On or about 6 Jun 99, we received a note from Doug Decker indicating he had discovered a trunk full of "official" USMC photos among his father's WWII souveniers.  Doug wrote:

"I was told that these photos no longer exist. Is this correct? I understand there was an archive fire some years back and the photos are gone. The originals were 8x10 black and whites. I have located some in 4x5 format, officially numbered, dated, and stamped. Are these worthy of restoration? Some are in good condition maybe 50% but all are scannable. I'm a little concerned about any scanner light damage. Although they are not mine. They are in possession of my son. And we are presently archiving them before the image is lost. Can you give me an idea of what we have if anything? Thanks"-------Doug Decker

I wrote back, of course, with my suggestion that he contact the USMC Museum in Washington, D.C. and also asked if he would be interested in sharing some of the photos, especially the ones regarding Guadalcanal.  Doug and his son Paul were very generous in their response and sent us everything they had -- 19 in all -- which were labled "Guadacanal" (sp).

(Click on image to View)

"Were very pleased the photos are some you've never seen published. That makes our little effort and contribution worthwhile. We have 12 more islands of photos. For a total of 13. Only have about 5 completed. My scanner temporarily died. The ones I have scanned are - Eniwetok, New Georgia,Siapan and Tinian. You have my full set of Gaudalcanal. We have remaining Bouganville, Tarawa, Cape Gloucster, Kwajalein, Guam, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa most are in sets of 20. Two are in sets of 40. We have three photos missing, one of which is Gaudalcanal. We have 317 USMC photos + 27 others for a total of 344. Can't think of any additional blurb to add. Maybe you can do better for us. But we will never forget! By the way--- I'm the proud owner of a Japanese naval officers sword! In excellent condition, bought it at an antique show 15 years ago, black lacquered bamboo sheath. A dealer told me he hasn't seen one this nice short of the Tokyo museum. Most are at the bottom of iron bottom sound. Thank You and We'll keep in touch.------Doug

Anyone interested in the complete set of images listed above may contact Doug Decker at  Tulsarpg1@aol.com

You may also visit Doug's commercial Web site at The Gem Cave (he is a gem cutter)

We are very appreciative of Doug and Paul Decker's contribution to our Web site.  Also thanks to Bob Askey for his help in identifying some of these never before seen images.             

Jim Garrett  

7/10/99