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January 6, 1955. Somewhere in the post gymnasium at Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaii — before statehood, before everything changed — a U.S. Army photographer named Cpl. Johnson of the 25th Signal Company pointed his camera at a young guard from Stamping Grounds, Kentucky, and took this picture.
His name was Jack Wise, and he was the starting guard for the Special Troops basketball team of the 25th Infantry Division — the legendary “Tropic Lightning” division, stationed on Oahu since the days of Pearl Harbor. This is his photograph.
It’s a proper press photo, official and documented: typed caption on the reverse, a Department of the Army publication stamp, photographer credit, unit designation, date. This wasn’t somebody’s personal snapshot. It was meant to go somewhere — a newspaper, a base bulletin, a publicity file — and it survived seven decades to land here instead.
The photo itself is everything a mid-century sports press image should be: clean composition, gym-wall cinderblock backdrop, a young athlete holding a basketball with the easy confidence of someone who knows he’s good at this.
The reverse reads:
“Jack Wise (Stamping Grounds, Kentucky) is the starting Guard with the Special Troops Basketball team of the 25th Inf. Div. Jack is shown in the Post Gym, Schofield Barracks, T.H.”
Photographer: Cpl. Johnson, 25th Signal Company. 6 Jan 55.
“T.H.” — Territory of Hawaii. Hawaii wouldn’t become the 50th state until August 1959. This photograph is a small, specific piece of what that world looked like before it became something else.
A genuine cross-collector piece for anyone drawn to vintage military memorabilia, pre-statehood Hawaii history, mid-century press photography, or early Cold War-era Army life. Ships carefully protected. Ground Advantage.
