[960th Engineer Aviation Topographic Company]

960th Album [cover title]

[The Philippines? 960th Engineer Aviation Topographic Company, 1945?].

Oblong quarto (255 × 288 mm), [45] leaves, printed rectos only, comprising the title-cover (on a background of a collage of some two dozen illustrations) and 44 leaves containing 133 illustrations (with all illustrations reproduced from photographs).

Shoelace-bound three-colour pictorial card cover a little worn at the extremities, with trifling surface loss to silverfish; two leaves a little soiled; expert conservation to small chips and tears to the edges of four leaves; minor signs of age and use (including some annotations - see below); overall a very good copy.

The first leaf contains a large illustration of a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, designed as a fighter, but used in a variety of roles, including aerial reconnaissance. An inscription in ink on the illustration identifies the pilot as '1st. Lt. Alexander Roberts, | Dec. 1943 | New Guinea'. Written in the margin below the illustration is '960th Photo Recon. | Dobodura, New Guinea | Non. [sic] 1943 - Feb. 1944 | Ie Shima April 1945 | P.I. | Feb. 44 - Ap. 1945 | Honolulu, Sept 1945 deact.'. The servicemen in the four illustrations on the fourth leaf are identified: from left to right, top to bottom, they are 'MSgt. Burts', 'Ingelmann', 'Johnson', and '"Jesse" James [and] Samualson'. The dog on the next page is 'Killer'. At the rear, Ernie Pyle's grave is identified.

'The second phase of the Okinawa Campaign consisted of the objectives of Ie Shima, which housed the big airfield of the islands, and Motobu Peninsula. With Rear Admiral Lawrence F. Reifsnider, USN, commanding the attack group, the U.S. Army's 77th division landed on April 16, 1945. The invading force thought that the Japanese had abandoned the airfield due to aerial photo reconnaissance, but they met about 3,000 men as they moved towards the center of the island. Not unlike the Battle for Iwo Jima, the island had networks of underground tunnels enhanced by Mt. Gosuki, but the island was secured on April 21. Famed War Correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed on Ie Shima while covering the occupation. To repair the destruction caused by prior bombing and naval gunfire support, U.S. Navy Seabees repaired the airstrips. Of note, the island was utilized by the Japanese Surrender delegation in mid-August 1945 as a stop point between Japan and Manila Bay, Philippines, for negotiations with General Douglas A. McArthur, USA' (National Museum of the United States Navy, online).

The illustrations in this rare souvenir cover a wide range of the activities of the 960th in the Pacific theatre during the Second World War.

Item #138169

Price (AUD): $1,250.00
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