Thursday, August 30, 2007

Japanese Imperial Family

Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako with their children. Their eldest son, Akihito, is pictured in the center. Hirohito was Emperor of Japan from 1926 until his death in 1989. The Dowager Empress Nagako died in 2000 at the age of 97.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Yoshitake


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Originally uploaded by KnittyBits

I was able to get the characters on this page translated. The boy in the back is Mitsugu Yoshitake, the young boy is Yasuo and the girl is Kinue. I have not been able to locate their names in the research I've done thus far.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Vice Admiral Shin-Ichi Ichinose


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The characters written under this photograph were translated as Vice-Admiral Shin-ichi Ichinose.

According to Wikipedia he led the 26th Special Base Force that was disbanded in late WWII. It was an Imperial Navy detachment located at Halmahera Island (Dutch West Indies).

Very little can be found online about the Vice Admiral and the 26th Special Base Force.

Who am I?


I assume this is the owner of the photo album. My assumption is based on the fact that there are several photos of this young man alone and with others. I can't get over how young these men look.

Clarence Beck

Information about my grandfather, who found the album:
Clarence Royal Beck
Enlisted in the U.S. Navy on July 10, 1942
Honorably Discharged on December 14, 1944
Machinist Mate First Class
26th Navy Construction Battalion
Born July 26, 1905 Cloquet, Minnesota
Died November 24, 1989 Harrisonburg, Virginia

Friday, August 24, 2007

World War II - Guadalcanal

My grandfather, Clarence Beck, served in the Navy during World War II. While he was stationed at Guadalcanal, he found a photo album. He brought the album back to the U.S. with the intention of one day trying to find the album's owner. My grandfather has since passed away and the album is now in my care.

This album is a treasure and there's a family out there who has no idea of its existence. It's time for this album to find its home. I will post as many photos as possible. Translations and assistance are very welcome.

There is not a single word written in a western alphabet, so I have not been able to translate the script. However, the parents of a friend of my son's were able to help with a few names. It's a start. The names Ichinose and Yoshitake are mentioned. I will add more information in my next post.