Glen McCreary was inducted into the army on February 2, 1941, from a National Guard unit in Kelso, Wisconsin. He served as sergeant in a Coast Artillery unit in Seward, Alaska from June, 1941 until October, 1943 at which time he transferred to the U.S. Signal Corps lab in Anchorage. There he became acquainted with two other Signal Corps photographers, George Noland and Michael Strong.

George Noland had arrived in Alaska in 1942 from Minnesota and became the official army photographer for the construction of the Alcan (Alaska) Highway. Michael Strong was from Juneau. The images in this album are a compilation of the three photographers’ work.

George Noland transferred from Anchorage to Attu and Glen McCreary went to Nome (July 1944). It is not known where Michael Strong was stationed after Anchorage. In March, 1945, McCreary was assigned to photograph the United Nations Conference on International Organization at the Presidio in San Francisco and stayed from April 25 to June 26, 1945.

George Noland and Glen McCreary eventually returned to Minnesota and opened a photography studio until Noland re-enlisted in the army. At that point, McCreary became the sole owner until September, 1965, when he and his family returned to California.