WWI 37th Division Chaplain Portrait – William P. O’Connor, American Legion National Catholic Chaplain

November 13, 2013November 13, 2013 / portraitsofwar / Leave a comment

Identified chaplain photos have become incredibly popular in the past few years given the ramp-up effort to prepare for the 100 year anniversary of WWI. I’ve made an effort to scoop up as many interesting chaplain photos as possible to share here on PortraitsofWar to help spread the word about the U.S. involvement in the war. A recent eBay duel landed me with a top-notch portrait of a 37th Division (primarily Ohio based division) chaplain posed with his WWI Victory Medal and uniform. The inscription on the bottom ends with a crude signature. I was able to do my typical google, ancestry.com, Library of Congress and Fold3 search to come up with a 100% positive identification.

Lt. William O’Connor

William Patrick O’ Connor was born in Dayton, Ohio on October 7th, 1889 to John and Elizabeth (Kenney) O’Connor. He attended the University of Dayton for his B.A. and followed up with seminary school at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati. He was ordained in 1913 and served as Curate at Urbana, Ohio, 1913-117; later paston, Church of the Assumption in Cincinnati(Source). William O’Connor has the distinction of being the first Ohio priest to enter the army following the declaration of war in 1917.Father O’Connor served as chaplain with Battery F, 136th Field Artillery as part of the 37th “Buckeye” Division during WWI. At the time of the portrait, he was the chaplain of the 107th Cavalry of the Ohio National Guard. I was lucky enough to track down a 1918 article with a direct quotation from Rev. O’Connor:

“…………… I take this occasion to thank the Knights of Columbus of Cincinnati for their exceeding kindness and consideration to the Chaplain, and to thank all the people of Ohio for their kindness to the soldier boys.

With best wishes, in J.M.J. I am, sincerely yours,

William P. O’Connor,

First Lt. 136th Field Artillery Chaplain”

http://arc.stparchive.com/Archive/ARC/ARC02161918p08.php

Father O’Connor was elected National Chaplain of the American Legion after the third ballot and was in a tight heat with Rev. Ezra Clemmons of Iowa and Rev. Roy Tucker of Baton Rouge, LA. For more info check out the following site: http://arc.stparchive.com/Archive/ARC/ARC11041922p05.php

Newspaper Clipping of Father O’Connor, 1922

58 Ringgold St, Dayton Ohio

And where he lived in Dayton, Ohio

WWI University of Vermont US Army Training Photo – Central Campus by Louis McAllister

November 3, 2013November 14, 2013 / portraitsofwar / 1 Comment

US Army Training Detachment at UVM 1918

My collection of Louis McAllister WWI Photos has grown to include three more shots taken during the WWI training period at UVM in 1918. McAllister was known to have taken panoramic photos of each individual training company in front of Williams Hall. I have shots of Company B and Company C. The photo seen above appear to be all the companies posed together with a series of US Army trucks behind Old Mill and Williams Hall in September of 1918. The panoramics were part of a series of shots I recently purchased from a seller in Rutland, Vermont. The group can be attributed to a WWI veteran named Theodore Maher, a mechanic who served with both the 336th Tank Battalion as well as the 339th Tank Battalion during WWI. A fantastic find!

WWII Photography in the PTO: The 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron

October 27, 2013October 27, 2013 / portraitsofwar / Leave a comment

I’ve always noticed the vast difference in quality between the typical ETO snapshot and it’s Pacific counterpart. The European snapshots typically are printed on better paper and of much higher quality. In this case, I was able able to purchase a pair of Pacific theater photos taken by an artist with the 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron. The first photograph shows a US Jeep painted up with a cartoonesque rendition of the squadron name complete with shadow effects and 8 ball logo. The same artist also designed the unit insignia seen below.

Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0892010975

8th Photo Recon Squadron Jeep

And I was also fortunate to win an Easter card designed by the same artist. The card is folded in four sections and was made from a single cut sheet of photo paper printed with a special design created specifically for the 1945 Easter season. A unique piece! I wasn’t able to win anything else from the auction – many of the sales were in the triple digits and well out of my comfort zone for an obscure topic.

