Bidspirit auction | Vintage WWII Military Service Photo

Vintage WWII Military Service Photo Album, Panama Canal Zone & Italian Campaign, Fort Davis - A vintage World War II era military service photo album, featuring content from the Panama Canal Zone and the Italian Campaign. The suede-like cover is embossed with ”Service Album,” a heraldic emblem, a U.S. Army emblem, and a hand-colored illustration of a soldier in a tropical setting labeled ”FT. DAVIS, C.Z.” The album is bound with a cord, with one side of the cord detached. It contains numerous black and white photographs mounted on black paper pages using various metal and tri-color (red, white, and blue) photo corners. The initial sections depict landscapes from Oregon and the Panama Canal Zone, including specific locations such as Fort Davis, Claytonia, Madden Dam, San Lorenzo, and Old Panama ruins, alongside portraits of individuals and naval vessels. Later sections document World War II era scenes from the Italian campaigns, showing widespread destruction, damaged aircraft, soldiers, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and ancient Roman ruins including Pompeii, the Colosseum, and St. Peter's Basilica. Post-war European cityscapes are also present, notably a sign prohibiting movement in ”CASSINO.” The album also includes newspaper clippings, such as ”Pupfent Poets,” and ”Vittel” ephemera. Handwritten captions throughout the pages identify various people, places, and events, including one instance of an offensive racial slur.