Jerome K. Doolan California Shipbuilding Corporation Photograph Albums

Title: Jerome K. Doolan California Shipbuilding Corporation Photograph Albums

Dates: 1941-1945

Collection Number: 067

Creator/Collector: California Shipbuilding Corporation

Extent: 3 oversize flat boxes (3.25 linear feet)

Repository: Loyola Marymount University, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library

Abstract: The Jerome K. Doolan California Shipbuilding Corporation Photograph Albums (067) records photographically the history of this important United States shipyard in World War II.

Language of Material: English

Collection is open to research under the terms of use of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Marymount University.

Materials in the Department of Archives and Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, Loyola Marymount University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Loyola Marymount University does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or executors.

Jerome K. Doolan California Shipbuilding Corporation Photograph Albums . Loyola Marymount University, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library

Accession number 2003.84

A former chair of the board of regents at Loyola Marymount University (1964-1970), Jerome K. Doolan (1897-1990)was first the general manager and then the vice-president of the California Shipbuilding Corporation during its war years and later was senior vice-president and director of the Bechtel Corporation.

The Jerome K. Doolan California Shipbuilding Corporation Photograph Albums (067) consists of three oversize flat boxes containing five photograph albums. Located approximately twenty-five miles south of downtown Los Angeles at Terminal Island, in the Long Beach and San Pedro area, the California Shipbuilding Corporation was responsible for building Liberty and Victory ships, essential for the United States Merchant Marine’s efforts to supply U.S. armed forces during World War II. The albums record the shipyards' initial construction in 1941 to the launching of various ships from that date through 1945. Reflecting the shipyard’s proximity to Los Angles, numerous Hollywood stars were present at the launching and christening ships in the albums. These include Claudette Colbert, Leo Carrillo, Irene Dunne, Deanna Durbin, Clark Gable, and Robert Montgomery (the latter two are in uniform). Also included are Hattie McDaniel and Marion Anderson at the launching of the Booker T. Washington, the first prominent United States ship named after an African-American and the first to have an integrated crew under an African-American skipper (Hugh Mulzac). Political personages appear as well: Vice-President Henry Wallace, Lord Halifax, and Aurora Quezon, for example. Rene Gagnon and John H. Bradley, two of the Marine and Navy personnel who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima, also appear, undoubtedly as part of their participation to raise bonds for the war. The albums also record the participation of women in the war effort, especially as welders in the shipyard. The California Shipbuilding Corporation produced the albums; each album has a title page noting the dates and general theme of the subject of the album. The provenance of the albums is unknown, but they probably came to LMU through Jerome K. Doolan (1897-1990); his name is stamped on the cover of the albums.