442nd Combat Team and Nisei Military Service, Commemoration, and Burial, 1940s
- 1940
1940. 442nd Regimental Combat Team press photograph archive documenting Japanese American military service during World War II, when thousands of Nisei soldiers fought for the United States while many of their families were confined under Executive Order 9066. Activated in 1943, the 442nd was composed largely of second-generation Japanese American volunteers from Hawaiʻi and the mainland and fought in Italy, southern France, and Germany, including major action in the Vosges Mountains and the rescue of the "Lost Battalion" of the 36th Infantry Division in October 1944. This archive records the public and military representation of the unit through press-distributed images of soldiers, artillery, formal recognition, and battlefield death.
Photo archive of 4 Large Silver Gelatin press photographs, each 8" x 10", United States and overseas military contexts, 1940s. A field artillery crew operates a large gun from a sandbagged position beneath palm trees, with soldiers gathered around the breech and ammunition boxes placed nearby. A military funeral scene records last rites for an infantryman of the 442nd, with helmeted soldiers standing in formation before an open grave and a caption identifying the dead soldier as a member of the Japanese American combat team. A formal indoor press scene shows two uniformed Nisei sergeants identified as Aubrey Funai and Bill Doy receiving a letter of gratitude from Governor Thye of Minnesota. Additional verso captions, agency stamps, and editorial markings indicate newspaper or wire-service circulation, including references to the 442nd Combat Team and Japanese American servicemen.
The 442nd's service became one of the most consequential public counters to wartime anti-Japanese racism in the United States, because its members fought in Europe while federal policy still treated Japanese ancestry as grounds for exclusion, removal, and confinement. These press photographs preserve how that service was presented to American audiences: not as private family snapshots, but as news material showing Nisei soldiers in combat support, official recognition, and military mourning. Light toning, handling wear, editorial marks, adhesive residue, and caption labels or stamps present on versos; images remain clear and well preserved. Overall in good condition.
Photo archive of 4 Large Silver Gelatin press photographs, each 8" x 10", United States and overseas military contexts, 1940s. A field artillery crew operates a large gun from a sandbagged position beneath palm trees, with soldiers gathered around the breech and ammunition boxes placed nearby. A military funeral scene records last rites for an infantryman of the 442nd, with helmeted soldiers standing in formation before an open grave and a caption identifying the dead soldier as a member of the Japanese American combat team. A formal indoor press scene shows two uniformed Nisei sergeants identified as Aubrey Funai and Bill Doy receiving a letter of gratitude from Governor Thye of Minnesota. Additional verso captions, agency stamps, and editorial markings indicate newspaper or wire-service circulation, including references to the 442nd Combat Team and Japanese American servicemen.
The 442nd's service became one of the most consequential public counters to wartime anti-Japanese racism in the United States, because its members fought in Europe while federal policy still treated Japanese ancestry as grounds for exclusion, removal, and confinement. These press photographs preserve how that service was presented to American audiences: not as private family snapshots, but as news material showing Nisei soldiers in combat support, official recognition, and military mourning. Light toning, handling wear, editorial marks, adhesive residue, and caption labels or stamps present on versos; images remain clear and well preserved. Overall in good condition.
Details
Title
442nd Combat Team and Nisei Military Service, Commemoration, and Burial, 1940s
Author
Japanese American ; 442nd Combat Team
Condition
Unknown
Date
1940