Why A Book? How Did the Book Happen?
A box arrived at the Twin Falls County Veteran Service Office that contained two photo albums and hundreds of loose photos all taken during World War II. The photos were mainly of Pacific battles and showed young soldiers, scarred beaches, and moments of triumph and tragedy frozen in time. The 800+ photos were given anonymously to the office and the person who delivered them left no contact information, no story, and no identification about the photographer/compiler of the photos.
Original ownership of many of the photos is not known. The mysterious photographer personally took photos of troops, places, local people, but no notations were included on or with the photos. Many of the photos had text that named the battles and sites where they were taken and whether they were from archives of the U.S. Marine Corps or the U.S. Navy. Other photos not specifically identified were obviously taken in China, Japan, Hawaii, and in Pacific islands that the photographer visited in person. If the photographer was on the ground during the Pacific battles he likely experienced the privations and emotions of the war along with soldiers and sailors. Did he take the battle photos that ended in the Marine Corps and Navy archives? We may never know those details.
The Veteran Service Officer who gratefully received the photos, wanted to preserve them as a tribute, a memorial, and a reminder of all who have borne the burden of war. He envisioned the presentation of the photos in a coffee table book that would honor the memory of the veterans of World War II and all those who endure the horrors of war. The original photographs donated to the Veterans Services Office were later donated to a local military museum by the Veteran Services Office of Twin Falls County, Idaho.
The photos were sorted, scanned and compiled into a book. The pages of the book are not just photographs. They are a call to remember the true cost of war. The faces and places captured in the photos will never be forgotten. Future generations will see both the courage of those who fought and the human cost of war.
From the Editor: Creating this book has been an emotional journey for me. As I turned each page of the albums and held each photograph and read about the battles, I was drawn into the scenes and became deeply aware of the courage of the young Marines and soldiers who endured the heat, mud, diseases, and dangers of the Pacific islands. Researching the battles brought their experiences to life and deepened my understanding of what they faced. Images of the cemeteries where so many were buried made the numbers of dead heartbreakingly real. This project reminded me that freedom is never free, and that we have a responsibility to support those who protect our country and the world.
The book is a tribute to veterans and an important record of the realities of war. The photos and text remind future generations that war is horrid and should be avoided whenever possible. We might wish otherwise, but war is sometimes the price of freedom.
Because the source of the photos cannot be verified, the book is published as a public domain work and is not copyrighted. World War II Historical Photos is available at lulu.com in paperback and hardback editions. Proceeds from the sale of the book are donated to projects that help living military veterans.
