[WORLD WAR II]. Extensive US Marine Corps album identified to African American Corporal Charles H. Fowler, 52nd Defense Battalion, USMC, who trained at Montford Point, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Red limp cloth album with acrylic boards, approx. 12 3/4 x 8 3/8 in. (missing back cloth cover, discoloration and soiling, wear to page edges, some items loose) containing 40+ documents and other imprints including certificates, registration/identification cards, newspaper clippings, Japanese currency, and more; and 129 photographs ranging in size from 3/4 x 1 1/8 in. to 9 1/4 x 6 1/4 in., most secured with adhesive (conditions vary, some with significant toning, some with bends and creases, wear to edges). Photographs are predominantly silver gelatin snapshots capturing Fowler and fellow African American soldiers; operations in Japan, some showing casualties and prisoners, armored vehicles, and landscape views; and Fowler with family members. Several larger photographs are group shots of all-African American platoons including 374, 375, 376, and 377.

Cloth album cover is comprised of a fringed banner bearing applique emblems including the Marine Corps' eagle, globe, and anchor symbol; and the 51st and 52nd Defense Battalion patches. Some documents and imprints contained in the album include Fowler's honorable discharge documentation, Marine Corps identification card, Selective Service registration certificate, Veterans' "Rights and Benefits" handbook, and "Individual Battle Doctrine" booklet labelled "Restricted."

Charles Harrison Fowler (1924-1997) attended Pasadena Junior College before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps and completing basic training at Montford Point, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. It is unclear whether or not he entered as a corporal or was promoted to that rank after entering the service. He likely mustered into the first African American Marine Corps combat unit, the 51st Defense Battalion, at Montford Point and was one of 400 officers and men transferred to the 52nd Defense Battalion under commanding officer Colonel Augustus W. Cockrell. The 52nd boarded the USS Winged Arrow, which took them first to Pearl Harbor and then to the Marshall Islands, where they served in many capacities including guarding against forays by Japanese air power and reconnaissance missions to some of the smaller islands to move natives from the path of destruction. The battalion moved to the recaptured island of Guam on 4 May 1945.