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Donald Q. Coster collection

Document | Digitized | Accession Number: 2016.394.1

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    Donald Q. Coster collection
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    Overview

    Description
    The collection contains two scrapbooks documenting the wartime experiences of Col. Donald Q. Coster, who served as an ambulance driver with the American Field Service in France in 1940, served with the Navy in North Africa, 1941-1945, and the Office of Strategic Service (O.S.S.) in Belgium in 1945. The first scrapbook documents his capture and eventual release by the German army near Amiens, France in 1940. Included are photographs, newspaper clippings, letters and telegrams, and other ephemera. The second scrapbook documents Coster's experiences in North Africa and the European theater, 1941-1946. Included are clippings, letters, artwork from the Djelfa internment camp in Algeria, photographs, awards, and military records.
    Date
    inclusive:  1940-1946
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Family of Col. Donald Q. Coster.
    Collection Creator
    Donald Q. Coster
    Biography
    Donald Quested Coster (1907-1984) was the son of Augusta Coster. He graduated from Princeton in 1929, and was an advertising executive in Montreal, Canada. After the outbreak of World War II, he volunteered to serve as an ambulance driver with the American Field Service. In May 1940, Coster's ambulance was shelled near Amiens, France and he was taken captive by German troops. He was released six weeks later. He was then conscripted into to the United States Navy, where he served as vice-consul in Casablanca. In August 1942, he was transferred to the United States Army in England where he helped with the planning for the D-Day invasion. On 8 November 1942 he landed in Oran, Algeria with the U.S. Army Air Force. In 1945 he was assigned to the Office of Strategic Service (O.S.S.) for a mission in Belgium. For his service during the war, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the North African-European Campaign Medal, and medals from France and Belgium. After the war, he was an advertising executive in New York and Paris. In the 1960s, he worked for the Agency for International Developement (A.I.D.) in Algiers. He would later work at the American Hospital of Paris from 1971-1975.

    Physical Details

    Extent
    2 oversize boxes

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
    Conditions on Use
    Material(s) in this collection may be protected by copyright and/or related rights. You do not require further permission from the Museum to use this material. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    Donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by the Family of Col. Donald Q. Coster in 2016.
    Record last modified:
    2023-08-23 15:33:42
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn544145