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Bent, WM. R.

[U.S. 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines and Shanghai.]

Manila, Corregidor, Philippines, Shanghai, China: [c. August, 1931–August 11, 1932]. Photo album, 4to (220 x 320 mm), half green cloth and patterned green and black paper over boards. 145 photos, 70 x 110 mm–200 x 250 mm. 4 color photographs 120 x 175 mm–190 x 240 mm; 1 photographic pictorial map 235 x 190; mm; 3 color postcards 90 x 140 mm; 1 photograph of an army emblem 165 x 245 mm. 1 memorandum, 3 pp. Bookplate of Irene & George White affixed to front paste-down.

A remarkable photo album compiled by a member of the U.S. 31st Infantry in the Philippines and later Shanghai, offering a lively and extensive portrait of Manila as well as wartime scenes in China during a period of intense military conflict between China and Japan.

This captivating photo album commences in Manila circa August 1931, with a striking shot of a large party the 31st threw in the "squad room." In the foreground, three men play guitars and ukuleles, as various men around the room hold up their drinks. Some of the more remarkable photos from Manila capture commericial scenes, such as one image showing manila rope in a busy market. “Carabao” carts are frequently shown hauling commodities, and the various types of transportation used in Manila are documented with captions. Numerous images capture men and women engaged in domestic and agricultural tasks. Several photos show the historic walled area of Manila which dates back to the Spanish Colonial Period during the 17th century. Various shots offer views of the Pasic River and "barcas" (small boats) on Manila Bay. A handful of photos document Philippine agriculture and livestock, such as banana trees, coconut palms, sugar canes, rice fields, and oxen. Also included is a humorous map that pictorially represents Japan, the Philippines, China, etc., satirizing the cultures and mythologies of these countries, and—cavalierly—portraying numerous women of these ethnicities “all puffed up over attentions shown her by American sailors." Several shots feature the USS Grant, and one shot is offered of the 31st’s mess hall on Christmas day, 1931. Two formal portraits feature three men who were likely part of the regiment.

As the tipped-in memorandum explains, between February–July, 1932, the regiment was sent to Shanghai, China, with the mission to “protect American lives and property” after the Japanese invaded China in February, 1932. In Shanghai the unit guarded a section of the International Settlement during a period of fierce fighting between Japanese and Chinese troops. Various gruesome shots included capture the aftermath of the Japanese assault; slain Chinese soldiers are shown in trenches and dug-outs, "west of Kiargwar." One remarkable photo shows a handful of soldiers from the 31st with a formidable and likely high-ranking Chinese officer. Other shots from Shanghai capture Chinese soldiers armed and ready to fire as well as scenes from a Chinese restaurant. The two photos of the entire regiment in Shanghai show the infantry with, and then without, their navy caps.

The 31st served in Shanghai until July 1, 1932, when the regiment returned to garrison at Manila. The photo album concludes with several portraits of soldiers with the massive artillery on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines. These photos feature the caption, "Uncle Sam's Guardians of Manila Bay at Fort Mills in Corregidor." The last item in the album is the memorandum, composed by Captain Wm. R. Bent of the 31st regiment on August 11, 1932, which offers a history of the infantry. The memo was written to commemorate the Regimental Organization Day and was distributed to every member. The regiment, it is noted, was the first organization created under the National Defense Act of 1916, and drew its personnel from regiments serving in the Phillipines. It had the distinction of being the only regiment “that spent its entire service on foreign soil.” The unit was sent to Siberia in 1918 to protect the Trans-Siberian railway from bandits, and to support the Czechs in the civil war that was taking place there. For its Siberian service, the 31st Infantry became known as "the Polar Bear regiment" and adopted a silver polar bear as its insignia. From 1919–20, the regiment campaigned against the Bolsheviks; between 1920–32 the unit was stationed in the Philippines and was later part of USAFFE's Philippine Division during World War II.

An engaging photo album documenting the 31st Infantry in the Philippines and Shanghai during the early 1930s, most notably reflecting the presence of American power in the Asian theater less than a decade before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

CONDITION: Very good, tape repair to inside of back hinge.

Item #4459

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