FLVC logo

Colonel Melvin B. Asp collection, 1910-1956, Date acquired: 05/00/1998

 

Summary

Creator:
Asp, Melvin B. (1893-1964)
Abstract:
This collection consists of the personal papers of Melvin B. Asp, commanding officer of the U.S. Army at Tampa's Drew Field during World War II.
Extent:
3.55 Linear Feet
3 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Melvin B. Asp collection, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains an assortment of high school memorabilia, newspaper clippings, military service records, certificates, photographs, and pilot log books (1918-1919).  Also includes a bound volume of the 1942-1944 issues of the Drew Field Echoes, the wartime weekly newspaper of the Tampa air base.

Biographical / historical:

Melvin B. Asp (1893-1964) was born in Pueblo, Colorado.  His family moved to Tampa, Florida in 1907.  After graduating from Hillsborough High School in 1913, Asp left Tampa to attend the University of Minnesota. In 1917, he became a cadet in the U.S. Army's flying service, beginning a 33-year career in Army aviation. From 1941 to 1944, he served as commanding officer of Tampa's Drew Field (now Tampa International Airport) with orders to transform the semi-swampy area into a modern air base. After leaving Drew Field, he served in North Africa, then as Deputy Commander for the China Air Service Command.  In May 1946, Asp returned to Tampa to oversee the closing of Drew Field as a military post.  He then served in Germany during the Berlin air lift.  Asp retired from the military in 1949 and returned to Tampa, where he lived until his death.

Acquisition information:

R. Gale Porter

Donation.

Arrangement:

Subject.

Rules or conventions:
other_unmapped

Access and use

Terms of access:

None.  The contents of the collection may be subject to copyright.  Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.

Preferred citation:

Melvin B. Asp collection, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.

Location of this collection:
The University of South Florida, Tampa Campus
4202 East Fowler Ave. LIB122
Tampa
FL
33620-5400
USA