c1942 Japanese Navy Yokosuka Officer Trainees Baseball Match Photo Japan for Sale

On eBay Now...

c1942 Japanese Navy Yokosuka Officer Trainees Baseball Match Photo Japan For Sale

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

c1942 Japanese Navy Yokosuka Officer Trainees Baseball Match Photo Japan:
$96.99

This c1942 photo shows officer trainees in the Japanese Navy play a baseball game in Yokosuka, Japan.

Approximate size: 6.25 inches x 2 inches

Considering that Japan was at war with the United States at this time, and baseball being the United States\' national sport, it\'s a fascinating photo, perfect for World War 2 collectors.In 1943, Yokosuka also annexed the neighboring towns and villages of Uraga, Kitashitaura, Okusu, Nagai and Takeyama, as well as Zushi.
During World War II, Yokosuka was bombed on April 18, 1942, by American B-25 bombers in the Doolittle Raid with little damage as a retaliation to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Aside from minor sporadic tactical air raids by United States Navy aircraft, it was not bombed again during the war; however, from 1938 to 1945 more than 260 caves in more than 20 separate tunnel/cave networks were built throughout the area, with at least 27 kilometers of known tunnels within the grounds of Yokosuka Naval Base.
Many more tunnels are scattered throughout the surrounding areas. During the war, these tunnels and caves provided areas in which work could be done in secrecy, safe from air attacks. A 500-bed hospital, a large electrical power generating facility, and a midget submarine factory and warehouse were among the many facilities built.
American occupation forces landed at Yokosuka on August 30, 1945, after the surrender of Japan, and the naval base has been used by the US Navy since that time. The caves were used for storage and as an emergency shelter during the Korean War.
From the 1950s, United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka has been home port for the United States Seventh Fleet, and played a critical support role in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Yokosuka was the site of many anti-war protests during the late 1960s and 1970s. The nuclear-powered USS George Washington, formerly based at Yokosuka, was the first U.S. nuclear-powered ship that had been permanently based in Japan.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force also operates a military port next to the American base, as well as numerous training facilities at scattered locations around the city. For those reasons, there are a few hundred Americans and a thousand Filipinos in Yokosuka.
The last reference photo is a newspaper clipping from The Daily Alaska Empire (Juneau, Alaska), printed on August 29, 1945. Now, the photo isn\'t confirmed to be from the Yokosuka Naval Base, although it\'s a likely assumption. The article doesn\'t concern baseball, but gives context to the Yokosuka Naval Base and the personnel there, some of whom could\'ve played in the baseball game pictured.The article reads:
\"YANKS VISIT NAVAL BASE AT YOKOSUKA
Jap Personnel Watch Curiously as Newsmen Stroll by Trip to Jap Soil
By Al Dopking (Associated Press Correspondent)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Aug. 29—I just visited the Yokosuka Naval Base in the first American boat to enter the narrow channel leading to it from Tokyo Bay since long before the Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor attack.
The group of newspapermen in the boat saw some soldiers and some scared oil with the Japanese naval ensign. Japanese feet of the small boat which curiously circled them slowly passed them in the performance flying their American flag away started less than 100 feet. Armed sentries from installations on shore one dock of readiness.
Four Japanese in a small boat along one side of a cycle as they were putting aboard waved but they tussled with a bi- They appeared to be civilians. They navy yard looked stricken. Evidence of the effects of Ameri- can bombing were everywhere with airplanes on both the aircraft and shipyard completely gutted.”

Please inspect the pictures, as they give the best representation of condition.May have discoloring, edge or corner wear, marks, creases, fading, smudges, corner or edge bends, tears, or corners missing.

(C41 inventory number)