Let me start this post by saying this is the largest collection of personal artifacts I've acquired and I'm rather sure I won't find another this extensive. This past summer, I had the opportunity to purchase hundreds of letters, photos, and documents from an antique's dealer. It took me months to sort through everything and discover that I had a very large collection from (Watson) Lamar Davis.
What makes this collection so special, aside from the volume of artifacts, is the well documented time Lamar spend in training preparing for the war, serving in the post-war occupation of Japan, and his return home.
He left a young wife and infant at home when he entered the war. They wrote nearly every day of his two year service term. These letters are very personal and, at times, heartbreaking to read.
Many correspondences to/from his wife and family contain normal, everyday life events but the longing to be home with his wife and baby is evident in his writing. Lamar liked to draw on his letters (particularly maps) and he sent a few items home that were given to him or purchased, claimed, and accounted for in the documentation included in the collection.
A few of the letters between Lamar and his wife.
Fortunately, sometime in 1945, he picked up a camera and started documenting his experience. He took hundreds of pictures and many are labeled which made it somewhat easy to pair with his letters.
I read every letter and admired each photograph and piece of documentation. A few of the things he writes about; his struggles in Occupied Japan, the feelings of the soldiers toward the Japanese people, the friends he makes, soldiers lost, his adventures at rest camp, and the impact of the war on the cities he was stationed in. He also writes extensively about his hopes and dreams after returning home, his love of his wife and baby, and wanting to be home again.
Lamar took many pictures of everyday life in Japan. He expressed his views in captions.
The arrow in the picture is where he took the next photo from.
The affects of war are clear in this photo.
A sample of the hundreds of photos taken by Lamar in 1945 and 1946.
From my research:
The family lived in Northern Georgia.
Lamar was stationed in Hakodate and Tokyo.
He took a trip to Mount Fuji, the Imperial Gardens, and the Gokokuji Temple.
He attended a Banner Streamer parade and the first Democratic election in Japan.
Many photos were taken of everyday life in Japan and the destruction from the war.
He made it home safely from the war.
He and his wife went on to have the baby girl they so very much wanted.
Lamar and his wife, Lucy, had 13 years together after the war before she passed.
The question I asked myself was; "What do I do with a personal collection this large?". I made attempts to find a direct descendant with no success. So, I decided to reach out to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. After reviewing, I'm happy to say the museum has accepted the entire collection and the artifacts will be preserved for future generations.
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