Object Details
- Creator
- Lanza, Kenneth
- Lanza, Anthony, 1925-1995
- Place
- Japan -- World War, 1939-1945
- Hiroshima-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945
- Topic
- Atomic bomb
- Japanese language -- 1940-1950
- Nuclear warfare
- Military occupation -- Japan
- Travel -- Japan
- World War, 1939-1945
- Provenance
- Anthony Lanza's son, Kenneth Lanza, donated this collection in 2005 and additional materials were donated in 2007.
- Creator
- Lanza, Kenneth
- Lanza, Anthony, 1925-1995
- See more items in
- Anthony Lanza World War II Letters and Photographs
- Summary
- World War II personal papers, photographs, and printed material of Anthony R. Lanza, who served in the U.S. Army in Japan between 1944 and 1946.
- Biographical / Historical
- Dr. Anthony R. Lanza was born July 20, 1925, in New York City. He was inducted into the United States Army in March of 1944, worked at the 308th General Hospital in Japan, and received an honorable discharge in May of 1946. He attained the rank of Master Sergeant and received the American Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. Lanza later worked as a public school teacher in Union, New Jersey, and Valley Stream, New York, as well as a faculty member of the School of Education at New York University. He also served as Chief of the NESA Education Branch in AID/Washington, as an Education Advisor in Turkey for nine years, and as a USAID Chief Education Officer in Guatemala, Afghanistan, and Pakistan for twelve years. He went on to work as Regional Education Officer for Africa for the Office of Overseas Schools in the U.S. State Department.
- Extent
- 1.33 Cubic feet (2 boxes)
- Date
- 1925-1946
- undated
- bulk 1940-1946
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.0910
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Drawings
- Diaries
- Letters (correspondence)
- Photographs
- Citation
- Anthony Lanza World War II Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Arrangement
- The collection is arranged in three series. Series 1, Photographs, 1925, 1944, 1945, 1946, undated Series 2, Personal Papers, 1940s, undated Series 3, Materials Related to Japan, 1945, undated
- Processing Information
- Processed by Kiley Orchard (intern), 2008; supervised by Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist.
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Genre/Form
- Drawings -- 1940-1950
- Diaries -- 1940-1950
- Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century.
- Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1940-1950
- Scope and Contents
- The collection documents Anthony Lanza's United States Army service in Japan during World War II, mostly through letters and photographs. Also included are miscellaneous items such as newsletters, clippings, drawings, Japanese travel and language guides, and official military papers. Particular research value lies in the photographic documentation of Hiroshima shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped, photographs of the Enola Gay, and an eyewitness account by a survivor. Series 1, Photographs, 1925, 1944, 1945, 1946, undated, contains documentation of Lanza's time in Japan during World War II, divided by subject matter. Many of the photographs are annotated on the reverse side. Included in the collection are photographs of the Enola Gay, Hiroshima shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped, and the 308th General Hospital in Japan. There are also several photographs of landscapes and Japanese citizens. The folder containing street scenes includes one formal portrait of a Japanese family Lanza encountered in his travels. There are also photographs not taken in Japan, including images of Niagara Falls. Series 2, Personal Papers, 1940s, undated, contains various papers that belonged to Lanza, including his diary, several letters to his mother written from Japan, a scrapbook, a first person account of the Hiroshima bombing written by Reverend John A. Siemes, military papers (special orders, immunization records, payroll information, and discharge papers), military newsletters, newspaper and magazine clippings, and various sketches and notes. The newspaper and magazine subjects contain information regarding a relative, a blurb about a DDT insecticide experiment, and information regarding musical performances. Series 3, Materials Related to Japan, 1945, undated, contains two Japanese language books, a tourist magazine, and a book created for tourism about Japan dated 1945.
- Restrictions
- The collection is open for research use. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
- Record ID
- ebl-1503513426894-1503513426897-0
In the Collection
View Slideshow
