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Guide to the William B. Simpson World War II Pacific Theater collection
H.Mss.0849
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Title: Wiliam B. Simpson World War II Pacific Theater collection
Dates: 1935-1994
Collection number: H.Mss.0849
creator:
Simpson, William Brand
Extent:
4.0 boxes
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library. Claremont, CA 91711
Abstract: Emeritus Professor of Economics (Claremont Graduate School, Ph. D., 1971), William Brand Simpson served as Special Agent in
the Counter Intelligence Corps, U.S. Army during World War II, mainly in the Philippines and Japan. The manuscript and published
materials contained within this collection were collected and assembled by Simpson and consist of newspapers, periodicals,
correspondence, maps, military documents, including declassified items, and a variety of publications - government, military
and other - relating to the Pacific Theater during Word War II, specifically the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, the
establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the American return to the Philippines, and the American occupation
of Japan and Korea. Post-war materials document the treatment of Chinese forced labor in Japan, the Japanese war crime trials,
and the post-war economies of the Philippine Islands, Japan and Korea.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: Chiefly in
English; some in Japanese, Chinese, Tagalog, and Spanish.
This collection is open for research.
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to Special Collections.
[Identification of item], William B. Simpson World War II Pacific Theater collection. Special Collections, Honnold Mudd Library,
Claremont University Consortium.
Gift of William B. Simpson, 1992.
No additions to the collection are anticipated.
Arranged and processed by Special Collections staff. Simpson's original order has been retained where possible; exceptions
have been made, however. Items removed from his original order were done so based on size or fragility.
Biography / Administrative History
Emeritus Professor of Economics (Claremont Graduate School, Ph. D., 1971), William Brand Simpson served as Special Agent in
the Counter Intelligence Corps, U.S. Army during World War II, mainly in the Philippines and Japan. He was called back to
Japan in 1947 to assist the Legal Section of SCAP (Supreme Commander of Allied Powers) in Tokyo in the Japanese war crime
trials. Simpson advised Japan Public Television (NHK) in 1993 on a documentary of the treatment of Chinese forced labor in
Japan during World War II. In 1994 he assisted a group in Japan seeking reparations for Chinese survivors of Japanese prison
camps. Simpson died in January 1995.
The manuscript and published materials contained within this collection were collected and assembled by Simpson, who gifted
the collection to Pomona College in 1992.
Scope and Content of the Collection
The collection contains newspapers, periodicals, correspondence, maps, military documents, including declassified items, and
a variety of publications - government, military and other - relating to the Pacific Theater during World War II, specifically
the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the American return
to the Philippines, the American occupation of Japan and Korea, the Japanese war crime trials and the post-war economies of
the Philippine Islands, Japan and Korea. Of particular note is Simpson's 161-page documentation of the investigation into
the atrocities at Chusan Camp, Hanaoka, Akita-Ken.
Series 1: Japanese occupation of the Philippines
Series 2: Commonwealth of the Philippines and American return to Philippines
Series 3: Publications by U.S. military for civilian population
Series 4: Manila civilian newspapers
Series 5: American occupation of Japan and Korea
Series 6: Post-war, regarding war crimes
Series 7: Miscellaneous documents relating to the Philippine economy
Series 8: Miscellaneous documents relating to the Japanese economy
Series 9: Miscellaneous documents relating to Korea
Series 10: Atlas and maps
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Forced labor
Japan -- History -- Allied occupation, 1945-1952 -- Sources
Philippines -- History -- Japanese occupation, 1942-1945 -- Sources
Tokyo Trial, Tokyo, Japan, 1946-1948
War crime trials -- Japan
War damage compensation -- China
War damage compensation -- Japan
World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Pacific Area
World War, 1939-1945 -- Maps
World War, 1939-1945 -- Military intelligence -- United States
Correspondence
Government publications
Maps
Newspapers
Video tapes