his four children were born: daughter Christine Annette (at Norton Air Force Base, California), son Kevin Daniel (in the United Kingdom), daughter Lisa Karen (while studying at the University of Michigan), and daughter Holly Susan (at Mountain Home Air Force Base). Following completion of his headquarters assignment in May of 1964, Wold was once again assigned to study engineering. Wold's second stint in the engineering field occurred while studying at the Air Force Institute of Technology located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio where he would complete his Master of Science degree in March, 1966. The Air Force immediately utilized Wold's technical background by posting him to the Test Requirements Branch and Acquisition Test Branch, Directorate of Operations, United States Air Force Headquarters, where he remained for three years.
In July 1969, Wold was deployed to South Vietnam, where he served as operations officer for the 6th Special Operation Squadron operating out of Pleiku. He then went on to command units at Pleiku and Da Nang air bases. While in Vietnam, Wold personally flew 241 combat missions in the A-1H attack bomber, many of them providing direct air support to American ground forces engaged in close-quarters combat with enemy guerillas. For his service in Southeast Asia, Wold received the Bronze Star, six Distinguished Flying Crosses, and sixteen Air Medals.
During the summer of 1970 and after returning from Vietnam, Wold he served one year as the chief of the Test Operations Branch and the Test Support Division at Strategic Air Command Headquarters, Offutt Air Force Base located in Nebraska. Thereafter, Wold worked in the Pentagon where he was assigned to the Air Force's Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel handling colonel assignments, earning a Legion of Merit in the process. In August of 1974, Wold attended the Defense Language Institute and the Defense Intelligence School at Anacostia Annex in Washington, D.C. in preparation for an assignment as the Defense and Air Attaché to the Soviet Union. Upon completion of Russian language training, in the summer of 1975, Wold was stationed at the United States Embassy in Moscow. After serving two years in the Soviet Union, Wold returned to the United States and settled on a 420 acre farm near Luverne, North Dakota. Wold retired from the Air Force on August 31, 1977 at the Grand Forks Air Force Base.
Shortly after retiring from the United States Air Force, Wold enrolled in courses at the University of North Dakota School of Law eventually graduating in the spring of 1981. Wold established a law practice in Luverne, North Dakota eventually securing the appointment as Griggs County State’s Attorney.
In 1994, Wold was appointed as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs, acting as the Director of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (hereinafter DPMO). The main function of the DPMO is to ensure that the United States government achieves the fullest possible accounting for POW/MIA United States servicemen. In this capacity, Wold traveled widely, meeting frequently with the families of missing service members, and coordinating investigation and remains-recovery efforts with foreign governments in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
While serving as the Director of the DPMO, Wold was embroiled in the controversy over the POW/MIA issue, with many members of the public (particularly family members of the missing and numerous United States Senators and Congressmen) alleging that the government was not doing enough to repatriate lost Americans as well as claiming that there existed evidence of live Americans still being held prisoner in Southeast Asia.
After serving three years as the Director of the DPMO, Wold tendered his letter of resignation to President Bill Clinton on June 26, 1997. Following his resignation from the DPMO, Wold returned home to Luverne, North Dakota, where he died on February 11, 2003.
Subject/Index Terms
Legal
Military History - Prisoners of War (POW)
Military History - Vietnam War
University of North Dakota - Alumni
Administrative Information
Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections
Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.
Acquisition Source: JoAnne Wold, Luverne, North Dakota
Acquisition Method: Donation, Acc.2007-2918
Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). James Wold Papers. OGLMC 1524, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.
Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid migrated to Archon in July 2015.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Personal History and Military Career],
[Series 2: Legal Career],
[Series 3: Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office],
[Series 4: POW/MIA Organizations],
[Series 5: Legislative Documents and Materials],
[Series 6: United States Russian Joint Commission ],
[Series 7: Correspondence],
[Series 8: POW/MIA Reports and Media Documents],
[Series 9: Oversized Materials],
[Series 10: Photographs],
[Series 11: Artifacts],
[All]
- Series 10: Photographs
- Sub-Series A: USAF Career Photographs
- Box 11
- Folder 1: Wold headshots from USAF and DPMO
- Folder 2: Photos of Wold as New Member of USAF
- Folder 3: Photos of the Airplane and Cockpit of Brig. Gen. Wold as Used During the Vietnam War: 1968
- Folder 4: Miscellaneous Photos of Brig. Gen. Wold's Military Service During the Vietnam War
- Folder 5: Air Surveillance Photos from the Vietnam War
- Folder 6: Photos of Wold with USAF Superiors
- Folder 7: Photos of Miscellaneous USAF Celebratory Events
- Folder 8: Photos of Social Functions of the Soviet Military During Wold's Service as United States Air Attaché to the Soviet Union : 1977
- Folder 9: Photos of Moscow Skyline Taken While Wold Served as United States Air Attaché to the Soviet Union : 1977
- Folder 10: Photos of Air Force Association Luncheon in Moscow , Russia with Letter to Brig. Gen. Wold: 15 March 1977
- Folder 11: Photos of May Day Celebratory Parade of the Soviet Union : 1977
- Folder 12: Photos of Brig. Gen. Wold Presenting Various USAF Awards and Accolades to Others
- Folder 13: Photos of Brig. Gen. Wold Receiving the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge National Award
- Folder 14: Photos of Brig. Gen. Wold's Retirement from USAF: 1977
- Sub-Series B: Law School Photographs
- Sub-Series C: DPMO Photographs
- Box 11
- Folder 17: Photos of Event Held in Cooperstown , North Dakota Celebrating DASD Wold's Acceptance of the Position as Director of the DPMO and DASD: 1994
- Folder 18: Unspecified Photos of POW/MIA Excavation Sites in Indochina (Likely Vietnam , Laos or Cambodia )
- Folder 19: Unspecified Undated Photos from DASD Wold's Delegations/Trips Abroad (Mostly to Vietnam , Cambodia and Laos ) [Folder I]
- Folder 20: Unspecified Undated Photos from DASD Wold's Delegations/Trips Abroad (Mostly to Vietnam , Cambodia and Laos ) [Folder II]
- Folder 21: Photos of DASD Wold with North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad: 1994
- Folder 22: Photos of DASD Wold's Delegations/Trips to Indochina (Mostly Vietnam and Laos ): 1994
- Folder 23: Photos of DASD Wold Presenting Numerous Awards in Behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Defense as well as the DPMO: 1994-1997
- Folder 24: Photos of DASD Wold Being Presented with Award by Secretary of Defense William Perry
- Folder 25: Photos of DASD Wold's Delegations/Trips to Indochina (Mostly Vietnam and Laos ): 1995
- Folder 26: Photos of DASD Wold's Delegations/Trips to Indochina (Mostly Vietnam and Laos ): 1996
- Folder 27: Photos of DASD Wold's Visit to the Life Sciences Equipment Laboratory at Kelly Air Force Base in Texas : July 1996
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Personal History and Military Career],
[Series 2: Legal Career],
[Series 3: Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office],
[Series 4: POW/MIA Organizations],
[Series 5: Legislative Documents and Materials],
[Series 6: United States Russian Joint Commission ],
[Series 7: Correspondence],
[Series 8: POW/MIA Reports and Media Documents],
[Series 9: Oversized Materials],
[Series 10: Photographs],
[Series 11: Artifacts],
[All]