Z Plan cover page

The Capture and Exploitation of Japanese Records during World War II

Today’s post is by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. U.S. Military forces began capturing records almost as soon as the war began and started exploiting them immediately. Documents were first captured from a Japanese plane downed in the Pearl Harbor attack. These provided the first clues to … Continue reading The Capture and Exploitation of Japanese Records during World War II

The National Archives’ Arthur Evarts Kimberly and the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section’s Document Restoration Sub-Section, 1944-1945

Today’s post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives in College Park. The linguists with the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) of General Douglas MacArthur’s General Headquarters, Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) were responsible, at ATIS headquarters in Australia and, attached to units in the field, for translating captured documents … Continue reading The National Archives’ Arthur Evarts Kimberly and the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section’s Document Restoration Sub-Section, 1944-1945

Exploitation of Captured and Seized Japanese Records by the Pacific Military Intelligence Research Service (PACMIRS) 1945-Spring 1946

Today’s post was written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives in College Park. The U.S. Army’s Pacific Military Intelligence Research Service (PACMIRS), located at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, had been established in September 1944 to exploit captured Japanese records.  During 1945 it saw a steady increase in staff and workload–from 120 personnel in … Continue reading Exploitation of Captured and Seized Japanese Records by the Pacific Military Intelligence Research Service (PACMIRS) 1945-Spring 1946

Seventy Years Ago: Colonel Sidney F. Mashbir and the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS), September-October 1942

Today's post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher. Seventy years ago, on September 19, 1942, one of the most important intelligence organizations in the Southwest Pacific Area was created and not long afterwards its commander, Sidney F. Mashbir, arrived in the theater to take command of it.  This was the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section, … Continue reading Seventy Years Ago: Colonel Sidney F. Mashbir and the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS), September-October 1942