https://www.chicopeepubliclibrary.org/archives/files/original/2e28ec0733f74018529d0c79f8ad93d6.jpg 9964daf6b8b05350cae970afaf8643a4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Edmund Ukleja Collection Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CPL-UKLEJA-scrapbook Subject The topic of the resource 1939-1945–Campaigns–Pacific area Chicopee (Mass.) Bon Homme Richard (Aircraft carrier) World War II Description An account of the resource Edmund Frank Ukleja was born 9/27/1921 to Frank and Mary (Birgier/Bargiel) Ukleja, themselves immigrants from Poland. He had three siblings (Henry, Chester, and Phyllis). Edmund was a lifelong resident of Chicopee, MA, and served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, first stationed at the Waller Airforce Base in Trinidad and Tobago, and then aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard in the Pacific theater. He returned home in 1945. Following his Naval service, Edmund was a toolmaker at the Eastern Etching Company for 18 years. Edmund married Adella J. Urban (1927-2021) in 1951 at St. Stanislaus. He was a communicant of St Stanislaus Basilica Church in Chicopee, and belonged to their Holy Name Society and St. Michael’s Society. Upon his death on 8/11/1991, he was buried in the St. Stanislaus Cemetery in Chicopee. The scrapbook is comprised primarily of photos and newspaper clippings, with assorted other ephemera, all contained within a scrapbook assembled by Edmund. Approximately half of the items relate to Edmund’s service in the United States Navy during WWII, and those include several graphic photos of war casualties as well as depictions of and language describing Japanese people that are considered racist by today’s standards, but would have been common views at the time. The second half of the collection follows Edmund’s life after he returned home from the war, and includes photos of local parades and festivals, as well as weddings, christenings, and other family events. [Some images were removed by the family prior to donation to the CPL; where there are photo corners but no photograph, the photograph was not included in the donation.] CONTENT WARNING: Some content found in this collection may be harmful and difficult to view. These materials may be graphic or reflect biases. We provide access to these materials to preserve the historical record, but we do not endorse the attitudes, prejudices, or behaviors found within them. This collection includes several graphic images of wartime casualties, as well as outdated and racist depictions of Japanese people. <ul> <li>The PDF of the scrapbook has been edited to add "buffer" pages with conent warnings preceding graphic images, so users may decide if they wish to view those images or skip ahead.</li> <li>The individual graphic images in the collection have had an extra access layer added, so that viewers must click a hyperlink to view the image after reading an image description.</li> </ul> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Edmund Frank Ukleja (1921-1991) Kate Ouimette (finding aid) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1943-1955 License A legal document giving official permission to do something with the resource. Collection processed & finding aid created by Kate Ouimette, CPL Archivist, October 2024. This finding aid is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Chicopee Public Library/Chicopee Archives Online. Extent The size or duration of the resource. Approximately 454 items. Language A language of the resource This collection is primarily in English, with one item in Polish and some foreign currency. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CPL-UKLEJA-scrapbook-026-02.02 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. 26 Extent The size or duration of the resource. 2 x 13.5" (extended) Type The nature or genre of the resource Newspaper clipping Title A name given to the resource Halsey's Ships are Identified (full article) Subject The topic of the resource United States. Navy--Japan; World War, 1939-1945--Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.) Abstract A summary of the resource. A newspaper article describing the U.S. and British ships that participated in the attacks in Japan. Edmund participated in this military action. The article includes derogatory language to refer to Japanese people. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 16-Aug-45 Description An account of the resource The headline at the top reads, "Halsey's Ships are Identified," with the byline below reading, "Fleet Made Up of 105 U. S. and 28 British Vessels." The column reads: "Guam. Aug. 16 (AP)--American and british fighting ships which played a major role in the final weeks of war in battering Japan into surrender were identified today by Admiral Nimitz. Packing a wallop of more than 1,000,000 tons of fighting steel, this great naval armada under Admiral Halsey ranged up and down the Japanese coastline, bombarding enemy cities and lashing inland targets with sawarms of carrier aircraft. America's newest and most powerful men o'war--105 of them--and 28 British combat vessels made up the fighting line flung against the reeling enemy. Hit 1500 Jap Planes. More than 1500 Japanese planes were destroyed or damaged in the weeks this great 3d Fleet--also known as Task Force 28--harried the enemy's seaboard. It also took a toll of nearly 1000 Nipponese ships and small craft--sunk, bleached, burned or damaged. Immense damage was done to war plants industrial areas, airfields and other ground targets. A light American surface unit was the only vessel damaged in the 37 days of operations, broken at times by raging typhoons. In all, there were eight American and one British battleships in Halsey's armada, 16 Americans and four British aircraft carriers, 19 American and six British cruisers and 62 Americans 17 British destroyers. In the fleet's train were scores of tankers, ammunition ships, escort carriers, destroyer escorts and miscellaneous supply vessels. In addition, submarines of the Pacific Fleet gave support with their offensive operations, search patrols and rescue actions. Praises Service Forces. In a statement accompanying the honor roll, the Admiral of the Fleet paid tribute to the tireless service forces which moved supplies across the Pacific and delievered them at sea to the fighting craft. This "great accomplishment," said Nimitz, made it possible for the bombardment forces "to continue their successive punishing blows against the Japanese homeland." Topping the roll of fighting craft so proudly announced were such mighty battlewagons as the Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin--biggest and most powerful of the American Navy. With the New Jersey, which was not with Hasley at this time, they form the 45,000-ton Iowa class. Their 16-inch rifles helped to lay waste military targets near the Japanese coast. Other American batteships were the Massachusetts, Indiana, South Dakota, North Caolina and Alabama. The British battleship in this bombardment force was HMS King George Fifth. American carriers from whose decks man-made typhoons swept against the enemy homeland included 10 of the 27,000-on Essex class and six of the independence class. Illustrious names of battle fame, in this and other wards, are in the list--the Lexington, Essex, Bennington, Hancock, Randolph, Ticonderoga, Yorktown, Shangri-La, Bon Homme Richard, Wasp, San Jacinto, Independence, Belleau Wood, Monterey, Bataan and Cowpens. British carriers were the Formidable, Implacable, Victorious and Indefatigable. U.S. Cruisers in Fleet. The American cruiser column included the heavy-type Quincy, Chicago, Boston and St. Paul -- hard-hitting vessels of 13,000 tons, 33-knot speed and nine eight-inch rifles each. Eleven others were of the 10,000-ton class and four of 6000 tons each but capable of speeds greater than 38 knots. The British cruisers were of 8000 tonnage, carrying 12 six-inch guns each, and lighter units. Most of the screening force of American destoryers were of the war-time Fletcher class, around 2100 tons. With their speeds of around 40 knots, they are probably the fastest combat vessels afloat. Even this mighty array of power--history's greatest--which Halsey flung against the enemy did not represent the maximum naval effort that could have been hurled into action. For instance, besides the super-battleship New Jersey, older battleships like the California, New Mexico and New York were not operating with the 3d Fleet at the time. Out of action also were the carriers Hornet, Bunker Hill, Franklin and Enterprise."