Will Thurland's World War II Photo Collection

About the Book

Will A. Thurland of Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944, a year after the Selective Service Act of 1940 was made applicable to the territory in World War II. The photographs are taken with a Kodak Brownie camera. The photographs and stories are of the Virgin Islands Orchestra and the Virgin Islands 872nd and 873rd Port Companies and their military journey in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Louisiana and Hawaii. The photographs also include the VJ Day Parade in Oahu, Hawaii in 1945 at the end of World War II, the 1946 Tsunami in Hawaii, the men working, on furlough or the orchestra playing in New Orleans and Hawaii in addition to life after service. Also included are newspaper clippings from the local newspapers as those back home kept track of the enlisted men's activities. The book also has a glossary. Will was instrumental in organizing the Virgin Islands Orchestra. The music of the orchestra provided a distraction from a segregated army and the Jim Crow laws that Virgin Islanders would not get accustomed to. The orchestra was well received wherever they were stationed, for their unique style of music such as quelbe, Latin music, popular big band music and military marches. Members of the 873rd Port Company contributed greatly to the US. Virgin Islands after military discharge and produced the 2nd and 4th elected governors of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Cyril E. King and Alexander A. Farrelly, legislators, commissioners, successful businessmen, many in government and public service, in addition to several members of the Virgin Islands Orchestra who continued to share their musical talents in the Virgin Islands. Note: A separate file with the back cover text has been submitted in Word titled "WT-BackCoverText-Fin

About the Author

ANNE L. THURLAND is the author of Jens Larsen Photo Collection: St. Croix 1935-1937 which is a photographic history and a short biography. She has written numerous grants, strategic plans, newsletters, and journal articles in addition to creating and managing social marketing projects and public health programs. She has a Master of Public Health degree, is a master certified health education specialist (MCHES) and specializes in social marketing. She has worked for the Virgin Islands Department of Health as a Director of Health Promotion and Education for many years. Anne, a self-taught digital photographer, likes to create abstract art from her photographs and has participated in photo displays. She is interested in photo restoration and encourages families to digitally preserve their family photographs in addition to preserving culture through the stories passed on through generations. Anne is the daughter of Will and Modesta Thurland of Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands where her family has lived for the past fourteen or more generations. She is blessed with parents and her sister Karen, a historian, educator and author who appreciate the preservation of the oral and visual history of the Virgin Islands. She has a son Brandon and a grandson Masse´.