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Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Provenance
  • Restrictions on Access
  • Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
  • Preferred Citation
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content Note
  • Indexing Terms
  • Related Material

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Messinger Pacific Theater World War II Collection
    Date (inclusive): August-October, 1945,
    Date (bulk): August-October, 1945
    Collection number: MS 064
    Creator: Donald J. Messinger
    Extent: 1 box
    Languages:

    English
    Repository: Special Collections, Robert E. Kennedy Library
    California Polytechnic State University
    San Luis Obispo, California 93407
    Abstract: The Messinger Collection contains 100 black-and-white photographs that record one soldier's views of Japan in the closing days of World War II, including 14 aerial photographs of Nagasaki after the atomic bombing on August 9, 1945.

    Provenance

    Found in collection.

    Restrictions on Access

    Collection is open to qualified researchers by appointment only. For more information on access policies and to obtain a copy of the Researcher Registration form, please visit the Special Collections Access page.

    Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

    In order to reproduce, publish, broadcast, exhibit, and/or quote from this material, researchers must submit a written request and obtain formal permission from Special Collections, Cal Poly, as the owner of the physical collection. Researchers should also consult with an appropriate staff member regarding literary or other intellectual property rights pertaining to this collection.
    Photocopying of material is permitted at staff discretion and provided on a fee basis. Photocopies are not to be used for any purpose other than for private study, scholarship, or research. Special Collections staff reserves the right to limit photocopying and deny access or reproduction in cases when, in the opinion of staff, the original materials would be harmed.

    Preferred Citation

    Messinger Pacific Theater World War II Collection, Special Collections, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif.

    Biography

    Donald J. Messinger was born on February 9, 1914, and died in Rochester, New York, on June 4, 1993. Little is known about his life or his service during World War II.

    Scope and Content Note

    The Messinger Collection contains 100 black-and-white photographs that record one soldier's views of Japan in the closing days of World War II, including 14 aerial photographs of Nagasaki after the atomic bombing on August 9, 1945.
    The photographs include views of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; the sea voyage to the Sasebo Naval Base, Japan; Japanese and American ships and aircraft; Army, Navy and Marine military personnel; images of Japanese urban and rural life in and around Sasebo following the fire-bombing; and aerial photography showing the devastation after the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.
    The collection is arranged in original chronological order, from August through October of 1945 and uses Mr. Messinger's original captions.

    Indexing Terms

    Subjects

    Bombing, Aerial --Japan -- Pictorial works
    Nagasaki-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945 -- Pictorial works
    Sasebo-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1943 -- Pictorial works
    War photography -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
    World War, 1939-1945.
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Archival resources
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Japan
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, American -- Pictorial works.
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Japan -- Nagasaki-shi.
    Messinger, Donald J. -- 1914-1993

    Genre and Forms of Materials

    Photographs

    Related Material

    Related Collections
    Special Collections, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo:
    Smith Family Papers on World War II, 1936-2005 (MS 65)
    Manzanar Collection, 1942-1994 (MS 026)