In honor of the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, I wanted to highlight two interesting photo albums created by World War II soldiers who were stationed at the Hawaiian naval base at different times during the war.

Norman C. Brauer, Jr. wasn’t stationed at Pearl Harbor during the attack; he was sent to the base afterward, working to salvage ships such as the USS Oklahoma. Brauer's scrapbook documents the success of salvage operations, and some of the Hawaiian-themed festivities the servicemen enjoyed on base.

Salvage mission

Thomas Kingsley was there before and during the attack, which he survived on board the USS Phoenix. His scrapbook doesn't refer to these experiences; it centers around 1944 while Kingsley was aboard the USS Phoenix in the Admiralty Islands. Part of the album documents a visit by General Douglas MacArthur.

General MacArthur's visit

Celia and Michael surveyed these interesting volumes, which are held at the Millbrook Society in the Hatboro suburb of Philadelphia. See Celia’s blog to read more about the Society’s archival collections.