Sewell, Jack V. (17169212)

Jack V. Sewell
Personal details
Born	1923
Died	2010
Nativity	United States
Religion	Protestant
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	17169212
Rank	Private First Class
Camp Ritchie	Class 17 (11 March – 8 May 1944)
Section	6F

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Jack V. Sewell (1923–2010) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Protestant) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 17.

Biography

Sewell was a Ritchie Boy. Sewell was born in St. Joseph, Missouri on June 11, 1923 to Arthur B. He attended St. Joseph Central High School and was the Art Editor for the school magazine Tower Gleams. He joined the Army in 1943, entering the Army Special Training Program in July of that year to study Spanish at City College of New York in New York City. In February of 1944, Sewell began training in photo intelligence at the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie in Maryland. He left the U.S. for the Pacific Theater in July serving as a member of 131 Photo Interpreter Team. His unit served with the Allied Geographical Section and the 6th Army in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) from July, 1944 until January, 1946 processing and interpreting aerial intelligence photography and creating photo mosaics of various strategic locations in the Pacific. The team provided photo intelligence to U.S. forces in preparation for the Allied invasion of Luzon. Sewell was stationed in New Guinea, Australia, and the Philippines during the war and finished his service as a Technical Sergeant in Kyoto after Japan surrendered. After the war, Jack continued to pursue his love for art. After receiving both his bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Chicago, he received his doctorate degree from Harvard in Oriental Art with an emphasis on art from India, China, and Japan. He began working for the Art Institute in Chicago in 1951 and retired 37 years later as the Curator of the Oriental and Classical department. He is the author of multiple books on art from Asia. Jack Sewell died in Dubuque, Iowa on Nov. March, 1943 Fort Leavenworth, KA April, 1943 Fort Belvoir, VA – Basic Training June, 1943 Applies for Army Special Training Program (ASTP) July, 1943 Completes Basic Training, promoted to Private First Class July, 1943 New York, NY – City College of New York for ASTP February, 1944 Camp Ritchie, MD – Transfers to Military Intelligence Center (MIC) for photo intelligence training May, 1944 Camp Ritchie, MD – Photo Intelligence Team No. 127 is created. Eventually becomes the 131st Photo Interpreter Team. Jack becomes Assistant Photo Interpreter. June, 1944 Promoted to Staff Sergeant June, 1944 San Francisco, CA – Ships for New Guinea July, 1944 New Guinea – Arrives in New Guinea October, 1944 Brisbane, Australia – 131st Photo Interpreter arrives for duty with the Allied Geographical Section of General Headquarters, G-2 Office January, 1945 131st Photo Interpreter Team is assigned to HQ Sixth Army May, 1945 Luzon, Philippines –131st moves to Luzon. Jack assumes duties of sub-section chief for Plotting and Distribution September, 1945 Kyoto, Japan – 131st moves to Japan as part of Allied occupation January, 1946 Japan –Jack leaves Japan for U.S., Honorable Discharge from Army Images and information courtesy of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, Chicago, IL.

Research notes

• ASTP CCNY
• PI 131

Gallery

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	87
Class_ASN	17169212
Class_Name	SEWELL, Jack V.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Sources

• Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-01-19 (1 post)