East Asia Military Deployment Photograph Album, 1941-1954

Predominant Dates: 1953

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.

ID: P 338

Extent: 0.15 cubic feet

More Extent Information

Scope and Content Notes

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.

Biographical / Historical Notes

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.

Author: Trevor Sandgathe

Statement on Access: This collection is open for research.

Statement on Description:

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]

Arrangement

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

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

Acquired: 2017.

Languages of Materials

English

Other

Container List

Series 1: Photograph Album, 1953 Add to Shelf

Series 1 is comprised of a scrapbook which includes 67 mounted photographs from the creator's time in Japan and Korea during and just after the Korean war. The album includes images of the scrapbook's creator; scenes of Hiroshima and Iwo Jima, Japan; military bases and camps in Japan and Korea; and the day-to-day activities of U.S. soldiers. Many of the photographs are annotated with handwritten captions in the album and on the reverse side of the photographs. Captions that appear on the reverse of the photographs, where present, are transcribed as item titles in the Series 1 container list.

Item P338:01: Portrait of album creator, circa 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:02: "Iwo Jima", June 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:03: "Iwo Jima", June 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:04: "In front of fence L-R M Sgt Hopper; M Sft Geantali; M Sgt Rose / Back of fence L-R Me; M Sgt Edder; M Sgt Lairren; M Sgt Croft; M Sgt Armandtrout; M Sgt Scott; M Sgt Richadrson; M Sgt Krueger; M Sgt Walters; M Sgt Haas / Johnston Isle", June 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:05: "Front of fence L-R Rose; Walters; Geantali; Thompson / Back of fence L-R: Armandtrout; Croft; Scott; Hopper; Edder; Richardson; Haas; Krueger; Talbot / Johnston Isle", June 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:06: "Ben and Highballs, Yamato Hotel, Kure; / L-R across picture: Mom San; Me; Thompson; Scott; Serving Girl", June 13, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:07: "In garden at Yamato Hotel", June 14, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:08: "Boats over oyster beds outside signal room window", June 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:09: "Squad Room in barrracks, Eta Jima / That is me sleeping face down in top bunk rt. rear", June 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:10: "Gates to trains, Kure Station", June 14, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:11: "Eating with chopsticks at low Jap table in Yamato Hotel Room / Krueger missed the table and me kneeling in this shot (poor angle)", June 14, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:12: "On balcony overlooking garden. Yamato Hotel, Kure. w/ Krueger", June 14, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:13: "In front of Kure R.R. Sta.", June 14, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:14: "Inside, under dome, Hiroshima Memorial", June 15, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:15: "Look at ruins, Hiroshima", June 14, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:16: "Krueger and myself at entrance to memorial ruins at Hiroshima", June 14, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:17: "Looking up at dome (from inside), Hiroshima Memorial", June 14, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:18: "Movie stars", June 14, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:19: "Japanese movie star on location at Hiroshima Memorial", June 14, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:20: "Thompson, Krueger and myself in front of Hiroshima Memorial", June 14, 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:21: "Iwo Jima", June 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:22: Album creator standing in street, June 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:23: "Men on hike led by Maj. Flythe", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:24: "In front of my Weapons Co. tent", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:25: "[Self portrait] taken by myself with timer", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:26: "X, Tom, M Sgt. Mickey Flynn", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:27: "Arty position near here", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:28: "Looking back over hike route which comes up this draw", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:29: "W, 2/7, slop chute", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:30: "Looking West from W, 2/7 area", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:31: Portrait of album creator, September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:32: "Korean tombstone. Guess he guards the grave. Must have been a wealthy guy judging by the size of the statue", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:33: "Some Weapons Co. men moving the sh-- house", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:34: "T. Sgt. Clark from Weapons Co 2/7", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:35: "M. Sgt. Mickey Flynn H&S Co. 1st Sgt. now formely of Fox Co. 2/7", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:36: "Whirly-bird coming in over head to pcik up supplies for hill top positions in basket slung underneath. 1/300 of second shutter speed almost stops the rotos", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:37: "Looking east toward Weapons Company area (Camp Mathews). Movie & Chapel & Shower Unit in foreground", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:38: "Weapons Co. office", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:39: "Staff Mess / Humes in center", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:40: View toward Bn C.O.'s tent from W,2/7 area, September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:41: "Me sleeping after one of those up all night deals", July 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:42: "Camp Lee, Korea", July 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:43: "Taking a bath in a rice paddy. Before truce was signed. M. Sgt. Holmes, center", July 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:44: "View leaving Camp Matthews", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:45: "Coffee in the tent. (Taken with timer)", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:46: "M. Sgt. Williams after hike", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:47: "Sgt. L. B. Turner. He was selected for O.C.S. at Quantico, Va. (day he left)", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:48: Album creator in front of Sergeant Major's office - "See Honey I'm all ASS-BACKWARDS" [lettered in reverse], October 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:49: "Tom Humes, X, and T . Sgt. Fetterof", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:50: "View from Staff Mess of Camp", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:51: "Cooling off at spring on hike", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:52: "Camp Memorial marker", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:53: Tanks on road - "This scene is also backward", October 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:54: "Arty position we pass on hike", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:55: "View on hike", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:56: "X & Lon Humes", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:57: "At Beer Bust / Shower unit in background", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:58: "At desk in Weapons Co. office", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:59: "Awards ceremony", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:60: "Weapons Co. Beer Bust / L to R Lt. Wall, X, a kid we call Skosh (meaning small in Korean)", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:61: "Capt. Butler and X", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:62: Soldier in lavatory tent - "Can you guess what I'm doing even though it is reversed?", October 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:63: "This was taken just as I was coming into the Weapons Co. area returning from a hike. I was really beat. Picture taken by Lt. Jenkins", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:64: "Took this of the famous Monroe Calendar - Slightly out of focus but not too bad. Layed it on ground in sunlight to take shot", October 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:65: Portrait of album creator - "Self-taken in my tent", September 1953 Add to Shelf
Item P338:66: "Making soup at night. Lon, T. Sgt. Morgan & X (made with timer)", September 1953 Add to Shelf

Series 2: Loose Materials, 1941-1954 Add to Shelf

Series 2 is comprised of loose materials found with the East Asia Military Deployment Photograph Album including newspaper clippings, photographic prints, a leaflet from the Kyoei Industry Co., and an undated Christmas card from a child. The newspaper clippings report on the establishment of U.S. Naval Air Station Bermuda on Tucker's Island, Bermuda in 1941 and the 1954 arrival of the Marine Phoenix military transport ship in San Francisco, California from Inchon, Korea. The photographs include an image of three women on a beach (perhaps in Bermuda); eighteen shots taken in East Asia, likely China, during or directly following World War II; a portrait of a Japanese woman; and a portrait of four unknown U.S. Marine Corps Soldiers.

Box-Folder 1.1: Loose Photographs, circa 1945-1953 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.2: Loose Clippings, Leaflet, and Christmas Card, 1941-1954 Add to Shelf

People, Places, and Topics

Forms of Material

Related Materials

Unidentified Creator of the East Asia Military Deployment Photograph Album, ca. 1953.

Information and Credits