Manuscripts

Diaries kept aboard the U.S.S. Aquarius

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Description: Two diaries kept by Seymour Siegel while he was with a Coast Guard unit aboard the U.S.S. Aquarius in Peleliu (Palau) and the Philippines from July 1944 to January 1945. Siegel writes of transporting Marines and Army units, attacks from Japanese planes, his time volunteering in the sick bay, the capture of a wounded Japanese soldier, cooperation with Australian transports, Douglas MacArthur's "returning speech to the Philippine people," and the Invasion of Luzon. Also included are two transcripts of rewritten portions of the diaries, a transcript of the diaries, a typed log of the U.S.S. Aquarius, and a letter transferring Siegel to New York in 1945.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1944-1945.
Call number: mssHM 75032-75038
Creator: Siegel, Seymour

Photograph albums and travel diary of the Philippines by sailor aboard the USS Pocomoke (AV-9)

Visual Materials

Two photograph albums, one containing a 60-page travel diary, by U.S. Navy crew member W. A. (William Arthur) Isaminger, documenting his experiences in the Philippines during and after World War II. His travel log titled "Navy Life" begins in March 1944 when he joined the navy, then describes his time stationed in the Philippines through February 1946, when he returns home to Seattle, Washington. He was aboard the USS Pocomoke (AV-9), an aircraft carrier that operated primarily in the Pacific theatre during the war and serviced military seaplanes. Along with the diary are handwritten entries on mileage between various locations on his travels from Seattle to the Philippines and back, addresses of acquaintances and family, and a few pieces of ephemera. There are 173 photographs in the two albums, all with handwritten captions. The images include sailors and local residents, village scenes, churches and civic buildings, the statue of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal, a sunken Japanese ship in Manila harbor, and a Japanese internment camp and prisoners. There are also several images of partially nude native women and children, two scenes of cockfighting, a man with elephantitus, and a man holding the decapitated head of a Japanese man. The album also features images of activities on board the ship, various seaplanes, and a series of photographs documenting examples of "nose art": female pinups painted on airplane fuselage. Also includes a printed menu in honor of Victory Day, dated August 15, 1945. Locations include Zamboanga, Mindanao, Luzon, Puerto Princesa, Calicoan Island, Samar Island, Taclogan, and Tawitawi Island.

photCL 677

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Pocket diary of Thomas D. Evans

Manuscripts

Complete diary for the year 1864. The daily entries describe Evans' duties filing provision returns, drawing rations, supplies, and ammunitions, etc., gives accounts of camp life, the wounded and fallen in battles, Confederate prisoners, deserters, and guerillas, military operations, news (including a note about Santiago fire of Dec. 1863), and the recruitment in Pittsburgh, and follows Franz Siegel and David Hunter in Shenandoah Valley in the spring and summer of 1864. The accounts of the hospitals are rather sketchy, on the account of his wounded arm; Evans did mention a Christmas dinner and concert organized by Sanitary and Christian Commissions.

mssHM 68427

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James O. McCaldin papers

Manuscripts

Materials related to James O. McCaldin's service aboard the U.S.S. Chauncey during World War II, including a diary describing the capture of Guam in 1944 and the invasion of Okinawa in 1945; a written history of the U.S.S. Chauncey; and a photograph album with images of shipboard activities and several battle scenes. Also includes U.S. Navy portraits of McCaldin, a letter, and membership cards. A framed photograph of the U.S.S. Chauncey was received with the collection but is missing.

mssMcCaldin

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James O. McCaldin papers

Manuscripts

mssMcCaldin

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Record book kept by the Los Angeles County Treasurer

Manuscripts

This is a cash book kept by the Los Angeles County Treasurer from July 1850 till March 1858. Part of this book is written in Spanish and switches to English in April 1852. Also included, a carbon copy of minutes of a meeting with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors concerning the deposit of this volume on October 2, 1945.

mssHM 80835

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Anonymous autograph diary written aboard the ship Herculean and in California

Manuscripts

The diary contains 122 pages, 109 of which have writing on them. Most of the entries are in blue ink but there are also some in pencil. The ship "Herculean" left Boston in November 1849 filled with gold-seekers for California, traveled around Cape Horn, and arrived in San Francisco in May 1850. The volume begins with a list of the names of the crew and passengers on board the Herculean and is filled with tales of the ocean journey and shipboard entertainment, including a description of a stop in Valparaiso, Chile. The entries between May 6 and June 18, 1850 describe the city of San Francisco and also the towns of Stockton and Benicia, discuss prices in California for labor and lumber, and contain an account of his tent being robbed

mssHM 59965

Diaries kept aboard the U.S.S. Aquarius

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Photograph albums and travel diary of the Philippines by sailor aboard the USS Pocomoke (AV-9)

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James O. McCaldin papers

Record book kept by the Los Angeles County Treasurer

Anonymous autograph diary written aboard the ship Herculean and in California