Large Black Military Family Photo Album, 1940s-80s

[African American][Military] Extensive family album with 161 original photographs as well as clipped newspaper articles and magazine images, spanning at least four decades in the lives of the Turners, a large black family from Virginia with members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Lacking covers. This wonderful record of an African-American family's experience throughout the mid-20th century includes images from as far back as the 1930s on the first page; four single portraits, a cabinet card showing a young mother sitting in a rocking chair next to a young child in a pram, and a photo of two young boys sitting with their arms around each other. These are the earliest photos in the album and are likely handed-down photos of the ancestors of the album's makers. The next page skips forward to the late 1950s and early 1960s with several snapshots of a family with two young boys, including pictures of the boys at different birthday parties. These are likely Thomas and Algie Turner, sons of Margaret Turner. Opposite are more family photos, one of a boy of about 12 or 13 captioned by hand in pen "Turner", dated Feb. 56. Another beside it dated Aug 58 shows a man in a U.S. Army uniform with the nametag "Turner" holding up a what appears to be a diamond back rattlesnake to the camera. The following page includes another shot of Turner in his uniform and several clipped articles noting Army Private Thomas W. Turner's graduation from basic training and from paratrooper training. The next several pages compile shots of various family members' school years, including school pictures, graduation photos, girls in prom dresses, and a group photo of an all black girl's cheerleading squad. These pictures date between the 1940s and 60s, with one including caption indicating the 1949-50 school year. Some photos are captioned with names, such as one portrait of a woman with "Mable Warrell" and "Silas Warrell" written around the edges. One page is pasted with several newspaper articles, including a 1978 wedding announcement with photo for Florine Benton and William Deloatche of Newsoms, Virginia. Following are several pages of military photographs and clippings. One shows two black men and a white or mixed race man posing closely together labeled "Joe" "Biaise" and "Brown". A pasted in article dating from 1982 reports on the new crew assignment of Navy Gunner's Mate 1st Class Algie L. Turner, brother of Thomas Turner. Images from these pages show black soldiers posing with artillery, tanks, at a burial site, and at the Acropolis of Athens. One shows three black soldiers hanging playfully upside down on a playground labeled "Hayes" "Turner" and "Vaughn". Many photographs show life in the Army, Navy, and Air Force with shots of fellow soldiers and sailors both white and black in uniform, commanding officers, and various planes, ships, and aircraft carriers. These photographs span from the mid-50s to 80s and indicate the brothers likely fought in Vietnam. Algie Turner's obituary states that he enlisted in the Army in 1965 and was awarded the Purple Heart in March 1967. He then served in the U.S. Navy from 1969 until his retirement in 1987. Included with this album are 19 loose photographs which appear to have at some point been affixed in the album. The shots, like of the Turner's friends and family, mostly appear to be taken in the same area or neighborhood in Virginia. Album in overall fair condition, lacking covers, with fragile pages torn at edges and some photographs loose or coming loose. Photographs themselves are in good to very good condition. A sprawling account of the Turner family and their friends and acquaintances throughout the years, including wonderful Vietnam/Cold War era photography of integrated troops in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. (Inventory #: 21174)