Collection Title: D. Y. Dunn Collection
Series Number: MS12-18
Processed and Cataloged by: Processed by Dieter C. Ullrich in August of 2012.
Date Listed: August 23, 2012.
Date Span: 1917-1983
Size of Collection: 2.75 linear feet.
Number of Boxes: 1 letter size document cases; 1 letter half size document case and 1 oversized box.
Type of Material: Correspondence, photographs and ephemera.
Condition of Material: Fair with some water and mold damage.
Arrangement: Organized by format of material; Chronological arrangement.
Biographical / Historical Information: D. Y. Dunn was a Kentucky educator and United States Army officer from 1917 to 1952. He was born in Calloway County, Kentucky on August 25, 1891. He attended grammar school at Marshall County Subscription School and the Kirksey Institute. He graduated from Murray High School in 1909. He attended Western Kentucky Normal School and graduated with a teaching certificate in 1916. The following year he attained business degree from Bowling Green Business School. At the outbreak of World War I, Dunn was working as a teacher in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He enlisted in the United States Army at Fort Benjamin Harrison on August 17, 1917 and was later commissioned a captain in the Officer’s Reserve Corps on November 27, 1917. He remained in the Reserve Officers’ Association following the war and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1931. He commanded a regiment in the 100th Infantry Division between the First and Second World War. During the World War II, he remained stateside as a military trainer and educator. After the First World War, he relocated to Lexington where he taught at public county schools and attended the University of Kentucky. In 1929 he received his Master of Arts Degree in School Administration and was appointed superintendent of Fayette County Schools, a position he held until his retirement in 1949. He retired from the Officer Reserve Corps on June 30, 1952. Following his retirement he became involved in the construction business. He retired from his second profession in 1978 and returned to Calloway County. He died in Murray on June 6, 1990.
Scope and Content: The collection consists of correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, military records, certificates, awards, memorabilia and ephemera related to the military career of D. Y. Dunn of Calloway County, Kentucky. The collection also contains photographs of Colonel Dunn’s visit to Washington, D. C. to participate in the 75th Anniversary of the United States Army Reserves in April of 1983. He was the oldest commissioned officer at the event and was photographed with many significant politicians of that era. Included in the collection is a biography of Vivian Mae Rawlins, a Fayette County educator and administrator, and a history of the Donerail Community of Kentucky.
Subject Headings / Descriptors:
Dunn, D. Y., 1891-1990.
Rawlins, Vivian Mae, 1911-1975.
Donerail (Ky) – History.
Fayette County (Ky.) – History.
Educators –Kentucky – Biography.
Soldiers – Kentucky – Murray.
Box List
Box 1
1. Certificates and Awards
2. Correspondence 1930-1983
3. Ephemera
4. Newspaper Clippings
5. Photographs- 75th Anniversary of United State Army Reserve 1983
6. Photograph- D.Y. Dunn 1983
7. Photographs- D.Y. Dunn- Education
8. Photographs- D.Y. Dunn- Military
9. Photographs- D.Y. Dunn with Carroll Hubbard 1983
10. Photographs- D.Y. Dunn with Dee Huddleston 1983
11. Photographs- D.Y. Dunn with John O. Marsh 1983
12. Photographs- D.Y. Dunn with Tip O’Neal 1983
13. Photographs- D.Y. Dunn with Strom Thurmond 1983
14. Photographs- Family Members
15. Photographs- Miscellaneous
Box 2
1. Donerail, Kentucky
2. Donerail, Oh! Donerail
3. The Heroine of the Donerail Trail (Drafts)
4. Vivian Rawlins- Recollections
5. Vivian Rawlins- Recollections (Draft)
6. Vivian Rawlin’s- Research Notes
7. Vivian Rawlins- Research Notes
Box 3
1. Video Cassette tape
2. Army reserve officer commission documents
3. Newspaper Clippings
