A Life in Focus: Donald Harris and His Leica in WWII
Donald Edward Harris of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, lived a life defined by service, curiosity, and a love for the technical craftsmanship that shaped both his career and his passions. Born in Whately and a lifelong resident of the Pioneer Valley, he grew up with a strong sense of community and an instinctive appreciation for how things worked. Those qualities guided him from his early years through a distinguished 38 year career with the New England Telephone Company, where he rose through the ranks as technology rapidly evolved around him.
His skill and steadiness were evident long before his professional accomplishments. During World War II, Harris served with the 58th Signal Repair Company across England, France, Holland, and Germany. Amid the pivotal and often unpredictable work of maintaining communication systems, he carried with him one constant companion: his Leica Standard I, equipped with its Leitz Elmar lens. With it, he documented the world around him quiet moments between duties, scenes of daily life in war torn Europe, and the faces of the people he served alongside. The images he captured offer a rare, authentic perspective born not from obligation, but from a genuine desire to preserve the human moments within history.
That instinct to record, observe, and understand mirrored the qualities that shaped Harris’s life back home. As an avid outdoorsman and an active member of multiple sportsmen’s organizations, he brought the same patience and attentiveness to the field that he once applied behind the lens. Whether working on complex telecommunications systems or participating in community clubs, he remained someone who valued precision, responsibility, and the quiet satisfaction of doing things the right way.
Today, his Leica camera accompanied by the wartime photographs he took, original paperwork, and restoration documentation stands as a tangible reflection of his character. It represents not only a remarkable piece of photographic history, but also the perspective of the man who carried it through some of the most defining years of his life. Through the images he left behind, Donald Harris continues to share the moments he saw as worth remembering, offering a window into both his service and his enduring appreciation for capturing the world as it unfolded around him.
