Professional boxer and heavyweight champ Joe Louis (1914-1981) served in the U.S. Army during World War II, from January 1942 to October 1945. The Army placed him in the Special Services Division, where Louis went on celebrity tours and staged boxing exhibitions for charity and to boost the morale of American soldiers.

This photo shows Louis, left, in his Army uniform, standing with Seattle photographer Al Smith Sr. at an unidentified location, probably in Seattle. The photograph may have been taken in July 1945, when Louis stopped in Seattle en route to New York from Alaska, after three months of exhibition bouts for soldiers in the Aleutians. While in Seattle, Louis stopped by Jefferson Park, where he played two rounds of golf with local golfer Ben Beasley.

Caption information source: Seattle Times, July 1, 1945, p. 5; July 2, 1945, p. 13.