Collection, which largely consists of correspondence, organized into six series: general, public papers, personal papers, speeches, clippings, and photographs. General papers contains correspondence and other documents, 1946-2003, re politics, Walters' opinions about possible improvements to the tax system, and other aspects of his family, life, and career. Public Papers include materials relating to Walters' service as a government official, including his appointments to the offices of Assistant Attorney General and Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and his role in the Watergate investigations. Public papers are divided in sub-series according to offices Walters held. Personal Papers consist of correspondence and other papers arranged in sub-series that document Walter's education, service in the military, early career struggles, successful legal practice and relationships with public figures. Personal Papers: Education is comprised of material from Walters' high school and undergraduate studies. Yearbooks and papers reflect his active involvement in student activities; his early interest in aviation is represented by a Student Logbook from flying lessons Walters completed while working his way through college at Furman University. His continuing involvement with Furman is demonstrated by the Honorary Doctor of Laws degree presented to him in 1973 and correspondence suggesting Walters as a candidate for President of the University. Records of his legal studies at the University of Michigan Law School also are present. Personal Papers: Military Service, 1942-1945, contains a wealth of information relating to Walter's service in the Army Air Force Reserves during and after World War II. Notably, papers include navigator's logs from bombing raids within Nazi controlled Europe on which Walters acted as navigator. The logs include a record of the mission on which Walters was wounded by flak, earning him the Purple Heart. Walters' handwritten war diary covers three months of his 1944 service in Italy. Personal Papers: Legal papers are arranged by the different legal firms for which Walters worked. Legal association papers and correspondence from various groups Walters participated in evince his career-long efforts to improve the tax system and the legal profession. Walters' applications to the New York and South Carolina State Bars, and papers relating to his admission to the Supreme Court are present. Published documentation of the legal suit Darlington-Hartsville Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. U.S. provides an example of Walters' work with taxation issues while with Greer, Walters, and Demo in the 1960s. A continued interest in and emphasis on tax reform is apparent in papers relating to case work, legislation, and lobbying created by Walters while with Hunton, Williams, Gay & Gibson. Personal Papers: Persons sub-series consists of files created by Walters relating to public figures with whom Walters maintained a personal relationship, often as an advisor, friend, or confident. Included are files on John B. Connally, Judge Clement F. Haynesworth, Jr., and South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell. Speeches consist of speeches written or given by Walters between 1960 and 1994 on subjects ranging from tax legislation to World War II. As both a tax lawyer and a prominent tax official, Walters often was asked to speak about changes to the tax code and pending legislation. Some speeches delivered as Commissioner of Internal Revenue attracted media attention, particularly those addressing corporate tax fraud issues and advocating simplification of tax forms. Clippings are arranged chronologically, 1943-1999. Articles from 1943 to 1945 refer to Walters' military service and include accounts of his injury while in Italy. A majority of the clippings dating from 1973 through 1975 relate to Watergate and investigations into the possibility of a politicized IRS. Included are articles about the testimony of John Dean, the "enemies list", possible IRS investigations of Lawrence F. O'Brien, and questions about President Richard Nixon's tax returns, and other matters. Photographs are topically arranged into the following sub-series: Education; Military; Persons; Portraits of Walters; Department of Justice Tax Division; and IRS Events, People, Staff, and Official Visits to Government Sites. Many of the photographs are from Walters' service in the Army Air Force. Notable are public relations photographs of Tonopah Army Air Field in Tonopah, Nevada, where Walters was stationed from 1944 to 1945. Also of note are photographs of Walters speaking at various events, being sworn in, and greeting guests with Donna Hall Walters at an IRS function. One photograph of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1955, is included.
