A personal photographic record of Reginald Carlson's military service - from his induction in Los Angeles in 1943, through combat with the 91st Infantry Division in Italy, to his return to civilian life in 1946.
Somewhere in rural Italy, Reginald sits outdoors with a young Italian girl on his lap - perhaps five or six years old - in front of a white stucco farmhouse with a red tile roof. She looks down; he looks at her with quiet warmth.
It is the kind of image that says more about the character of the man than any citation could.
S. Kent Brown & Renata Forste · Covenant Communications, 2001 · Page 27
Alvin Reginald Carlson was inducted into the United States Army on March 24, 1943 at the Los Angeles Armed Forces Induction Station. He was 22 years old and had been working as a bank teller at Bank of America. He was assigned first to finance duties at Camp Haan in Riverside County, California, and promoted to Private First Class in July 1943.
In the summer of 1944, Reginald received orders for overseas assignment. These photographs were taken during his final leave in Los Angeles before departing from Camp Reynolds, Pennsylvania on July 18, 1944. He arranged a monthly allotment of $27 to his mother Jennie at their home on West 85th Street.
In January 1945, Reginald joined K Company, 3rd Battalion, 363rd Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division as a rifleman. He fought through the North Apennines and was part of the assault breakthrough into the Po Valley in April 1945 - the action for which he received the Bronze Star Medal. These photographs document the campaign and the landscape of the Italian front.
Following the German surrender in Italy in May 1945, Headquarters II Corps issued a formal commendation to the entire 91st Infantry Division - recognizing its "sustained drive unsurpassed in modern warfare," the breakthrough before Bologna, the destruction of enemy forces in the Po Valley, and the final push into the Alps.
Photographs from daily life during and after the Italian campaign - soldiers at camp, the vast staging area near Naples where tens of thousands of men waited to go home, Italian civilians navigating the aftermath of war, and quieter moments between the fighting.
On August 14, 1945, Reginald departed Naples, Italy aboard the SS Pachaug Victory, bound for New York. He had served overseas for 11 months and 25 days.
After returning from Europe, Reginald was stationed at Camp Rucker, Alabama, where he was promoted to Sergeant in November 1945 and discharged on November 28, 1945. Among these documents is a handwritten roster of the men who came home with K Company, 363rd Infantry - a list of survivors.
Reginald returned to Los Angeles and resumed civilian life. His local draft board welcomed him home. He received an invitation to the 91st Division Association reunion. He filed a VA disability claim for stomach trouble - which was denied. His handwritten reply declining to appeal is one of the most personal documents in the collection: he notes his "extreme headaches have subsided greatly" since having "lots of milk, rest, and relaxation."
In early 1946, Reginald typed this 19-page personal pamphlet as an introduction of himself to prospective employers. He subtitled it with a phrase borrowed from cartoonist Bill Mauldin - "Fugitive from the Law of Averages" - meaning the Germans tried to kill him and failed. The pamphlet covers his vital statistics, education, service record, psychological test results, and philosophy of life. It is the most complete portrait we have of the young man who came home from the war.
