Descripción
225 photographs; thirteen photographic negatives; six letters and telegrams; two folders of Brotherton's military paperwork; three original pencil sketches; eight large- format ink and pencil captioned cartoons of the 551st Ordnance H.M. Co.; Brotherton's wife's identification card for Fort McPherson, Georgia; a small nameplate for "Lt. Henry Brotherton"; and a Nov. 27, 1948 issue of the ARMY TIMES newspaper, listing Brotherton as a major under the "Warrant List." Some insect damage to the pencil sketches and one cartoon, otherwise generally very good or better condition. A nice collection of material on the wartime experiences of Maj. Henry Alton Brotherton (1920-86), a Warrant Officer from Iredell, North Carolina. The numerous photographs feature a variety of settings and subjects. The majority of the photographs emanate from Hawaii, showing Brotherton and his wife (who apparently joined him at some point after his assignment there, either to live for a while or visit), other officers and soldiers at work and play, studio portraits of Brotherton, a handful of 8 x 10-inch press photos, and a 4 x 10-inch panorama of the 551th Ordnance Company. Over thirty of the photographs are annotated, mostly identifying Brotherton, his wife, or military subjects in Hawaii in 1945, with three photographs showing the 551st at a "Beer Party." Among the letters and telegrams are a small handwritten note by Brotherton to his wife in North Carolina, wishing her congratulations on their wedding anniversary, and a Western Union telegram wishing the same (dated a day apart from each other); a Dec. 31, 1945 telegram from Brotherton to his wife saying that he expects to "be home soon." A Dec. 22, 1944 five-page letter from Brotherton's wife, Polly, includes extremely romantic and borderline racy content from a homefront wife to her husband while he was in training in San Francisco: "My Darling Husband, I'm wanting you so terribly much tonight, I hardly know how to begin my letter.If I dared put all my emotions on paper, this letter would be scorched with passion, Brother. I love you, I love you, I love you!!" The folders of documents include official army service forms, rosters, reports, etc. Notable among the papers are a packet of documents relating to the visit of the President of Mexico to Kansas City in 1947 (which Brotherton was tasked with coordinating); a certificate of training for "Mess Management;" a 1946 application for commission in the regular army as well as one for extended active duty; a list of Brotherton's ordnance depot bowling league (in which Brotherton is listed near the top with a 163.1 average); and a snarky letter from Brotherton's superior, commenting on a traffic citation received by Brotherton: "If all officers had the same attitude [as Lt. Brotherton toward parking rules,] this post would have to have an M.P. on every street and intersection which is neither feasible nor desirable." Perhaps the most notable portion of the archive lies in the nine large black-and- white ink and pencil cartoons on eight sheets. They depict soldiers performing various ordnance tasks on a base, presumably somewhere in the central Pacific, accompanied by humorous commentary. Six of the cartoons directly reference either the Pacific or California. One cartoon pictures "the men most commonly called as the Bull Gangers, who work on the big weapons which give Japs lead poisoning." A few cartoons picture palm trees or reference pineapples. Another cartoon shows two soldiers in conversation, with a thought bubble above them showing the Golden Gate Bridge; the caption reads: "I figure that my new tool will speed this war up so fast that we will see the Golden Gate in forty eight." One of the cartoons includes a sign reading: "551st Ord. H. M. Co" [Heavy Maintenance Company]. These pieces are unsigned, so it is unclear if they are Brotherton's work, but some of the soldiers depicted are named (e.g. [Eddie] Blackford, Mullins and "Big Joe" Galecki). A. N° de ref. del artículo WRCAM54508
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