82nd Field Artillery Battalion Organization Day.
Japan: Camp Whittington Kagohara Japan. 1950. Stock ID #218504 A photograph album of the 82nd Battalion's Organization Day at Camp Whittington, which was located in Kagohara, Saitama Prefecture. When referring to this item please quote stockid 218504.
Ten black and white original photographs of members of the battalion attached with staples at corners to leaves of the album, a colour photograph is loosely inserted, [5 + 12]pp, 15.2 x 24cm, cord ties, corners bumped, cellotape repair corners upper cover, a little staining around outer margins leaves not affecting the photographs, wrappers worn, lower wrapper stained. Although showing signs of use and age, the photographs are in good condition. Scarce.
The album was compiled to mark the anniversary of the Battalion's founding, which fell on 6 June 1950. This is significant because that date was just three weeks before the outbreak of the Korean War. This collection of photos thus shows up the battalion on the eve of war. The first five pages give a history of the battalion from its founding in 1917, through the Second World War, when it was deployed to Australia and saw action in the Pacific, to occupation of Japan, where it was based at "Camp Whittington" near Kagohara, in Saitama Prefecture. The cover photo shows the entrance to the base.
The black and white photographs show the members of the battalion, and are accompanied by a list of the members' names. One of the photographs is taken with Mt. Fuji in the background. There are also photos of the camp's main buildings, and of members of the battalion with their unit's ceremonial shield. Interestingly, a previous owner has inserted his own colour photo of a 82nd Battalion veteran's reunion held at Fort Hood, Texas in 1995, though the only name which appears both in the album and on the 1995 photo appears to be that of John A. Skidmore.
The Japanese Imperial Army established its Army Air Training School at Kagohara in 1935. After the camp was returned to the Japanese government in 1958, the base has been used by the Japanese Air Defence Force as a training school.
Price: $650.00 AU