The collection contains approximately 80 glossy black and white prints of the Pacific front of World War II. Some significant images within the collection include the bombing of Pearl Harbor; the bombardment of Guam; aircraft and ships in battle; sailors engaged in fighting and evacuations; the Japanese surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri, and other signings of surrenders; and others. All the photographs appear to be publicity shots for the United States Navy. According to notes that arrived with the collection, the prints were given from a Navy photographer to Kevin Trainor, who gave them to Dean Howard L. Smith, who donated them to the Pacific University Archives.
United States Navy Photographs of World War II, Pacific University Archives, Forest Grove, Oregon.
Gift of Dean Howard L. Smith.
Pacific University owns the copyright to some, but not all, of the materials housed in its archives. Copyright for materials authored or otherwise produced as official business of Pacific University is retained by Pacific University and requires its permission for publication. Copyright status for other collection materials varies. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Collection is open for research.
No accruals are expected.
The United States Navy employed combat photographers throughout the Second World War to document the actions of the military. Beginning with photographs taken during the bombing of Pearl Harbor, many of the prints were reissued as official publicity shots. The prints were commonly 8"x10" black and white glossy photographs. Many of them include captions on the verso describing the events depicted.