Historical Portrait
Harlie Akard (World War I, Tulare County)
Archive record
Historical portrait of Harlie Akard, Seaman 1st Class during World War I from Tulare County, California, circa 1914. Public domain photograph.
About this photograph
This photograph shows Harlie Akard in the uniform of a Seaman 1st Class. The record places him as a serviceman from Tulare County during World War I, though the earliest date given is 1914, three years before the United States entered the conflict in April 1917.
Tulare County lies in California's San Joaquin Valley, a farming region built on irrigated agriculture and settled largely in the later nineteenth century.
The photographer is not identified. Once the United States joined the war, local studios photographed large numbers of enlistees in uniform before they departed. Many of these portraits were made so that a copy could remain at home. County historical collections across California hold many such images, often the only formal portrait a young man ever had taken. The Tulare County library maintains a large local history photograph collection focused on ordinary residents rather than prominent figures.
The record does not specify when or where Akard served, or what became of him after the war.
Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.
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