DAVID H. BACKUS AND FAMILY:

Prior to the United States entry into the First World War, David H. Backus volunteered as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross, where he spent three months in the Chemin des Dames evacuating the dead and wounded. He was awarded the Fourragère of the Médalle Militaire from the French Government for his work.

Backus received his flying rating at Tours, France in November of 1917. During his air service he was credited with the destruction of four enemy aircraft and was eventually awarded the Distinguished Service Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the French Croix de Guerre with Palm, and the Fourragère of the Médaille Iliatrie.

Backus volunteered for active duty at the start of the Second World War and was appointed major in the Army Air Force in February of 1942. He served several roles in World War II. Initially, he was an Intelligence Officer with the 305th Flying Fortress Bombing Group in France and Germany but he was also an air intelligence and public relations officer in Lt. General Jimmy Doolittle's 12th Air Force Service Command in the North African, Sicilian, and Italian Campaigns. It was during his time in North Africa that Backus took many of the photographs used as official publicity for the Air Force at the time. Many of the photographs from that period are included in the collection with annotations.

Backus was also an assistant chief of staff for intelligence and public relations with the 15th Air Force Service Command. He was on detached service with the War Department for six weeks in 1944 as a speaker at aircraft manufacturing plants and led a special tour of midwestern states to promote the use of corn for essential war production.

David Backus' parents, Clinton J. and Carrie Haskins Backus, were both employed at Baldwin Seminary from 1884, which eventually became Oak Hall/Mrs. Backus' School for Girls. Mrs Backus was principal of the St. Paul-based preparatory school from the early twentieth century until she sold it in 1918.

Return to top

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. David H. Backus and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 16,238

Processing Information:

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Catalog ID number: 990073230410104294

Return to top

Return to top

Includes materials relating to David's father, Clinton J. Backus, his mother, Carrie H. Backus, his sister, Una, and his brothers, Clinton Jr. and Romayne Backus.

Return to top

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

World War, 1914-1918.

World War, 1939-1945.

Organizations:

Baldwin Seminary (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Mrs. Backus' School for Girls (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Oak Hall (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Document Types:

Diaries.

Photographs.

Return to top