HOWARD H. "BO" CALLAWAY PAPERS, (1979) 1972-77

President Richard Nixon appointed Howard H. "Bo" Callaway as Secretary of the Army in 1973, Callaway continued in that position into the Ford administration. Callaway, a Georgia businessman and Republican politician, had served as a civilian aide to previous Army Secretaries. During his tenure with the Army, his major accomplishment was to "sell" the concept of an all-volunteer army and then preside over its implementation.

Callaway resigned from his post in June 1975 to become chairman of President Ford's newly-formed campaign organization, the President Ford Committee (PFC). Callaway headed the PFC for nine months, overseeing the recruitment of personnel, the development of its organizational structure, and, in conjunction with the White House, the implementation of political strategies.

In March 1976, Democratic Senator Floyd Haskell advanced charges that Callaway, while serving as Secretary of the Army, had furthered his family's interests in a Colorado ski resort by persuading the Forest Service and the Civil Aeronautics Board to make rulings favorable to the resort. Callaway asked President Ford to relieve him of his duties pending the resolution of these charges. With Ford in a tough fight for the Republican nomination, Callaway soon resigned as PFC chairman. Rogers Morton replaced him.

After leaving the PFC, Callaway devoted himself to disproving the charges leveled against him. He testified before Haskell's committee investigating the charges and considered legal action against his accusers. In the end the Senate committee criticized Callaway only for "poor judgement," while a Justice Department investigation cleared him of any conflict-of-interest charges. In July 1977, a Harper's magazine article reviewed the case at length in terms sympathetic to Callaway and critical of the roles of Haskell and the media.

The Callaway papers contain only fragmentary information on his work as Secretary of the Army and PFC chairman. Callaway reports that he left behind virtually all his files when he left these two posts.

Although much of Callaway's PFC material concerns his contacts with the campaign committee after his departure, it does contain some early notes on the organization of the campaign, an August 1975 campaign plan, and Callaway's schedules. Of special note is a memo to President Ford dated March 27, 1976, assessing the personnel, organization, and activities of the PFC.

Much of the Army material concerns personal or routine matters, but some relates to Army policies or organization. Of note is material on Callaway's testimony before a House committee concerning his views that the military service secretaries were not being kept fully informed on matters of military strategy by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The bulk of the collection concerns Callaway's largely successful struggle to disprove the allegations surrounding his actions on behalf of his ski resort at Crested Butte, Colorado. Besides Callaway's own small file on this topic, the collection includes all of the working files of the Washington law firm which he hired to represent him. The material relates both to the congressional investigation of the charges and possible legal action against his accusers.

Related Materials (July 1992)
The records of the President Ford Committee include much on Callaway's tenure as chairman, especially in the files of the Chairman's Office. Additional materials on Callaway's role in the campaign can be found throughout the campaign-related files in the Library. Please consult the Library's list titled "The 1976 Presidential Election: A Guide to Manuscript Collections Available for Research" for further information.

White House Central Files Subject File category FG 14 and its subdivisions relate to the Department of the Army, as do scattered folders in other collections.