Artifact Archive

In December 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II. In communities along the west coast of the U.S., including the Territory of Alaska, precautions were taken to protect the country from foreign invasion and sabotage. In Petersburg, anyone needing to access the waterfront – fisherman, seafood processors, fuel dock workers, steamship passengers, etc. – was required to carry a photo identification card issued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Clausen Museum collection includes hundreds of these photographic portraits taken between 1941 and 1946, most of them...