Kinsall Collection Now Available on TeVA

By Brooke Jackson

The Lt. Col. J.Y. Kinsall Collection is now available to view online. This collection centered around Lt. Col. J.Y. Kinsall, a World War II and Korean War veteran.

Black and white photograph of Lt. Col. J.Y. Kinsall with his two year old daughter Lucinda Clair Kinsall. Lucinda is standing on a desk while pinning the Silver Oak Leaves pin on Kinsall, who recently made Lieutenant Colonel. Photograph was originally printed in "The Strata Courier" newspaper based out of Mountain Home, Idaho.
Image: TeVA Kinsall Collection

Born in 1910 in Carter County, Oklahoma, Kinsall enlisted in the United States Air Force (USAF) at the age of 19. Until 1942 the USAF was known as the United States Army Air Corps. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, which led the United States into WWII, Kinsall transferred to Miami Beach, Florida. While in Florida, he helped the USAF establish the Officer Candidate School, a 90-day program to train officers.

During the Korean War, he worked as a Director of Base Personnel at the Osan Air Base (K-55) in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, and the Nagoya Air Base in Nagoya, Japan. He was also stationed in Casablanca, Morocco, from March – December 1945. Kinsall dedicated his life to the military and serving over thirty years before being honorably discharged in 1958. After his discharge, Kinsall retired to Nashville, Tennessee.

Black and white photograph of Lt. Col. J.Y. Kinsall (standing on left) shaking hands with an unidentified United States Air Force soldier. In the background, there are unidentified U.S. Air Force soldiers standing under a Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. Image is an official U.S. Air Force Photograph taken at the Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
Image: TeVA Kinsall Collection

During his military career, Kinsall cultivated a passion for photography. Most of the photos and slides in this collection document his personal and military life during the Korean War. He took pictures of his family living in Japan, landscapes in South Korea, and photos of everyday life in Morocco.

Slide film (or reversal film) of two North American F-86D Sabre fighter interceptors in flight. Photograph is taken by Lieutenant Colonel J.Y. Kinsall from another aircraft in flight.
Image: TeVA Kinsall Collection

Slide film (or reversal film) of unidentified South Korean women carrying pots and baskets on top of their heads.
Image: TeVA Kinsall Collection

Slide film (or reversal film) of a Godzilla topiary located at a park in Tokyo, Japan. Emiko and Yasko, who were governesses for the Kinsall family, are pictured with the Kinsall children, Robert (aged 2) and Lucinda Clair (aged 3.)
Image: TeVA Kinsall Collection

The collection includes photos, slides, and insignia he was awarded throughout his service. The items in this collection were loaned to the Library and Archives by his daughter Lucinda Clair Kinsall, who is a retired employee from the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Browse the collection at: https://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/customizations/global/pages/collections/kinsall/kinsall.html

The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Office of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett