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This collection contains six Aviator's Flight Log Books from Captain Hilliard C. Smathers' time as a pilot with the U.S. Navy, from 1930-1951. Also included is the flag that flew in Smathers' honor over the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. and two certificates confirming this occasion. The US Naval Aviator certificate contains a picture of Smathers, as well as the date on which he was officially certified as a Naval Aviator - March 21, 1942 - and three instrument rating cards.

Jonathan Chamberlain Williams (1929-2008) was and American poet, photographer, and essayist. He was born only a few months before the Great Depression in Asheville, North Carolina to Thomas Benjamin and Georgette (Chamberlain) Williams. Williams was a student at Princeton University and dropped out after finding that academia stifled his creativity. He was the founder of a prestigious press that printed avant-garde works, known as The Jargon Society Press. In October 1962, Williams traveled to England and nearly every day during his month-long trip, he wrote a hand-written postcard to Jessie McGullie discussing his observations and comments about the many places that he visited, the people he interacted with, and the environment around him. He received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim, National Endowment Fellowships, and a Longview Foundation Grant. In 2008, Williams passed away with his longtime partner Thomas Meyer by his bedside at their home in North Carolina.