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39th Air Depot Group soldier photograph album

Guide to 39th Air Depot Group soldier photograph album
1938, 1942-1945

Collection number: HMC-0905.
Creator: unknown.
Title: 39th Air Depot Group soldier photograph album
Dates: 1938, 1942-1945.
Volume of collection: 0.25 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Materials in this collection are in English.
Collection summary: Photographs and a program collected by a soldier stationed at the 39th Air Depot Group located at Elmendorf Army Air Field during World War II.

Biographical note: The creator of the photograph albums is presumed to be Master Sergeant Wright probably from Pennsylvania. During World War II, Master Sergeant Wright served in the U. S. Army Air Forces in the Supply Squadron of the 39th Air Depot Group. His unit trained at Muroc Army Air Field in California, and was stationed at Elmendorf Army Air Field on Fort Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, from 1943 to 1945.

Collection description:
The collection consists of the contents of two photograph albums relating to Master Sergeant Wright’s service in the 39th Air Depot Group during World War II. Subjects of the photographs include: Wright and fellow soldiers and officers of the 39th Air Depot Group at Fort Richardson, Anchorage, Mt. McKinley National Park, the Aleutian Islands, and Muroc Army Air Field, California; Wright and various family members; USO performers in Anchorage; Downtown Anchorage; and an officers’ party for the unit held at Pioneer Hall on September 6, 1943. Other noncommissioned officers of the supply squadron identified include: First Sergeant James E. Caragher of Illinois and Sergeant Charles J. Mulvehill of Pennsylvania. Officers identified include: Major Buckley, Captain Oates, and Lieutenants Geiger, Patterson, Povanchea, Zawosky and Zeckhauser. The photographs also include: two different group portraits of the members of the 39th Air Depot Group taken at Chaffey College in Ontario, California; a print of a steamship with a program on the reverse for a 39th Air Depot Group anniversary party held at the Army Recreation Hall in Anchorage on February 5, 1945; and a print with illustrated cover of Wright and other noncommissioned officers taken at the South Seas Club in Downtown Anchorage.

Arrangement: Photographs are in the order in which they appeared in the albums.

Alternative formats: Xerographic copies of both original albums are included in the collection.

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: The Archives and Special Collections does not own copyright to these photographs.

Preferred citation: 39th Air Depot Group soldier photograph album, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.

Related materials: For more materials related to World War II, please see the World War II in Alaska topic guide.

Acquisition note: Archives and Special Collections purchased the albums on eBay in 2006.

Processing information: The original scrapbooks were dismantled, photographs placed in size order, and described by Jeffrey Sinnott in 2007. The guide was converted to current standards by Amanda Coffey in 2016. The photographs were returned to album order and the guide updated by Arlene Schmuland in 2021.

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