Original U.S. WWII Photo Album of Hawaii Featuring Pictures of Pearl Harbor, USO Parades and Post War Celebration - 185 Pictures
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Original Item: Only One Available. This is a wonderful opportunity to add a complete photo album from a US Sailor’s time while stationed in Hawaii during WWII and after. There are 45 pages filled with 185 pictures varying in size and location. Albums such as this are of crucial importance in the preservation of our history.
Most of the pictures featured in this album have a date range from 1945-46 and show great examples of what war time as well as post war time Hawaii was like. There are pictures of the aftermath of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 as well as various images with the famed phrase “Remember Pearl Harbor” on them. It was hard not to remember Pearl Harbor because that attack affected every American in all corners of the globe. The pictures also show what island life was like, as well as the local inhabitants' life was like. Even in 1945, Hawaii was still a widely popular tourist destination, and these pictures show that. There are some beautiful shots of inside USO clubs and enlisted clubs, showing US Service Men and Women enjoying much needed rest and relaxation. There are pictures of island life, USO parades and even a picture of the newspaper printed when Germany surrendered, ending the war in Europe!
As stated above, albums like these are fading from time and surviving WW2 albums complete like this one are becoming harder to find. Do your part in preserving history and add this album to your collection to display proudly!
The USO
In the United States during the Second World War there were numerous individual service organizations, charities, and clubs that offered recreation and morale boosting activities to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces. Chief, and largest, amongst them was the USO. During the Second World War the USO was a large organization that sought to provide a vast array of much needed services to military and support personnel throughout the globe. The USO became so synonymous with aid and recreation to soldiers that over time “uso”, a very specific brand, has become a generic term to describe any Serviceman's or Servicewoman's club, canteen, or organization, regardless of actual USO affiliation (much like Kleenex or Xerox and their respective products.) Here, we are concerned strictly with the brand name USO and not the many other organizations that emulated or followed suit offering similar services.
The United Service Organizations for National Defense was brought into existence through Presidential order February 4, 1941. The USO was incorporated in New York state as a private, nonprofit organization, supported by private citizens and corporations. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted the morale of military personnel to remain high and believed that current service organizations would be better suited for the job than the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense felt that they should control every aspect of the soldier's life, however the chairmen of The Salvation Army, Jewish Welfare Board (JWB), National Catholic Community Service (NCCS), Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), and National TravelerÙs Aid Association felt that their organizations were better suited for the responsibility. In the end, a compromise was reached. The six civilian service organizations would be in charge, and the military would provide building supplies, locations, and labor when needed and available. For example, in a town that did not have a suitable building to use as a club, the military would build a structure using supplies and labor from the local military base. The USO originally intended to offer assistance only in communities that could not support the great influx of service personnel, as this was what their budget and fund-raising abilities allowed. Shortly after conception and the initial integration of the USO into various communities the overwhelming need for more operations in more communities was evident. This led to the creation of Community Conducted Operations (CCO). CCOs were born out of an individual's desire to have a USO presence and programs in their community. The National USO allowed the franchising of these operations to meet the needs of the individual community, provided they followed all the rules, regulations, ideas and standards of the National USO. This allowed for a standardization of USO policies. By 1943 all CCOs were integrated into the National USO structure.
During the Second World War, the USO was an organization which oversaw and provided recreation and aid services for the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. The types of USO services offered were: Clubs, Lounges and Travelers Aid Service, Mobile and Maneuvers Service, Home Hospitality, Service to War Workers, Service to Women in the Armed Forces, Service to African-American military personnel, Service to Merchant Seamen, Service to members of the armed forces of US Allies while temporarily Stateside, Overseas Service, and Camp Shows Inc.
The USO was not interested in changing the social norms of the time. The integration and co-operation of the various religious organizations (Catholic, Protestant and Jewish) was revolutionary in and of itself. If clubs were to be located in a church or synagogue, it was required that all faiths be welcome and informational literature about all faith organizations in the community be provided. All races were welcome at the USO clubs and functions. In segregated communities, USO clubs were also segregated and in non-segregated communities they were integrated.
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