Civil Defense Air Raid Filter Center personnel   Save
Columbus Citizen-Journal Photograph Collection
Description: Photograph from the Columbus Citizen-Journal Collection captioned on its reverse as "Personnel at the Civil Defense Air Raid Filter Center, 33 W. Gay St." in Columbus, Ohio. The three men in the top row are identified as spotters, and include (left to right) Staff Sergeant Alfred B. Brown, Sergeant Donald E. Witt, and PFC Gene A. Cooper. The men below are identified as (left to right) Lieutenant James M. Diley, Lieutenant Granville F. Miller, Private John A. Fisher, Second Lieutenant Tony C. Lombardi, and Phillip D. Hertenstein, ADM Supervisor. Beginning during World War II and into the Cold War, civilians volunteered as observers in the Ground Observer Corps, part of the nation's civil defense framework. These volunteers would report aircraft sightings to regional filter centers, which were staffed by both volunteers and Air Force members who would plot positions and flight paths. Information was then relayed to air defense centers for evaluation and identification of threats. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P339_B17F01_15_01
Subjects: Civil Defense; Ohio History--State and Local Government; Cold War; United States Air Force;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)