Paul LeRoy Jones was a US soldier who served under General Joseph Stilwell in the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II. With a background in radio communications and chemistry, Jones joined the Seventh Infantry Division of the United States Army in April 1941. During the war, Jones held a variety of jobs that required him to travel throughout the China-Burma-India Theater. He served as a public relations officer to General Stilwell, was appointed a liaison and courier to the Chinese Fifth and Sixth Armies, and directed the transportation of supplies over “The Hump” for China Defense Supplies, Inc., while stationed in Assam, India. In May 1942, after the fall of Burma, Jones followed General Stilwell on a walkout from Burma to India to escape capture. Jones, being one of the few members of the group with a camera, was able to take photographs documenting the walkout, including images of General Stilwell and conditions of the journey.
Consisting mainly of photographs, the Paul LeRoy Jones papers document Allied military activities in the China-Burma-India Theater. The papers include materials by and about General Stilwell, such as correspondence, clippings, and statements. During the war, Jones kept a diary in which he recorded his interactions with General Stilwell and his work transporting supplies and broadcasting radio programs. Jones later created a transcript of his diary, with annotations describing people and events. This diary transcript, along with several scrapbooks documenting his experiences, can be found in the collection, which complements the Hoover Institution Archives' holdings related to the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II.
