The Don Englebreston Collection
Gallery: JPEG
Family photographs from the years before Mel Swanson's Air Force career: a 1930s-era portrait outside a modest frame house, the boy and his brother Earnie on the running board of the family car and posing with the family dog, formal studio sittings of the two brothers, and portraits believed to show their parents from the late 1920s or early 1930s. Long before he flew A-1 Skyraiders as a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, this was the small-town family life that shaped him, and these images ground the collection's military record in the ordinary childhood that came first.
Hand-Colorized High School Portrait, Believed to be a Young Mel Swanson
Hand-Tinted High School Senior Portrait of Mel Swanson, Pre-Service
'LeRoy' Depot Building with Golden Sun Feeds Sign, Snow Scene
Mel Swanson and Brother Earnie, Childhood Dress-Up Day
Mel and Brother Earnie in Dress-Up Clothes, Family Photograph, circa 1930s
Formal Portrait of Mel Swanson and Brother Earnie, Pre-USAF Years
Studio Portrait of Mel Swanson and Brother Earnie, Pre-USAF Era
Two Young Men Standing by a Tree, Believed to be Mel and Earnie Swanson
Mel Swanson and Brother Earnie in Youth, Pre-USAF Family Photograph
Mel Swanson and Brother Earnie Seated on Running Board of Family Car, Childhood Photograph (Pre-USAF)
Two Boys on Running Board of Vintage Automobile, Family Snapshot (Pre-War Era)
Mel Swanson and Brother Earnie with Family Dog, Childhood Portrait Before USAF Service
Mel Swanson and Brother Earnie with Family Dog, Childhood Portrait (Pre-USAF)
Man with Two Young Girls in Matching Plaid Dresses, Outdoor Snapshot
Mel Swanson with Two Young Girls, Pre-USAF Family Photograph
Mel Swanson with Brother and Air Force Friend, Pre-Service Family Snapshot
Informal Group Portrait of Three Young Men on Sofa, Pre-Service Era
Swanson Family Group Portrait, Pre-USAF Era
Family Group Snapshot, Two Couples Outdoors, Circa 1950s
Swanson Family Portrait, Pre-Air Force Era
Family Portrait Outside Farmhouse, Pre-World War II Era
Formal Studio Portrait of a Young Couple, Likely Parents of Lt. Col. Mel Swanson, c. Late 1920s–Early 1930s
Studio Portrait of a Young Couple, Believed to be Mel Swanson's Parents (c. late 1920s–early 1930s)
Mel Swanson with Mother and Brother Ernie, Pre-USAF Family Photo
Family Portrait: Mom with Sons Ernie and Melvin, Pre-Service
Melvin Swanson as a Child with His Mother and Brother Earnie, Family Portrait, circa Early 1930s
