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Hotch at 100: Entering WW2

By Array

In this fourth installment of our ongoing video interview with A. E. Hotchner, recorded to commemorate his 100th birthday, Hotch talks to us about his early experiences of World War 2, his attempts to become a pilot or a naval officer (and eventual assignment as one of the “airplane monkeys” on the repair field) and his involvement with Army Air Corps musical shows put on to raise money for the widows of lost airmen.

The Modern Literature Collection has been acquiring Hotchner’s manuscripts and other papers since 1967. The A. E. Hotchner Papers currently consist of manuscript and editorial material toward the books Papa Hemingway (1966), Treasure (1970), King of the Hill (1970), The Man Who Lived at the Ritz (1981), Looking for Miracles (1975), Choice People (1984), Louisiana Purchase (1996) and Hemingway in Love (2015), as well as scripts for Hotchner’s adaptations of Hemingway for television and original plays for television and the stage.

A major new acquisition from Hotchner this year includes further manuscripts and screenplays, correspondence with Hemingway, photographs and other memorabilia of Hotchner’s time at Washington University, photographs of Hemingway, and many materials related to Hotchner’s long-running charity production of the Hemingway story-cycle “The World of Nick Adams”. These materials are being processed and integrated with the existing A. E. Hotchner Papers.

A.E. Hotchner's Army Discharge Papers. The letter has the Great Seal of the United States (a shield with thirteen stars referring to the original thirteen states supported by a bald eale with its wings outstreached; the eagle holds thirteen arrows in its left talon and an olive branch in its right with a scroll clutched in its beak. The scroll typically reads 'E pluribus unum,' or 'Out of Many, One.') and is the letter detailing Hotchner's honorable service and discharge.
A. E. Hotchner’s Army Discharge Papers, Certificate of Service
A.E. Hotchner's Army Discharge Papers. This page details Hotchner's service, station, and overall record. It is affixed with his finger print and signed.
A. E. Hotchner’s Army Discharge Papers