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This collection consists of material relating to both Robert S. Sanford's World War I service and his work in Alaska with the US Bureau of Mines. The material relating to his service with the 139th Aero Squadron includes the following: a series of over 100 letters from Sanford to his family from 1917-1919, chronicling his entry into the military, training stateside, his overseas deployment and service in the Toul sector; nine photographs of Sanford in uniform or of aircraft in France; a May 4, 1918 copy of "Plane News"; and a small brown diary with entries written by Sanford from 1917 to 1918.
Identifier
NASM.2004.0063
Creator
Sanford, Robert S., 1897-1981
Date
bulk 1917-1970
Provenance
Bonnie Gitlin, Gift, 2004, NASM.2004.0063
Extent
0.55 Cubic feet (1 box, 1 folder in oversized box)
Archival Repository
National Air and Space Museum Archives
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of material relating to both Robert Sanford's World War I service and his work in Alaska with the US Bureau of Mines. The material relating to his service with the 139th Aero Squadron includes the following: a series of over 100 letters from Sanford to his family from 1917-1919, chronicling his entry into the military, training stateside, his overseas deployment and service in the Toul sector; nine photographs of Sanford in uniform or of aircraft in France; a May 4, 1918 copy of Plane News; and a small brown diary with entries written by Sanford from 1917 to 1918. The material relating to his work with the United States Bureau of Mines includes the following: two brown notebooks containing Sanford's notes on his work in Alaska, including flying information; one notebook containing photographs of Alaska, mostly of hunting and fishing; a few letters from Sanford in Alaska to his family; negatives from Alaska; newspaper articles about Sanford's contributions to finding the Alaskan oil fields; a certificate given to Sanford for crossing the Arctic Circle as a passenger of Wien Alaska Airlines in 1945; and a 1947 Wien Alaska Airlines, Inc. calendar.
Arrangement note
The Robert S. Sanford Collection is arranged by content type.
Rights
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Restrictions
No restrictions on access.
Citation
Robert S. Sanford Collection, NASM.2004.0063, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Topics
World War, 1914-1918
Mining
Oil wells -- United States
World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, American -- France
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Diaries
Photographs
Negatives
Certificates
Calendars