WWII PACIFIC THEATER PHOTO ALBUM SCRAPBOOK by KANSAS MAN
Item #856
Ivory cover with embossed heraldic device (generic, not specific)
Lace-bound cover in good condition, though spine is fragile
36 thick newsprint leaves/72 pages - four torn out (probably at the time) - inside covers also utilized - 12 5/12 w X 15 3/4 h X 1 3/4 d
This was prepared, with the war still fresh in his memory, by John David Klingensmith, (“Klingo”) of Salina, KS, soon after returning from the Pacific Theater where he was in the Army Air Corp. Approximately 200 photos of various sizes have been affixed, and more than 80 newspaper clippings (including many Dateline:Pacific columns). A few additional ephemera have been tucked in and a few more have come loose from the binding. Half a dozen photographs appear to be missing, but the clippings all seem to be present.
This album is historically valuable and lovingly assembled, though the compiler clearly did not have prior scrapbooking experience - the paste-ins are somewhat haphazard and not consistently chronological. Many of the newspaper articles exceed the dimensions of the album housing them, and so are ‘fold-outs’. The articles for the most part document the final months of the war, as the tide turned decisively in favor of the Allies and one island chain after another was liberated.
Klingensmith was evidently a thoughtful and sensitive soul - the album contains two well-executed watercolors, some pencil sketches, two schematic plans for his apartment back home, some theater stubs and programs from the San Francisco Opera, as well as a pasted-in quote from Baudelaire.
All told, this is a fascinating find for the historian of America’s finest hour. All pages are brittle and have ragged edges, but only a few have major tears. Many small details overlooked by common history are to be gleaned from the clippings and cartoons - not just information but also nuances of attitude and sentiment.
Most of the photos are portraits, and most lack captions. Important military-issued documents are pasted in: Immunization Register, Soldier’s Individual Pay Record, Mess Ticket, Pilot and Crew Member Physical Record Card
Among the contents:
◦ An article detailing the firebombing of Tokyo
◦ An article regarding the search for Japanese holdouts on Guam
◦ Trader Vic’s (Hawaii) drink menu and humorous “Trading License”
◦ 2 issues of YANK magazine, and one of Hickam Highlights
◦ 2 circular unit patches of the Army Air Force, to which Klingensmith belonged
◦ 1 circular Sheepshead patch - from the Merchant Marine Training School
◦ Pasted-in, folded up typewritten correspondence
◦ Several pasted-in envelopes, letters still within
◦ 3 small paragraph-length articles, from the local paper, about Klingensmith himself
◦ Numerous articles, apparently saved for him by his family, about the other theater of conflict, including a headline of ‘Unconditional Surrender’ by German forces
◦ A fascinating, full-page newspaper foldout - “Short History of Jap War”, from the Associated Press Foreign Staff
◦ A small photo album, with ten deckled photographs, tucked inside
◦ Numerous photos of battleships and aircraft
◦ A photo of the memorial erected to honor war correspondent Ernie Pyle.
Price: $450.00