This collection (21 items) is primarily made up of letters that Second Lieutenant Howard Nathaniel Kenyon wrote to Lieutenant Frederick W. Biehl while both served with the United States Marine Corps in Haiti in 1924. Kenyon commented on military issues, politics, and the pair's involvement in the RMOLO/RAMOLO.
Kenyon wrote 19 letters to Biehl, who was stationed at Cap-Haïtien, from Port-au-Prince and Cerca-la-Source, Haiti, between January 28, 1924, and December 2, 1924; from March to December, he served with the Haitian Gendarmerie. He frequently reported news about military personnel such as Lieutenant McNamara, who was put on trial on suspicion of financial irregularities, and Captain McClure, who committed suicide. Kenyon occasionally commented on political matters, including as the presidential election of 1924, and participated in philosophical discussions, often related to political power and equality. Most of his letters refer to his work for the Gendarmerie, and he sometimes wrote of his distaste for the position and for the locals. Kenyon also mentioned the RMOLO/RAMOLO, of which he and Biehl were members, and a related individual called the "King." Additional items include an unsigned letter to Kenyon about a signature and vocal code to be used in connection with the RMOLO/RAMOLO "Inner Circle" (February 21, 1924) and a New York Times article about fundamentalist Christianity and possible rifts among protestant Christians in the United States (December 16, 1923).
Howard Nathaniel Kenyon was born in Longwood Township, Oklahoma, on May 16, 1898. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1921, he joined the United States Marine Corps as second lieutenant. In the mid-1920s, he served in the Gendarmerie d'Haïti, and he received successive promotions to first lieutenant (1925) and captain (1934). He later participated in the occupation of Nicaragua and commanded troops onboard the USS Hartford, USS Denver, USS Asheville, and USS Southery.
