Guide to the Harold G. Forster photograph album
1942-1945
Collection number: HMC-0864.
Creator: Forster, Harold G.
Title: Harold G. Forster photograph album.
Dates: 1942-1945.
Volume of collection: 0.2 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Materials in the collection are in English.
Collection summary: Photograph album of an Eleventh Air Force soldier who served in the Ordinance Department at Elmendorf Field.
Biographical note:
Harold G. Forster was born in Ohio in 1911. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at Cincinnati, Ohio on September 26, 1942. Forster served in the Ordnance Department, Eleventh Air Force at Elmendorf Field on Fort Richardson in Anchorage from 1943 to 1944. His unit worked at various airfields, including those at Naknek, Yakutat, Kodiak and Cordova. Harold Forster died in New Port Richey, Florida, in 1998.
Collection description:
The collection consists of the contents of the World War II era photograph album of Eleventh Air Force soldier Harold G. Forster. The collection contains: travel orders dated August 9, 1944, for the Ordnance Department of the Eleventh Air Force from Headquarters, Elmendorf Field, Fort Richardson, signed by Lt. James M. Moir of the Ordnance Department; an affidavit for enlisted men and civilians signed by Forster on July 31, 1944, for clothing and toilet articles issued to him; original and commercial photographs; and photo post cards. Subjects of the original photographs include: Harold Forster and fellow soldiers at Elmendorf Field on Fort Richardson, Naknek, Yakutat, Kodiak, and Cordova; Harold Forster and friends and family; army vehicles, equipment, buildings, and other facilities; a party of soldiers and women fishing; performers in a U.S.O. show; the interior of an Alaska Defense Command canteen; and scenery. Members of Forster’s unit identified in both the travel orders and the photographs include: John J. Henry, John E. Enniss, Charles H. Lukert, Frederick J. MacDonald, and John E. Bruton. Subjects of the commercial photographs and photo post cards are Anchorage, Alaska, California, Colorado, Minnesota, and New York.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged by document type. Photographs are arranged by type and size.
Alternative formats: The collection includes a xerographic copy of the album indicating the original order of the materials.
Digitized copies: Selected photographs from this collection have been digitized and can be viewed on Alaska’s Digital Archives. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Archives does not hold copyright to materials in this collection.
Preferred citation: Harold G. Forster photograph album, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Acquisition note: The collection was purchased via eBay in 2006.
Processing information: The photograph album was dismantled, photographs rearranged by size, and the collection described by Jeffrey Sinnott in 2006. The guide to the collection was converted to current standard by Veronica Denison in 2015.