Title: Elvyn V. Davidson Scrapbook

Date/Date Range :   circa 1943-circa 1946

Extent: 0.3 linear feet

Abstract:

This collection consists of Xerox copies of the scrapbook that Elvyn V. Davidson kept between approximately 1943 and 1946. It is made up primarily of photographs of Eastern (probably Japanese) women and some American soldiers and ephemera, including foreign currency, cartoons, poetry and newsletters.

Call number: MS-2581

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

Dr. Elvyn V. Davidson donated this collection to the University of Tennessee Special Collections Library in April of 2000.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], Elvyn V. Davidson Scrapbook, MS-2581. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of three folders.

Elvyn V. Davidson was born on September 6, 1923 in Long Island, New York, to John Adams Hampton Davidson Sr. and Hattie Olizabeth Hargraves Davidson. He was raised primarily by his brother and sister after his parents' death in 1934. Davidson joined the Army in September of 1942. After scoring well on the Army Special Training Program (ASTP) Test, Davidson was sent to the University of Nebraska for additional schooling and then assigned to Company F of the 370th Infantry as a non-commissioned officer. The unit deployed to North Africa in 1943 and was moved to Italy in July of 1944. Here, the 370th fought alongside several unusual units, including the 99th (the Tuskegee Airmen) and the 442nd (a Japanese-American unit). The 370th was transferred to the Pacific Theater in May of 1945, where they served as a supply unit until V-J day. They then formed part of the force that occupied Japan. Davidson was officially discharged in January of 1946. He used the G.I. bill to return to school, and completed his M.D. at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. It was during this time that he met his wife, Esther Johnson Davidson. They moved to Knoxville in 1958, where they still live.

This collection consists of Xerox copies of the scrapbook that Dr. Elvyn V. Davidson kept between approximately 1943 and 1946. It is made up primarily of photographs and ephemera. Most of the photographs depict scantily clad Eastern (probably Japanese) women, but some show American soldiers. The ephemera includes various forms of money (including Russian rubles, Algerian francs, pesos, lire, and Austrian kronen), cartoons, poetry, a liberty pass, a safe passage pass (written in both German and English), and newsletters (including the Kobe Globe, published in occupied Japan). The scrapbook also includes official documents, including the award of combat infantry badges (1944) and a petition against the unfair treatment of Japanese Americans (July 16, 1945).

Interested researchers may also consult an interview with Dr. Davidson conducted by the Center for the Study of War and Society available at: http://web.utk.edu/~csws/int_davidsone.htm.

• Davidson, Elvyn V., 1923-.
• World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.
• World War, 1939-1945 -- Japanese Americans.
• World War, 1939-1945 -- African Americans.