Photo Album of Black WWII Army Technician from Georgia., Stationed in Okinawa Japan During the War

[WWII] [Black Military] Photo album containing 36 silver gelatin original photographs and additional documents relating to U.S. Army technician Alonzo Freeman and his wife Risa Freeman of Forsyth, Georgia. Freeman was born in 1921 and served in WWII as a Technician Fourth Grade in the U.S. Army, a non-commissioned rank equivalent to Sergeant. In some handwritten notes in the album Freeman is referred to as "Sgt." Alonzo Freeman. Freeman appears to have served in a non-combat position in Japan between 1943 and 1945. A handwritten note marks the Freemans wedding, reading "Sgt Alonzo Freeman Mrs Risa Freeman was married on the 13th on Nov. 1943". Photos show Freeman in his army uniform as well as many images dating to his time in Okinawa, Japan. One real photo postcard shows the Monroe County Honor Roll in Forsyth, GA, where the Freemans lived, hand-dated 1945. Several show Freeman as a young man in his army technician uniform. Images dating to Freeman's time in Okinawa show the destruction of the island in the wake of WWII, U.S. Army planes, and various images of Japanese architecture and beaches. Freeman seems particularly taken with torii, traditional Japanese gates, and has included several photos of torii around Okinawa. Several photos are beautifully shot portraits of Japanese locals. One shows a young woman sitting at the side of a well. Another shows a woman carrying a large buckets and several baskets on her head. Others show children wearing robes and young people in fisherman's trousers. One image shows what appears to be bright rays of light, perhaps fireworks, with the caption "August 10 VJ-Day Okinawa". Also included in the album are several documents from Freeman's life after returning from Japan. The Freemans owned a home in Georgia, as evidenced by a home insurance policy issued to Risa B. Freeman in 1945. Also included are two W-2 slips dating to 1948 for Freeman's job at Brighton Mills, a textile mill in Shannon, Georgia. Another document lists "computation aids", a series of mathematical and geometric tips. Some pages have handwritten notes, including two on the back board written in large print "This book was brought from the island of Okinawa on the first day of January 1946" and "John F. Kennedy was sat [sic] in Nov. 22th, 1963". Some photos and documents loose from album pages. Album pages bound with a small rope. Covers appear to be taken from a book of Russian folk songs and read "Gypsie" on front and spine. Spine bound in red cloth with backstrip separated from spine and joined only fragilely at back hinge. Boards exhibit significant wear and scratching. Overall poor-to-fair condition, with photos themselves clean and well preserved in good condition. A unique look at Okinawa at the end of WWII through the perspective of a Black U.S. Army technician. (Inventory #: 21157)