(A retroactive blog by Hunter Desportes)
Introduction
Robert DesPortes was born in 1927 in Winnsboro, South Carolina.
The first large group of photos in this collections begins in 1945 in Tientsin (now Tianjin) China with the US Marines, During the following 10 years, where he courted and married my mother, Daisy Hunter, are pictures of her and Columbia, his family and Winnsboro, along with some fishing and duck hunting trips.
End of World War II
18 year old Robert DesPortes was sent to Guam from California in the Spring of 1945 to be part of an eventual invasion of the Japanese mainland.
Guam, Summer of 1945
The war ended before his group of mostly new recruits could get there, and they were instead sent to China in late 1945 where they were stationed in Tientsin (now Tianjin). One of their primary jobs was to help repatriate captured Japanese prisoners of war.
China, 1945-46
After nearly a year in China, these lucky warriors, head back to the US in the Fall of 1946.
Boat to Home
I have visited Tianjin to look for marine Corps sites. What Marine unit was your father in?
Sorry I didn’t see your comment earlier. I’m afraid I don’t have the answer to that and my father is no longer around for me to ask.
Hey Hunter,
Your Dad was without a doubt one of the most entertaining and interesting people I have ever known. My mother (Lavinia Lyles Seibels Peltosalo) and I were regaled by Bobby many times over the years. When he occasionally visited me at my workplace (Riverbanks Zoo), I knew that my work day was over from that point on! We talked about absolutely anything animal related, but our far-ranging conversations could never be described as dull. I will miss him very much, as I know you will.