1951 – Japan, Eta Jima Specialist School (EJSS)
Learning Specialized Skills
After completing basic training at Fort Belvoir, Grover shipped out overseas to Japan for specialized training at the Eta Jima Specialist School, one of the largest such facilities in the world at the time. Each month thousands of military personnel cycled through advanced training on everything from Court Reporting, Cooking, Medicine, and Engineering which was Grover’s assigned military occupational specialty (MOS).
During his time at Eta Jima, he captured hundreds of pictures of his day to day experiences, and sent copies back home to his sister, Dot. When these pictures were removed from his personal photo album to be scanned, we discovered he had written notes on the back, providing a glimpse into his thoughts at the time.
Photo Album
School Buddies
Hiroshima?
When Grover was stationed at Eta Jima in 1951, it had only been six years since the first atomic bombing with the city as its target. Troops were generally prohibited from entering the city at the time so I found it interesting that he was able to travel there. I do remember him saying they went to the city and would have got in trouble if the MP’s found out. These pictures confirm he made at least one trip to Hiroshima, and also to Kure, nearby.
The Big Picture
The Big Picture is an American documentary television program which aired from 1951 to 1964. The series consisted of documentary films produced by the United States Army Signal Corps Army Pictorial Service. This segment, starting at 14:35, described the Eta Jima Specialist School around the time when Grover would have been stationed there.
