East Asia Military Deployment Photograph Album, 1941-1954

Title: East Asia Military Deployment Photograph Album, 1941-1954

Predominant Dates: 1953

ID: P 338

Extent: 0.15 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The East Asia Military Deployment Photograph Album is comprised of two series: Series 1: Photograph Album, 1953 and Series 2: Loose Materials, 1941-1954.

Date Acquired: 00/00/2017

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The East Asia Military Deployment Photograph Album is composed of 66 mounted photographs, 21 loose photographs, three newspaper clippings, a Christmas card, and a leaflet. The materials document an unknown United States Marine Corp officer's experiences in East Asia and Bermuda between 1941 and 1954.

The contents of this collection have been digitized and are available upon request.

The East Asia Military Deployment Photograph Album documents the professional activities of an unknown United States Marine Corps officer from 1941-1954. The album predominately focuses on two distinct periods: a World War II or post-war era tour in East Asia, and a 1953 deployment in Korea during and just after the Korean War.

The collection's earliest materials include two loose newspaper clippings from early 1941 reporting on the establishment of U.S. Naval Air Station Bermuda on Tucker's Island, Bermuda. One clipping features an image of several soldiers standing near a row of tents and includes an annotated 'X' over one soldier, possibly the album's creator. The collection also includes a photograph that may have been taken in Bermuda featuring three women on a beach.

Also present are eighteen photographs that appear to have been taken in East Asia, likely China, during or directly following World War II. These photographs include street scenes, buildings (both modern and traditional), fishing vessels, military vehicles, local people, and two photographs of the scrapbook's creator. The collection also includes a portrait of four unknown Marine Corps soldiers in their dress blues and a portrait of a Japanese woman featuring a stamp on the reverse indicating that the photograph was "Examined in the Field" and "Passed by Joint Intelligence." No other identifying information is available for the loose photographs.

The photograph album is comprised of 66 mounted photographs, most of which are annotated with handwritten captions in the album and on the back of each photograph. All captions located on the reverse of the mounted photographs have been transcribed and are present in the container list. The photographs document the soldier's stay in Hiroshima, Japan in June 1953 and time stationed in Korea in September and October 1953. The photos taken in Japan include images of soldiers and the military base at Etajima, street views, the Hiroshima Memorial and ruins, Japanese actors filming on location, and the scrapbook's creator and other soldiers dining and recreating at the Yamato Hotel. There are also three photographs of Iwo Jima taken from a plane in flight.

Photographs taken in Korea feature a group of soldiers at Johnston Island; artillery positions, tanks, and a helicopter in flight; views of military outpost buildings and tents, including facilities at Camp Matthews; events such as a "Beer Bust" and an awards ceremony; and soldiers, including the scrapbook's creator, engaged in hiking, bathing, cooking, sleeping, and other day-to-day activities. The album contains several self-portraits and other photographs with captions describing the photography techniques used for capturing the images. There is also a loose copy of the July 20, 1954 edition of the San Francisco Examiner featuring an article reporting on the arrival of the military transport Marine Phoenix in San Francisco from Inchon, Korea.

The collection also includes a handmade, undated Christmas card from a child and a leaflet from the Kyoei Industry Co. describing the tradition of maiko performers, possibly originally packaged with a doll or figurine.

The contents of this collection have been digitized and are available upon request.

The origin of the East Asia Military Deployment Photograph Album is largely unknown. The creator and primary subject of the scrapbook is unidentified. The subject appears to have been a member of the United States Marine Corps as early as 1941 and may have been stationed in Bermuda. He appears to have been stationed in China during or just after World War II. Photographs from his 1953 tour in Korea indicate he was a USMC Master Seargeant in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines Weapons Company. Other details are unavailable.

In 1940, the British government gave the United States rights to construct a military base at Bermuda. The Naval Operating Base, later the U.S. Naval Air Station Bermuda, was constructed by the U.S. Navy in 1941 as part of the U.S. military's defensive chain in the Atlantic. The base was officialy closed in 1995.

The United States' involvement in East Asia in World War II began as early as 1940 with the embargo of oil sales to Japan in response to Japan's attacks on China in the Second Sino-Japanese War. On December 8, 1941, the United States declared war on the Empire of Japan in response to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. During World War II, the United States engaged in an aggressive military campaign against Japan in the Pacific Theater, characterized by naval and aerial combat and island-by-island fighting. The United States' efforts in the China, Burma and India (CBI) Theater were largely focused on administrative and logistical support, predominately as part of larger Allied Forces efforts. Conflict with Japan officially ended on September 15, 1945, following the United States' nuclear weapons attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The United States military presence continued in East Asia long after the end of World War II, including temporary U.S. military administration of both Japan and Korea.

The Korean War began with the North Korean invasion of South Korean in June 1950. United States and United Nations forces supported South Korea while China and the Soviet Union provided military and economic aid to North Korea. An armistice was declared on July 27, 1953, though a peace treaty was never signed. Ultimately, the Korean War resulted in the creation of a demilitarized zone between North and South Korea and propagation of major ideological, economic, and cultural divides between the two countries that continue today.

More Extent Information: 87 photographs; 1 oversize box

Statement on Access: This collection is open for research.

Physical Access Note: All captions located on the reverse of the mounted photographs have been transcribed and are present in the container list.

Acquisition Note: The East Asia Military Deployment Photograph Album was acquired by the Special Collections and Archives Research Center in 2017.

Related Materials:

The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holdings include numerous collections relating to the U.S. involvement in World War II and the post-war era abroad. In particular, the World War II Scrapbooks (MSS WW2Scrapbooks) and the World War II Newsmaps (MAPS Newsmap) document the war in Asia. The Elvin A. Duerst Papers (MSS Duerst) address post-war aid in China.

Materials documenting military service in the Korean War can be found in the Bill Wilkins Papers (MSS Wilkins), the Horner Museum Oral History Collection (OH 010), and the Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection (OH 026).

Preferred Citation: East Asia Military Deployment Photograph Album (P 338), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information:

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful.  We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information, please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online.

Some materials in this collection use derogatory language to describe ethnic groups. We acknowledge the racism represented by the use of these phrases and the harm they may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein.

[Date of acknowledgement: March 2023]

Hiroshima-shi (Japan)
Iwo Jima (Volcano Islands, Japan)
Johnston Island
Korean War, 1950-1953.
U.S. Naval Air Station Bermuda
United States. Marine Corps
United States. Marine Corps--Military life.

Photograph albums.
Photographic prints.