Preserving a China Marines Memory

[Dirk]

Bob that is one great pair of medals! The original box WOW!!!!! Your guy was a 6th Marine and mine was a 4th....I wonder how they ended up with this pattern Soochow vice the more traditional Honey Cart

[Brig]

with F/2/6

 

 

Yut!

[katieony]

What a great group...congratulations!

 

Mike

[Dirk]

Thanks all! Several days ago a second batch arrived from the family arrived which gives me a more complete understanding of his time in service. First of all the camera he brought in the Far East: a Kodak Junior 6 20 series II...only produced 1937-40. Lines up well with the time he was over there. Also the many of the images in the album match the size of negative this camera used. His son believes it was bought in the PI before he left for China. It is the first China Marine camera I own that was used to record many of the private photos he took. Also included was a Navy YMCA map of Shanghai which his son said hung in his study for the rest of his life...hence the cardboard "Sino-Japanese" tag on the map that he added long after his service time had ended.

[Dirk]

Of all the China Marine assoicated maps, the "Y" maps are the most common. But this series if different because it was given out to the Marines while they were on the Soochow Creek and so is stamped "distributed"..I have letters from Marines on the Creek saying during the fighting the Y sent folks to distribute these maps as well as writing paper. So this type is a bit rarer then other Y maps. Some luggage tags from Hawaii and the PI and his service papers and additional letters from the Soochow and his time as a boot in San Diego.

[Dirk]

A multi page boxing program from Shanghai, a great shot of his brother who was also in Shanghai with him during the fighting and lastly, some Chinese money, and two 4th Marine tokens....also seen in the photo a business card for the Venus Cafe....off limits to Marines, but described as a club "where anything could happen" it was Shanghai's wildest club in the late 1930's after the Little Club had closed its doors. There is a great period write up on the club in a book entitled "Shanghai: High lights, low lights and tael lights" that documents the tempo of the club, how the women behaved and the unwritten process for enjoying their company.

[Brig]

Dirk, the camera is killer since you can track it to the photos. Just imagine, everything you see in those photos, that camera saw in person

[Dirk]

Yes Brig....the family is going to send a negative he still has from Cavite. The cameras been in the Soochow and beyond

[Rustykamel]

A dynamite China Marine group, Dirk. Congratulations! Jim

[bobgee]

Just saw these new additions to this great group! Congrats! Bob

[Dirk]

Thanks guys!