Photos of WWII Veterans, couples needed for national observance

The Spirit of 1945 Project is looking for and collecting two types of photos — headshots of veterans in uniform who served during WWII, and of couples who were together during WWII or got married during or after the war — all of it part of Congress passing a unanimous resolution in 2010 in support of the observance of a national “Spirit of ‘45” Day to be observed the second Sunday of every August.

“There is a possibility that the deadline will be extended but we’re still waiting to hear from our national office,” said Bob McNabb, a local organizer of the project. “For now, we still have a couple of places where photographs can be brought to through the week.”

They may be taken in person to two places:

• 2 to 3 p.m., Tuesday to Friday, Visalia Veterans Memorial Building, 609 W. Center Ave.

• 1 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Veterans Office Room, College of the Sequoias, 915 Mooney Blvd.

Photographs, with “WWII Wall of Honor” or “WWII Couples” written on the subject line, can also be emailed to: Spiritof45@fold3.com.

Veterans’ photos should include first and last name, hometown and state, and/or current town and state, branch of service and years of service, if available.

Couples’ photos should include the names of the couple; the date they were married, if known; and any other information, such as home town, where they met, or where they were married, that they would like to share, in the body of the e-mail.

All photos must be received by Friday, unless the deadline is extended, and should be scanned at 300 DPI or higher.

Contact information — name, e-mail and phone number of the person submitting the photograph — should be included.

For more information, visit www.spiritof45.org or call Don Johnson at 732-4440, Jeannie Rogers at 561-3506 or Bob McNabb at 901-0734.

WWII Veterans

The “Spirit of ‘45” Veterans Mural is slated to be unfurled in Washington D.C. on Aug. 12.

In addition, Hewlett-Packard is producing an 80-by-60 foot banner that will include 1,945 photographs of WWII veterans from every state.

In California, the banner will be on display on the steps of the State Capitol on Aug. 1. Additional copies of the banner will also be made available to all Major League Baseball teams that choose to display them during any game on Aug. 12

The project involves compiling headshots of WWII veterans in uniform, alive and deceased, for its Spirit of ‘45 National Wall.

“We are asking for head shots of liv9ing as well as deceased World War II Veterans,” said Bob McNabb. “This is free. There is no cost for this great effort. It only takes five minutes and you take home the original photo.”

The photos will be converted into high-resolution digital copies to be displayed on the banner Aug. 1 at the State Capitol when the proclamation officially designating Aug. 12 as the National Spirit of ‘45 Day in California is announced.

It is a legacy that can assure the survival of the Greatest Generation, McNabb said.

WWII Couples

Photos are also being sought of couples who were together during WWII or who got married during the 1940’s.

The photos — wedding photos or of the two of them together — are for the “Keep the Spirit of ‘45 Alive” project and will be included in a giant banner that Hewlett Packard and Ancestry.com are creating. The banner will be on display in Times Square on August 14 to mark the anniversary of the “kiss seen ‘round the world.”

In addition, 1,945 photos will be used to form a mosaic of the famous photo of the nurse kissing a sailor on Aug. 14, 1945 — the symbol of the campaign in spreading the word about National Spirit of ‘45 Day throughout America. Organizers would like to collect photographs to represent couples from all states.

The “Couples” project began on Valentines Day with a special event hosted by the New York Historical Society.

The Society is preparing a “NYC in WWII” exhibit that will open to the public on Oct. 5 in New York City.