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Qulia, Arthur F. (Second World War correspondence)
2022.120.w.r
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Contributing Institution:
Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: Arthur F. Qulia Second World War correspondence
source:
Palumbo, Virginia
Creator:
Qulia, Arthur Francis "Frank", 1921-1983
Identifier/Call Number: 2022.120.w.r
Physical Description:
.01 Linear feet
(1 folder)
Date: 1945 October 25
Abstract: This collection contains one letter from Arthur F. Qulia, USA to his wife Margaret during the Second World War.
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: WWII 127
Container: 9
Container: 1
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the family of Arthur Francis Qulia, donated by Virginia Palumbo.
This collection is arranged chronologically
Arthur F. "Frank" Qulia, United States Army (4/2/1921 - 2/15/1983) was born in Syracuse, New York to Arthur and Ida Qulia.
He married Margaret Sarah Robinson September 3, 1943. They had five children: Barbara Ellen Koski, Richard Francis Qulia,
Virginia Irene Palumbo, Robert Gerard Qulia, and Patricia Anne. Qulia was studying at Marshall college prior to being drafted
into the USA.
Qulia was a member of the US occupying forces in Japan after the end of the Second Wolrd War. In 1947 he and his wife opened
a family business, the Village Drycleaners which operated for forty-years. After Qulia passed away, Margaret S. Qulia retired
and moved to Ferragut, Tennessee to be closer with their son and daughter-in law.
[Item title / description; Box "n" / Folder "n"], Arthur F. Qulia Second World War correspondence (2022.120.w.r), Center for
American War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
This collection contains one fourteen-page letter from Arthur F. Qulia, USA to his wife Margaret S. Qulia written during the
Second World War. He wrote her soon after arriving in Tokyo Bay, Japan, as a member of the Allied occupational forces. Qulia
makes numerous observations throughout the letter regarding the Japanese children, women, and men; the state of Yokohama,
Japan; and the purchasing power of US currency and supplies in Japan.
On October 25, 1945, Qulia wrote that "when the boat finally entered Tokyo Bay, it was slightly foggy" but by 8:30 AM it had
cleared. "All that we saw until we docked [were] ships" including battleships, destroyers, and aircraft carriers. Once Qulia
reached the wharf, he was surprised to see fifty Japanese children doing all of the manual labor wondering, "where the older
ones were - the ones who had fought, I don't know." Qulia described walking down to the Yokohama docks saying that "before
the war, Yokahama (sic) had a population of 700,000" but now "all [he] could see was desolation and plenty of filth."
Also included is a photocopied photograph of Arthur and Margaret.
There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Correspondence -- World War, 1939-1945
World War (1939-1945)
World War (1939-1945) -- Japan
Palumbo, Virginia