US Marine Family in the Dominican Republic Photograph Album
Scope and Content
This album contains photographs of an American military family stationed in Santo Domingo in 1940. The first portion of the album depicts the family’s daily activities and environment, including homes and estates, family photos with domestic assistants and pets, various family members at city markets, parks, and other locations, Dominican people, and scenes taken at outings to La Toma, Boca Chica, and Santo Domingo (then known as Trujillo City). In the second section of the album, there are photographs portraying U.S. Marine aircraft and personnel. The album includes photographs of Rafael Trujillo’s yachts: the Brazil and the Ramfis. The final part of the album shows street and aerial views of the city and surrounding locations including Jarabacoa and Port-Au-Prince.
Dates
- Creation: 1940
Access
The collection is open for research.
Biographical/Historical Note
After the United States occupied the Dominican Republic in the late 1910s and early 1920s, it maintained a military presence there and supported Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, a dictator who ruled from 1930 to 1961. Before the outbreak of World War II, the Dominican navy received coast guard cutters from the United States. Consequently, the Dominican Republic provided base facilities to the United States in Santo Domingo for use during the war. One of the objectives of the American military was to rebuff German agents in the Caribbean. One of the men pictured, John August Butler was appointed as a U.S. Naval Attaché whose mission was to identify German spies and sympathizers. It was not until 1960 that the United States severed relations with Trujillo. In 1961, Trujillo was assassinated.
Extent
.01 Linear Feet (1 Volume)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Photographic album of a US Marine and his family stationed in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 1940. The album displays the many facets of American military life in the Caribbean. The photographs also capture the lifestyle of Dominicans, landmarks, landscapes, and the personal life of this Marine and his family abroad.
Location
University of Florida Smathers Library Building
Alternate Form of Finding Aid
This guide is available in Spanish at https://www.uflib.ufl.edu/findingaids/Spanish/mss0462.pdf.
Acquisition Information
Purchased in 2018.
Subject
- Trujillo Molina, Rafael Leónidas, 1891-1961. (Person)
- United States. Marine Corps. (Organization)
- Title
- A Guide to the US Marine Family in the Dominican Republic Photograph Album
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid created by Gabriela Gasca.
- Date
- November 2018
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Prepared Using Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Repository
George A. Smathers Libraries
PO Box 117005
Gainesville Florida 32611-7005 United States of America
352-273-2755
special@uflib.ufl.edu