A group of WWI veterans gathered almost exactly 43 years ago to recall their days of battle and camaraderie in the trenches of France in 1918.  Members of the 36th Division, 132nd Machine Gun Battalion met in Texas to tell stories, jokes, catch up with friends, and share their incredible journey with their family members.  Veteran reunions for WWII soldiers still are held, but the annual flock of WWI veterans to conference centers and hotels has ceased to exist.  Many of my favorite memories of the past decade have been from my attendance at WWII veteran reunions, and I suggest that anyone interested in a family members service try to attend a veteran get together.
This grouping of photos and ephemera comes from a recent eBay auction I was fortunate enough to win.  I was mainly bidding for the interior studio portrait photo but was pleased with the associated photos as well.  These men were with the 132nd Machine Gun Battalion of the 36th Division and pose with their 30 caliber machine gun in a wonderful outdoor casual snapshot.

Following the history of the first photo is quite interesting.  It was sent from the front lines of France to a girlfriend back home.  I’m assuming it was pinned up by her given the rust stained pin holes at the top of the photo.  It was later glued into a scrapbook which was sadly broken into pieces and eventually sold on eBay to me, who will hopefully do it due justice with a internet post.  Maybe someone will recognize a relative in the photo?  We know that an O.B. Horton is located somewhere in the photo, and that the group is from Texas.