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Tony Potoski Album of photographs of the Aleutian Islands in World War II, circa 1942-1944

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Potoski, Tony, 1914-1995
Title
Tony Potoski Album of photographs of the Aleutian Islands in World War II
Dates
circa 1942-1944 (inclusive)
Quantity
130 photographic prints in one album (1 box) ; sizes vary
4 Documents
Collection Number
PH1098
Summary
Photograph album by Tony Potoski of the Aleutian Islands in World War II
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries’ Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Additional Reference Guides
Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Anthony "Tony" Potoski, (1914-1995), was the son of John and Mary Potoski, both Polish immigrants to Washington State. Born in Doty, WA on August 19, 1914 Tony was a lifelong resident of Washington State and a 1933 graduate of Pe Ell High School. Mr. Potoski was a member of the 1933 Washington State Championship football and basketball teams while being awarded the Pe Ell High School Inspiration Cup in 1933. This trophy with his name engraved on its front still resides at Pe Ell High School.

Following graduation from high school Tony worked as a foreman in manufacturing before enlisting in the U. S. Army at Tacoma, WA on April 9, 1943. During his service in World War II he served with the 591st Anti-Aircraft Artillery AW Battalion taking part in the initial landings on the islands of Attu and Kiska in the Aleutian Islands of western Alaska. Tony served on the Alaskan front participating in the Aleutian Islands Campaign for twenty-two months helping to secure Attu, Kiska and the greater Aleutians from Japanese occupation throughout 1943-1944. After the war Tony was a member of the Pe Ell Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post No. 5522 and a life member of the Disabled American Veterans in Seattle, WA.

Upon conclusion of the war and his service with the U. S. Army in 1946 Tony returned to Washington State working as a logger in the local timber industry. In 1954 Mr. Potoski married Ms. Vera Hill. Tony retired from logging in 1964.

While working as a logger for Northwest Logging Company he met a waitress from Brooklyn, WA named Ruth Frances Greer. Years later they reunited and were eventually married on July 30, 1967. They did not have any children. Ruth Frances Greer Potoski attended the University of Washington where she later worked in the library for over twenty-five years retiring in 1989. Ruth died on January 30, 1993.

Tony Potoski outlived his parents John and Mary, younger brother Joseph, and his wife Ruth. Mr. Potoski passed away at the V. A. hospital in Seattle, WA on June 29, 1995 and is interred at the Claquato Cemetery in Chehalis, WA near Pe Ell along with his parents, brother, and wife.

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Historical Background

The Battles of Attu and Kiska were the main conflicts of the Aleutian Islands Campaign of World War II where American and Japanese forces fought for control of these remote, sparsely inhabited islands of the North Pacific from May 11 to May 30, 1943. In June 1942, Japan seized Attu and its neighbor Kiska establishing garrisons on these remote, U. S. owned islands. The reason for taking Attu and Kiska, known for their barren, mountainous terrain and harsh weather, may have been to divert U.S. forces during Japan's attack on Midway Island (June 4-7, 1942) in the central Pacific. It is also possible the Japanese believed holding the two islands would prevent the U.S. from invading Japan from the north by way of the Aleutian Islands. Either way, the Japanese occupation was a blow to American morale. In May 1943, U.S. troops finally retook Attu and in August reclaimed Kiska as well.

The Battle of Attu and Kiska featured several firsts of World War II. The Aleutian Islands Campaign witnessed the first American amphibious assault in the North Pacific as well as one of the first Japanese banzai attacks of the war. Banzai attacks became a tactic of last resort when Japanese forces found themselves in dire situations and at the mercy of Allied forces. With their backs against the wall rather than be taken prisoner, Japanese soldiers utilized banzai attacks to instill fear in Allied forces while fighting to the death in honor of their emperor and homeland.

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Content Description

Photographs mostly of Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands of western Alaska during World War II when Tony Potoski served in the Alaska Campaign. The photographs show the landscape, housing, left over Japanese equipment, buildings and American troops. An awards ceremony and USO performers are also depicted as well as Tony Potoski and his Army buddies. Some photographs show Tony Potoski serving in a military ceremony in Long Beach, CA as well as Tony with Army buddies in Los Angeles, CA. Tony Potoski is the photographer of the majority of the photographs except for those in which he appears.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View the digital version of the collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Source: Garrison Auctioneers, February 19, 2012.

Processing Note

Processed by Renato Rodriguez, 2012; processing completed by Stefanie Terasaki, 2013.

Publications and newspaper clippings describing the history of the battle of Attu ("The Battle of the Aleutians: A Graphic History 1942-1943" and "Short History-Battle of Attu Prepared at Post Headquarters, Camp Earle November, 1944") were relocated to the Pacific Northwest collection in Special Collections.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

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Subject Terms

  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Potoski, Tony, 1914-1995--Photographs


2013 (Last modified: 11/27/2017)

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