Papers (1942-1946, 1951, 1991), of U.S. Naval photo interpreter and intelligence officer, including memos, photographs, pamphlets, operations manuals, worksheets, maps, reports, and ephemera reflecting operations at Normandy, Cherbourg, Sicily, and Guam during World War II.
Lester Carl Haas was born on April 9, 1913, in Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana. He was the son of Jacob Haas and Hanna Kahn Haas. Lester Haas was commissioned as Ensign, A-V(S) in the U.S. Naval Reserve on February 8, 1942, and completed an Indoctrination Course at Harvard University, Naval Training School. He went on to attend the Photo Interpretation School at the U.S. Naval Air Station, Anacostia.
Mr. Haas was promoted to Photo Interpretation and Intelligence Officer. Photo Interpretation meant that Lester Haas studied and assessed photographs taken from reconnaisance flights. He was trained to recognize objects in the photos and pick out landmarks such as gun positions, military bases, rifle pits, beaches, roads and sand bars. His work dictated where men and equipment would or would not land and where high explosive shells would or would not be fired. This position also required him to serve as Naval Photographer.
He was first assigned to the Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet, North African Invasion. Then, later, his assignments included Commander of the Task Force 85 and 6th Amphibious Force on the U.S.S. Ancon for the Invasion of Sicily and Commander of Task Force 122, London, and the Naval Command Western Task Force on the CA Flagship USS Augusta for the invasion of Normandy. The assignments would result in Lester Haas being awarded twice for Special Commendations by Admiral G. Kirk, USN and the Navy Commendation Ribbon in August 1944 by Admiral Stark, Commander of the U.S. Naval Forces in Europe.
Further assignments would include Program Development, Bomb Damage Assessment and Target Evaluation for the Air Force section of The Pentagon, for the Pacific Ocean Area of Pearl Harbor, and for the CinCPac Advance Headquarters in Guam. His work with CinCPac would earn him a Unit Citation by Admiral Nimitz, CinCPac in October 1945. On November 14, 1945, Lester Haas was released to inactive duty with the rank of Lieutenant, U.S.N.R. He was honorably discharged on January 11, 1952.
Lester Haas married on November 1, 1942, to Eunice "Niki" Kal and they went on to have a son, Dale Frances Haas, and a daughter, Catherine Kal Haas. Lester Carl Haas died on July 24, 2003, in Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana.
Sources:
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation Collection: Lester C. Haas Papers (#0677-080), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71887268/lester-c_-haas
https://prabook.com/web/lester_carl.haas/605154
The Lester C. Haas Papers are part of the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation Collection, and they reflect Lester Haas's naval wartime service as a U.S. Navy Photo Interpretater and Photographer. His papers include correspondence, memoranda, military reports, maps, publications, photographs, negatives, and ephemera.
As a U.S. Navy Intelligence officer, Lester Haas was tasked in gathering intelligence through his photo interpretation work for the European theater of World War II, particularly for D-Day which was the invasion of Normandy, France in June of 1944 and for the invasion of Sicily which took place in 1943. Most of the military reports, maps, and photos are on the Normandy Invasion and on Operation Husky (the Invasion of Sicily). Some of the documents are marked TOP-SECRET and/or BIGOT, meaning that only a select number of military personnel were authorized to view the documents at the time. These documents have since been declassified by the National Archives and can be used for research.
The publications consist of pamphlets, title pages from books on General Omar Bradley and on the Navy's Amphibious Forces. There is also a newspaper article on Omar Bradley as well as a military publication of "The Amphibian, Sicilian Issue".
Information on Photographic Interpretation can be found in the papers. The Amphibian, Sicilian Issue contains an article on Photographic Interpretation by Lieut. C. G. Coleman. There are documents of lectures that were given on the subject and a Photographic Intelligence Summary issued by the U.S. Navy is included which served as a study for Photographic Interpreters.
The photographs and negatives show Lester Haas' work as the Navy's Photographer as well as the kinds of photos he was required to examine as the Navy's Photographic Interpreter. There are photos of Admiral Kirk, General Omar Bradley, General George Patton, and King George VI of England and aerial shots that were taken by reconnaissance flights that photo interpreters would use to study the terrain and various military landmarks.
The ephemera that is included consists of Haas' stereoscope and his survival kit. Mr. Haas used the stereoscope to help him in his photographic interpretation work. By using this tool, he could more easily spot military landmarks and make out the terrain. Haas' survival kit is of various items stored in a flask which was kept in a dark green pouch. The kit includes chocolate, chewing gun, sewing kit, fishhook kit, compass, saw blade, prophylactic, sharpening stone, matches, razor blades, and bouillon power. The kit also came with a mirror that was used to signal fellow soldiers on the battlefield.
Gift of Mr. Lester C. Haas
Encoded by Apex Data Services, Processed by Nanette Hardison on May 31, 2024.
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.