Hoosier Archives Collection

Walter (Walt) W. Buchanan was born October 6, 1941 in Lebanon, IN. He became an aerospace engineer and was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy from 1965-1969, including serving in Vietnam. He married Carol in 1968 and had two boys. Walter also studied law and became a lawyer for the veteran’s administration in Indianapolis. Walt discovered Diplomacy in 1970 and began collecting dipzines in an attempt to collect as many games as possible. His collection included almost every issue of every dipzine published between 1963 and 1978. He began his own dipzine entitled “Hoosier Archives” (HA) in 1971 with the help of his wife Carol, and “Diplomacy World”, the first professional style zine in the hobby. Buchanan was the editor of the “Hoosier Archives” and had amassed a collection of Diplomacy zines (dipzines), war gaming periodicals, correspondence, player census, maps, game rules, and other materials relating to the dipzine postal Diplomacy genre.

Walt was an active dipzine player, publisher, gamemaster, and archivist. His contributions to the genre led him to be selected to the International Diplomacy Hall of Fame. He holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education, a M.S.E. and B.S.E. in Interdisciplinary Engineering, as well as a J.D. in Law and his B.A. in Mathematics and Languages. Walt worked at Texas A and M University as a Chair Professor in Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution; as of 2025, he serves as a Professor Emeritus in Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution at Texas A and M University.