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LOUIS A. CAMPI. World War II Photograph Album and Scrapbook; 1941-1945, 1951-1952. .5 cu. ft.
Louis Arthur Campi was born in 1920. In 1937, he graduated from Mission High School in San Francisco, California, and then worked as a statistical clerk for the Premier Insurance Company. In February 1942, Campi enlisted in the U.S. Army at Presidio, California, and completed basic training as a member of Company C, 54th Battalion, at Camp Walters in Fort Worth, Texas. He was later assigned as a member of the Service Company, 53rd Infantry Regiment, serving in the Alaska Department at Adak Army Air Field, from 1943 to 1944. During the war, Campi served as a Clerk Typist, Personnel NCO, and a Classification Specialist. After returning to the continental U.S. in late 1944, he was stationed at Camp Swift, Texas, and then attended the Adjutant General School at Fort Sam Houston. Louis Campi was released from active service at Camp Beale, California, in October 1945.
The collection consists of papers, service patches, and photographs taken from Louis A. Campi's World War II era photograph album and scrapbook. The collection is divided into two series: papers and service patches, and photographs. The papers include a xerographic copy of Campi's original photograph album; service records; cards from military service; menus; an Organization Day booklet for the fourth anniversary of the reactivation of the 53rd Infantry Regiment; newspaper clippings on U.S. Army forces in the Aleutians; a Kiska Task Force soldier's manual; a copy of The Battle for the Aleutians, written by Dashiell Hammett and Robert Colodny; a clipping of a Life Magazine article on the Aleutians; and a copy of a Catholic parish's announcements. The service patches include shoulder patches for the Alaska Department, the Fourth Army, Replacement and School Command, Army Ground Forces, and the Kiska Task Force, as well as overseas service bars, a service stripe, and staff sergeant rank insignia. The photographs consist of 235 black and white prints from the original album, and 21 copy negatives. Subjects of the images include training at Camp Walters, Texas (1942); service at Adak Army Air Field in the Aleutians(1943-1944); service at Camp Swift and Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and Camp Beale, California (1944-1945); U.S. Army soldier Richard P. Campi at Fort Ord, California and Kumhwa, Korea (1951-1952); and unidentified friends.
The collection was acquired by the archives in 2001.
HMC-0545
JAS (12/2001)
Box and Folder list:
Box 1
Series 1. Papers and Service Patches; n. d., 1941-1945.
1. Xerographic copy of photograph album and scrapbook; 1942-1945
(61 pages).
2. Service records; 1942-1945 (8 different items).
-Special Orders appointing Campi to the rank of Corporal; Nov.
20, 1942.
-Special Orders appointing Campi to Technician 4th Grade (temporary);
Aug. 29, 1943.
-General Orders awarding Campi the Good Conduct Medal; Nov 27,
1943 (extract and full copy of orders).
-Letter of reference for Campi from Harold K. Wolfe, 1st Lieutenant,
53rd Infantry, Commanding; Dec. 20, 1943 (2 copies).
-Commendation letter for Campi by Leon L. Kotzebue, Colonel,
53rd Infantry, Commanding; Apr. 1, 1944 (2 copies).
-Special Orders promoting Campi to temporary grade of Staff Sergeant;
Dec. 19, 1944.
-Special Orders transferring Campi to the Separation Center,
Army Service Forces, Ninth Service Command, Headquarters, Camp
Beale, California; Oct. 16, 1945.
-Army of the United States, Separation Record for Campi, issued
at Camp Beale, California; Oct. 19, 1945.
3. Identification, Membership, and Other Cards; n.d.,
1941, 1944, 1945 (7 items).
-Registration Certificate; July 1, 1941.
-Membership card, NCO Club, Special Units Battalion, Amchitka,
Alaska; May 31, 1944.
- Card recognizing Campi as a member of the Regimental Command
Post, issued aboard the SS Christopher Greenup by Clark B. Rosser,
1st Lieutenant, 53rd Infantry, Ship Adjutant; Sep. 23, 1944.
-Card authorizing Campi to wear the following decorations: Good
Conduct Medal and Ribbon, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal and
Ribbon, and one Bronze Star; October 1, 1944.
-Class A Pass issued to Campi at the Personnel Center, Camp Beale,
California; ca. 1945.
-Tobacco Ration Card, Expires 29 October 1945, issued at Camp
Beale, California; ca. 1945.
- Meal ticket issued aboard ship; n.d.
4. Menus; 1943-1944 (3 items).
-Service Company, 53rd Infantry, Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 1943,
APO 980 (illustrated).
-Service Company, 53rd Infantry, Christmas Day; ca. 1943 (illustrated
including commanding general's Christmas greeting and post chaplain's
message and prayer).
