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)