Guide to the Robert J. Foster Papers,
1894-1958

Colonial Robert J. Foster was an esteemed veterinarian and military officer. He was born on September 27, 1880, in Youngstown, Ohio. He moved with his family to Ithaca, New York, and graduated from Ithaca High School in 1899. He went on to attend the New York State Veterinary College at Cornell University and graduated in 1902 with a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. Following graduation he taught veterinary science for three years. While teaching at the University of Missouri, he met Miss Alice Ewing Johnson, who was then a member of the freshman class. She was daughter of the late Colonel T.A. Johnson, president of Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri. Miss Johnson received her A.B. degree in 1908 and married Robert Foster in June, 1909.

On August 30, 1905, Foster enlisted in the Army as a veterinarian for 12th U.S. Cavalry. When the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps was established in 1916, he became one of the key officers in its development. He moved through the ranks and served in a variety of locales around the globe for nearly thirty years. His accomplishments include organizing veterinary training programs, assisting in the reorganization and refinement of the Veterinary Corps in its first 30 years, and establishing meat and dairy inspection plans for the Army as well as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps.

In 1944, Foster officially retired. Upon his retirement he and his wife settled in San Francisco and enjoyed traveling to such places as Alaska, Africa and Spain. In 1956, he received distinguished service awards from the California Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Col. Foster died in California in February 1970.

For more information on Col. Robert J. Foster, please see the "Biography" series in this collection.

This collection includes correspondence, military documents and photographs relating to Col. Robert J. Foster's career as a veterinarian and as an officer in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps. Special orders, lecture notes, legislation, photographs, tables, charts and commendations are included. Of particular note, is material relating to Foster's meat inspection work, which became part of the mission of Veterinary Corps as the Army replaced animal-based transportation with automobiles. As well as formulating inspection procedures for the Army, Foster also worked on sanitary food systems for the Civilian Conservation Corps. There are also files relating to his membership in the American Veterinary Medical Association. AVMA correspondents include Carl J. Norden, R.R. [Ralph Ralph] Dykstra, Cassius Way, L.A. Merillat.

Series I. Biography
Box 1, Folders 1-5
Box 3

Series II. Lectures & Speeches
Box 1, Folders 6-11

Series III. Chronological Files
Box 1, Folders 12-20
Box 2, Folders 1-2
These files were organized by Robert J. Foster in chronological order, roughly relating to distinct periods in his military career (please refer to the chronology in the Biographical Note). The files contain correspondence, some ephemera, reports, orders, and other military documents. Foster also wrote explanatory notes about the certain records and included them in the files.

Series IV. Subject Files
Box2, Folders 3-12