The Swing Shift Shuffle is a radio program of swing, big band, jazz, boogie woogie and other popular music from the 1930's and 40's that airs every Wednesday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (US Central Time) on WEVL 89.9 FM in Memphis, Tennessee, with a live webcast at wevl.org. In addition to the radio show, this blog is dedicated to all aspects of the Swing Era, including art, automobiles, cartoons, comics, history, movies, music, news, science, technology, and anything else that happened during that time. It also includes announcements about events in the Memphis/Mid-South area related to the Swing Era, such as classic movies, concerts, dances, lectures, etc. If you see something that fits the description, send it to me at tim@wevl.org. If you would like more information about the radio show, just go to the Radio Show FAQ page.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

High School Yearbooks From World War II



The National World War II Museum Blog posted a collection of yearbooks from U.S. high schools during World War II.  These are some powerful images, with a mix of patriotism, humor, realism and sorrow.  The collection includes yearbooks from all across the country, but I thought it would be interesting to look at the 1944 edition from McKinley H.S., in Honolulu, Hawaii.  With the population of Hawaii coming from a wide diversity of ethnic backgrounds, I was not surprised to find a lot of Japanese-American students in the Black & Gold.  There is a memorial to former students killed during the war, including Sgt. Joseph Takata, who posthumously received the distinguished service cross for extraordinary gallantry in Italy.  He was apparently the first Japanese-American to be so decorated. 

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