Through the Camera's Eye:
The Allison Collection
of World War II Photographs
On December 7, 1941, a surprise attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor drew Americans into a war they had avoided for two years. As a military conflict, World War II brought rapid political, social, and economic change at all levels of society. Arkansas, still struggling against a decade of severe economic depression, experienced more changes during the four years of conflict than at any other time in its history since the Civil War.
Originally opposed to entering the war, Arkansans enlisted in great numbers after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Almost 56,000 men voluntarily enrolled in the armed forces, and more than 130,000 were drafted. These soldiers saw service in both the Pacific and European theaters and fought under Generals Patton and MacArthur, among others. The courage and willingness of these men and women to fight for their country and against the atrocities of other nations led many to deem them the "Greatest Generation."
During World War II, James Allison, a sports writer
working for the Houston Press, noticed that many photographs not printed
in the daily newspaper were routinely discarded. He received permission to
save these images, and by war's end he had amassed a collection of more than
4,600 photographs. In August 1977, Allison donated his
collection to the Arkansas Museum of Science and History, located in the
historic Arsenal building in MacArthur Park.