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Grimm, Edward Miller, 1899-1977

 Person

Biographical History

Edward Miller Grimm (1899-1977) served in both World War I and World War II. Afterwards, he continued to run his business in the Philippines, and later became instrumental in helping to introduce the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there.

Edward Miller Grimm, otherwise known as Pete, was born on May 17, 1899, in San Francisco, California, to Frederick Grimm and Ethel Eva Van Butler Grimm. As a young man, he attended school in San Francisco and worked in the city's dock yards. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Navy. Following the war, he traveled to the Philippines where he became the principle owner and operator of the Luzon Stevedoring Company, a business known for ship salvage operations and ocean tug-boat service. His company eventually expanded into mining, ship building, barge construction, and grain and flour mills. In February 1926, he married Juanita Kegley in Manila and they had two daughters, Ethel and Juanita. He also served as the Panamanian Consul in the Philippines for several years.

During the second World War, he served as a U.S. Army colonel on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur; Colonel Grimm was primarily responsible for cargo and transportation in the Southwest Pacific. He participated in the liberation of Manila and in the winter of 1945, as Commandant of the liberated Santo Tomas University internment camp, he provided humanitarian aid to, and assisted in processing, Santo Tomas civilian internees and American and allied prisoners of war in the Philippines. With Charles Parson, he was instrumental in helping restore Manila’s destroyed piers and harbor facilities.

In 1947, "Pete" met widow Maxine Tate Shields in Tacloban, Leyte, while she was serving with the Red Cross in public relations (aiding prisoners of war, civilian internees, and refugees). Following his divorce from Juanita in early July, Pete and Maxine married in Manila, Philippines, on July 25, 1947; they also had two children together (Edward Miller Grimm II (Pete Jr.) and Linda. Edward was not a member of the Church, but when two other American families moved into the area, Maxine began holding church meetings in their home with his support. Over 2,000 baptisms were performed in their own pool as no church buildings or fonts had been built. Pete also offered his car and driver to help the local mission president & matron get around. He was an active part of the Church with Maxine for many years, and was finally baptized in 1967. After some years in the Philippines, the Grimms moved back to Utah, where Edward became involved in various business activities, including development, finance, and insurance. He later served as a member of the Board of Directors for Bonneville International Corporation. He died on November 27, 1977, at the Makati Medical Center in Manila, Philippines, and was buried in Tooele City Cemetery in Utah.

Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:

Edward Miller Grimm general military records, business, and personal letters, 1942-1978

 Sub-Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 6025 Series 1 Sub-Series 3
Scope and Contents

Contains papers that would normally be collected in the military, including transfer and temporary duty orders, correspondence, assignments, pay queries, resource charts, and retirement requests to the Veterans Administration. Dated 1942 to 1978.

Dates: Other: 1942-1978

Edward Miller Grimm military records, letters, and other material, 1918-1978

 Series
Identifier: MSS 6025 Series 1
Scope and Contents

The series contains Army, Navy, and Internment camp records of the Philippines from World War II. There are also business, personal, and military letters, newspapers, and other ephemera, such as blueprints, drawings for a ship, and census records of the internment camps. Materials dated 1918 to 1978.

Dates: Other: 1918-1978

Edward Miller Grimm military records, letters, and other material on Santo Tomas University Internment Camp and Cabantuan Prisoner of War Camp, 1942-1945

 Sub-Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 6025 Series 1 Sub-Series 2
Scope and Contents

Subseries contains military records that pertain to the Santo Tomas University Internment Camp and Cabantuan Prisoner of War Camp, including a census of internees, the plan for relief of civilian internees, organizational chart, casualty lists, day-to-day work, and a Manila newspaper with a story about the camp. Materials dated 1942 to 1945.

Dates: 1942-1945

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Army officers 1
Blueprints 1
Census data 1
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.) 1
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