[Annotated Vernacular Photograph Album and Scrapbook Documenting the World War II Experiences of Kenneth Black, a United States Army Corporal from Oklahoma Serving in the 527th Fighter Squadron in Europe]

[Various locations in Europe, mainly Italy, but also France and Germany, 1945. Very good.. Forty-seven album leaves and plastic sleeves, illustrated with approximately 350 photographs, many with manuscript annotations, a handful of personnel documents, and numerous ephemeral items. Later black three-ring binder used to re-house original album leaves and sleeves. Moderate soiling to album. Contents largely in nice shape. A unique view of the European region of World War II through the eyes of Kenneth Black, a U.S. Army private, then later corporal, hailing from Lamont, Oklahoma, where he worked as a farmer. This densely-packed collection of photographs and ephemera documents Black's service as a truck driver for the 527th Fighter Squadron in France, Italy, and Germany during the conflict. While there, Black participated in several battles in Italy, southern France, and Central Europe, earning six commendations, including a Good Conduct Medal. Black enlisted in the Army on April 14, 1942 and served throughout the war, mustering out on October 24, 1945.

The photographs include dozens of portraits of Black posing by himself or with fellow named soldiers, and capturing them posed with their vehicles, on airfields and in camp, walking the streets in various European cities, along the Italian coastline, at Mount Vesuvius, visiting bombed out fields south of Rome and various ruins, posed at the Pisa Airfield, traveling along the Rhine River and the autobahn in Germany, and more. There are also dozens of images of fighter planes (a handful showing their nose art) taken from the airfield and sometimes from inside the airplanes themselves. A handful of images record crashed aircraft on various airfields or bombed out cities. Identified locations include the French island of Corsica; the Italian cities of Caserta, Pisa (where he had a particular fascination with the Leaning Tower, snapping about ten pictures), Salerno, Naples, Rome (where he is obviously enamored of the architecture of the city), Grossetto, and Pomig; and the German towns of Darmstadt ("before the bombs went to work on it") and Mannheim. He also includes images of the 86th Fighter Group Orchestra playing at a hospital in Rome and floods near Pisa and Grossetto.

The ephemeral items include two different versions of Black's honorable discharge, his "Separate Qualification Record," a letter he wrote home while in Europe, a mimeographed illustrated roster of the 527th Fighter Squadron, various mimeographed newsletters, menus, and similar publications collected during the war, newspaper clippings, and later extracts from magazines showing locations Black visited during his service. A large collection of images featuring a humble Oklahoma farmer lumbering through three different European countries during the Second World War.