-1940-1944, Service Company's 4th Anniversary, Somewhere in the
Aleutians; Aug. 1, 1944.
5. Organization Day, 53rd Infantry, Somewhere in the Aleutians;
Aug. 1, 1944 (10 page booklet).
-Greetings memorandum by Leon L. Kotzebue, Colonel, 53d Infantry,
Commanding.
-Regimental History.
-Blazonry: description of shield, crest, and motto.
-Prayer by Chaplains Alex L. Sullivan and Felix N. Myslewiec.
-Marching Song: "Kings of the Highway."
-"A Bow to the Infantry," poem by Grantland Rice.
-Autograph pages.
-Alaska Department polar bear insignia on rear cover.
6. Newspaper Clippings; n.d., 1942-1943.
-"Yanks Become Actors in Aleutians"; Topeka, Kansas
newspaper; n.d. (photo-illustrated).
-"Aleutian Islands Not So Barren as They Appear"; By
William L. Worden, Topeka Daily State Journal; Oct. 8,
1942.
-"Andreanof Army Base: U.S. Occupaton Troops Civilize A
Lonely Island"; By William L. Worden, Associated Press;
ca. Dec. 10, 1942.
-"Yanks Occupy Aleutian Base: Take Amchitka Island 70 Miles
From Nippons At Kiska; ca. Jan. 28, 1943.
-"U.S. Troops Advance in Aleutians, Occupy Andreanof Islands
in Drive Toward Jap Bases To Challeng Seizure Made in June: Army
and Air Forces, Supported By Navy Units, Meet No Opposition 250
Miles Nearer Nippon-Held Kiska"; Topeka Daily Capital;
Oct. 4, 1942.
7. Soldier's Manual (How to Get Along in the Field);
Kiska Task Force; n.d. (illustrated booklet, 51 pages).
8. The Battle of the Aleutians: A Graphic History,
1942-1943; Produced by the Intelligence Section, Field Force
Headquarters, Adak, Alaska, October, 1943; Major Henry W. Hall,
Infantry Intelligence Officer; Illustrations, maps and layout
by Sgt. Harry Fletcher; Written by Cpl. Dashiell Hammett and
Cpl. Robert Colodny; Reproduction by detachment 29th Engineers
stationed with Headquarters Western Defense Command; 1944 (illustrated,
24 pages).
9. Service patches; n.d. (9 items, 8 different).
-Alaska Department (round with polar bear head and gold star
on blue field).
-Fourth Army (diamond shaped with four-leafed clover on red field).
-Replacement and School Command (round with blue, gold, and red
bars).
-Army Ground Forces (round with red, white, and blue bars).
-Kiska Task Force (round with knife on light blue field).
-Overseas Service Bars (4 gold bars, one for each 6 months of
service).
-Service Stripe (1 stripe, for 3 years of service).
-Staff Sergeant (2 patches, 3 chevrons and one rocker).
10. Clipping of Life Magazine article: "The
Aleutians: They are Barren Links Between Two Worlds"; Photographs
by Dmitri Kessel; n.d. (20 pages, black and white and color).
11. Mission Dolores Parish Announcements; Feb.
6, 1944 (Catholic parish publication, 2 pages).
Box 2 (Album)
Series 2. Photographs; n.d., 1942-1945, 1951-1952 (235 b&w prints; 21 b&w copy negatives, 4 X 5 inch).
1. Training at Presidio, California, and Camp Walters, Fort
Worth, Texas; 1st Platoon, Company C, 54th Battalion; Feb.-May
1942 (103 prints).
Soldiers pictured include: Dick Brockett, Joe Boyd, Dick Close,
Harold Florence, Al Foley, Baker Hallows, and George Varni,
2. Service at Adak Army Air Field, Aleutians; Service
Company, 53rd Infantry Regiment; 1943-1944 (111 prints).
Soldiers pictured include: Fred W. Allison, Merle M. Bennett,
Frank Cepelis, Charles Brett, Clifford F. Demain, Tommy Hastings,
Lloyd W. Hellem, Robert H. Henshaw, Robert Howard, Joe Jenny
(1st Sergeant), Charles Keyes, Leon L. Kotzebue (Colonel, 53rd
Infantry), Simon B. Magana, William H. Pique, Kenneth Smith,
Juan Valenzuela, Mike Vargon, Alfred Venerr, and Herschel L.
Whitacker.
3. Service at Camp Swift, Texas, Fort Sam Houston, San
Antonio, Texas, and Camp Beale, California; 1944-1945 (7 prints).
4. Richard P. Campi, U.S. Army soldier at Fort Ord, California,
and Kumhwa, Korea; 1951-1952 (3 prints).
5. Unidentified friends; n.d. (11 prints).