Finding Joel Pahl Dardis

Category: WWII

  • French Riviera, Beach Party, June 1945

    French Riviera, Beach Party, June 1945

    All the negatives in this blogpost are courtesy Liz Schuler. We know Joel photographed during his service in World War II. We’ve seen images of his training, his trip across the country to different camps, and one image of a camp mate scrubbing a latrine. The images in this envelope had both negatives and printed…

  • Wilson-Pastor Wedding, Box 82, Feb 1948

    Wilson-Pastor Wedding, Box 82, Feb 1948

    The only readable inscription on this box of negatives is Wilson Wedding, Feb 1, 1948. I was able to figure out, through some genealogical sleuthing, that this was the Everett E Wilson (1922-2012) wedding with Angela Pastor (1926-2018). What made it a bit easier was the 1948 yearbook I bought on Ebay few months back.…

  • June 6, 1948, Box 14

    June 6, 1948, Box 14

    Jumping ahead a few years, and breaking the chronology, this box is part of the expired negatives that Joel used up prior to buying new stock after his return from WWII service. June 6, 1948 is Joel’s 27th birthday and it appears that quite a few of the people present on June 6, 1943, are…

  • Kodachrome, March 28, 1944

    Kodachrome, March 28, 1944

    On March 28, 1944, the Red Army captured Nikolaev, the main shipbuilding center of the Black Sea in southern Ukraine. Same day the British MP’s voted to give women teachers the same pay as men. When I found a Kodachrome box with a March 28, 1944 date, my hopes were high there would be slides…

  • Odds and ends, 1943

    Odds and ends, 1943

    We found quite a few odds and ends in the 1943 marked boxes without knowing for sure if these slides were taken in 1943, prior to joining the service or maybe even on the few days he was able to get out of Camp Kohler (Sacramento Area.) Without any writing or documentation, we won’t know…

  • Florida, August 1943

    Florida, August 1943

    It appears that on his days off, Joel played the tourist or he bounced back and forth between training sites. He visited multiple places in Florida and left us a few slides behind so we can piece some of it back together. On Sunday August 8, 1943, Joel is in Lakeland, Florida. All we have…

  • LA to NOLA, June 1943

    LA to NOLA, June 1943

    There are just enough Kodachromes in this stack to figure out that on June 8, 1943 Joel was in Los Angeles California with few of his camp mates. The fountain in above slide gave away the location. This is Pershing Square in what is currently Downtown Financial Park. I believe the fountain is gone after…

  • Draft 1942, Enlistment, 1943

    Draft 1942, Enlistment, 1943

    WIth a Friday Feb 19, 1943 date written on the 3 last press negative format boxes from that year, it somewhat hinted that Joel was preparing for another significant phase in his life. Joel’s Draft Card is dated Feb 14, 1942. The draft required all men between 21 and 45 to register for military service.…