[Loose Photographs]: World War II Pacific Islands

Author: JAMES, Dr. William H.
Title: [Loose Photographs]: World War II Pacific Islands
Publication: Pacific Islands: 1945

Description: Unbound. A collection of 172 loose black and white gelatin silver photographs measuring between 2½" x 3½" and 3½" x 5¾". Photographs are curling on the edges, else near fine.

An archive of photographs taken by Dr. William H. James while stationed in the Pacific Islands with the Air Force in World War II. The photos are taken with a professional eye and show the men, locals, and equipment including the planes and ships, James was working around. Most of the photos are captioned in the negative and list the island and date where the photo was taken. James was stationed in the Northern Mariana Islands during the beginning of 1945 when these photos were taken. Featured throughout the photos are Pacific Islanders in traditional dress as well as Air Force men working and interacting with them. Some of these photos show soldiers pointing out skin lesions on a few of the natives, others show them with the local children who are seen wearing soldier's helmets. The islands themselves are seen in beautiful photographs of the volcanos, inlets, and with military vessels approaching the coast.

There are many photos of air craft, some of which are photographed in flight. The inflight photos show the planes flying overhead capturing the undercarriage as well as photos taken from inside planes in flight. The grounded planes are seen being worked on and James provides close-ups of the nose art. One plane, Sleepy Time Gal, which features an alluring pinup painted on its nose, was from the 44th squadron and flew 29 missions. A photo of The Cajun Queen shows the number of missions marked off with bombs painted on the nose which in this photo number 18. One photo shows a naked soldier waving clothes around presumably to help land a plane.

The photos were taken by Dr. William H. James of North Branford, Connecticut during his time with the Air Force. James volunteered as soon as he could, putting his schooling and career on hold in the late 1930s. He was stationed chiefly in India, China, the Northern Mariana Islands, and on Tinian Island before retiring as a major after the war. James used the G.I. Bill to obtain a Masters and Ph.D. from Yale University and was involved with education for the rest of his working career. Also present in James' outfit, although not identified in these photos, was the World War II soldier and poet, John Ciardi.

An excellent collection of World War II photographs featuring the Pacific Islands.

Seller ID: 409405

Subject: Aviation, Ephemera, Photography, Travel Books

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