Victor Delnore Papers

Victor E. Delnore in Japan during the Occupation.

Lt. Colonel Victor E. Delnore commanded the Allied Occupation Forces in Nagasaki Prefecture from 1946-1949.  As head of the Nagasaki Military Government Team, Delnore supervised early efforts to rebuild the city of Nagasaki and to restore peace and stability throughout the prefecture.  In May 2012, Patricia Magee, daughter of Victor Delnore, donated her father’s papers to the Prange Collection.

A photograph of Nagasaki 10 minutes after the atomic bomb was dropped.

The Papers include a photo album, a scrapbook, policy statements, directives, speeches, letters, newspaper articles, and documentary films (a total of 2 linear feet). Most notably, the scrapbook includes Delnore’s 1948 address at the historic first Nagasaki ceremony commemorating victims of the atomic bombing, and the photo album includes a photograph of Nagasaki taken 10 minutes after the atomic bomb was dropped.

Delnore’s address at the first ceremony commemorating atomic bomb victims on August 9, 1948.

In August 2011, NHK aired the documentary program, “二度と原爆を使ってはいけない – ナガサキを見た占領軍司令官,” featuring Victor Delnore’s work in Nagasaki.  The Papers are available for use in the Prange Collection.  For more information, contact prangebunko[at]umd.edu.