Made in 1943, this silent home movie shows the induction services for draftees held at the University of Arizona in Tucson during WWII. It was one of several films made to document selectees, who include (based on the names shown) many hispanic Americans and perhaps some native Americans. Exactly why these movies were shot is unclear, but what they do underscore is the level of sacrifice made by citizens around the USA during the war.
The film begins with a title card stating that “induction services were held on August 24, 1943 for 27 selectees from Board #1” before listing their names. According to a Tucson Daily Citizen article found on-line from September 1, 1943, “selective service Inductees were Steve Charles Merino, Floyd De- King, Jr., Fred John Lesinski, Raman Monies. David Shelby Baker, Humberto M. Soto, Gilbert A. Ward. George A. Burns, jr., Vincent Mailionado, Domingo Garcia Valencia, Frank Moreno Santa Cruz, Jose Maria Qulroz, and C. Silvas Urvina, all of Tucson, and Isaac G. Garcia from Eloy.” At 3:40, Board #2 selectees are shown, and so on through the film — with the last group shown from October 11, 1943 at 13:17.
It’s unknown how many of the men shown in these images ended up going overseas during WWII, or how many of them managed to return to their families. A little research — typing random names into Google — revealed that the majority of them seem to have served and survived the war. It would be an interesting project for someone to research all the names shown in this unique film.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
