Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1535

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.13 linear feet (1 album)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Corporal Quock C. Mar World War II photograph album, 1944, Ms. Coll. 1535, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

Date:

1944

Form:

Black-and-white photographs and Photograph albums

Abstract:

Corporal Quock C. Mar was a Chinese-American member of the United States Army during World War II. His photograph album documents his military service from his training at the Desert Training Center to his time in the Pacific Theater in 1944.

Son of Mar Kam and Tom Moy, Quock Choy Mar was born on December 19, 1916 in Brennan, Isla, California. He enlisted in the United States army on July 3, 1942 and trained at the Desert Training Center (DTC). The DTC, also known as California–Arizona Maneuver Area (CAMA), was a World War II training facility established in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert, largely in Southern California and Western Arizona in 1942.

Though his unit and division are unknown, it is suggested by the equipment Mar holds in various photographs that he served with the Army infantry in the Pacific theater. Mar crossed the international dateline on January 14, 1944 and arrived either at Nouméa or Guadalcanal aboard the USS West Point. Mar was discharged on December 13, 1945 and returned to California.

He died on June 5, 1984 in San Francisco, California.

Approximately, 13,000 Americans of Chinese ancestry served in the military during World War II.

The Corporal Quock C. Mar World War II photograph album documents his World War II military service including his time spent at the Desert training Center and in the Pacific Theater. The album features 135 black and white photographs of: various locations including Iwo Jima, Needles High School [California], the Desert Training Center, and the 3rd Marine Division cemetery.

Album provides a visual record for those interested in Chinese-American contributions to the war effort and the degree to which Chinese-Americans were integrated within military units.