1945 Easter Card

I hope to pick up a copy of a fantastic tome put out a few years back to help my future research in the unit. http://www.adastron.com/lockheed/lightning/8prs.htm

Also

For those interested in some great footage of the 8th Photo Recon Squadron, please check out the links below:

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675059603_A-2-intelligence-officer_Rabaul-prints_looking-through-lens_5th-Bomber-Command

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675059599_8th-Photographic-Reconnaissance-Squadron_drying-prints_washing-prints_Rabaul-negative

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675077240_8th-Photographic-Reconnaissance-Squadron_Rabaul-prints_prints-are-dried_sorting-prints

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675077238_8th-Photographic-Reconnaissance-Squadron_Operations-Officer_Engineering-Officer_status-board

2013 Veteran Reunion Post – Men of the 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Rainbow Division

October 24, 2013 / portraitsofwar / 6 Comments

222nd Infantry Regiment Veterans

Followers of this blog will know that I have a special place in my heart for the 42nd Division. My favorite collection of WWII photos, negatives and stories comes from the 222nd Anti-Tank Company of the 42nd Division. Seen above are a few of the living members of the 222nd Infantry Regiment posed together at a recent 2013 reunion. Thanks for your service!

WWI Nurse Photo Identified – Massachusetts Female Veteran in France, 1918 Base Hospital #6

October 22, 2013 / portraitsofwar / 2 Comments

I’ve been lucky in the past few weeks to pick up some fun WWI shots of US female nurses and auxiliary service members. US women in France were outnumbered by the men, and to be able to positively identify a nurse is a fun way to learn about female service roles during the war. In this case, I was able to purchase a small group of photos and a Thanksgiving menu from a woman in Base Hospital #6 stationed in Bordeaux, France during the war. The standing studio portrait was identified on the reverse as HK Judd of Base Hospital 6. On a whim I searched for Helen K. Judd (thinking that Helen was a likely candidate for H) and came up with a positive hit on a woman named Helen K. Judd from Southhampton, Mass. I cross referenced with the digitized passport records from 1917 and 1918 and had a positive match. Luckily the passport applications come with little snapshots of the applicants. The amount of material available to identify WWI photos is incredible.

J. Sereni Studio Portrait of Helen

1917 Passport Photo of Helen

1918 Passport Photo of Helen

Physical Description

Passport Application Info

Base Hospital #6 Thanksgiving Menu

WWI Wounded Marine RPPC – Belleau Wood Navy Cross Recipient – Jacob Heckman, 5th Marine Regiment

October 12, 2013 / portraitsofwar / Leave a comment

My favorite World War One photo in my collection has to be the following real photo postcard shot taken in Paris in December of 1918. The content and context of the photo – three wounded officers posing in a French studio before being sent home – is good enough to grace the “top shelf” of any WWI photo collection. The fact that they are named on the reverse makes it all the more interesting. For the purpose of this post, I will identify one of the officers and track down his service history.

Jacob H. Heckman(L)

Heckman is included in the hall of heroes for American Jewish Military History: http://www.nmajmh.org/exhibitions/catalog-hallOfHeroes/cat41.php

Here’s a transcription of the above entry:

Second Lieutenant Jacob H. Heckman, USMC

For extraordinary heroism in action in the Bois de Belleau, France, June 25th, 1918. With the assisting three sergeants, he started out to destroy the final stand of enemy in the Bois de Belleau, an impregnable position, where enemy guns were concealed by rocks and heavy shrubbery. Armed with only a pistol, he rushed the nest, which was offering the most violent resistance, and captured one officer and ninety men. Each of his men destroyed a nest and captured two of the enemy at each position. After effecting the complete reduction of the last element, he marched his prisoners in under a severe and harassing fire of the retreating enemy.

And from the following blog: http://boatagainstthecurrent.blogspot.com/2008/06/this-day-in-world-war-i-history-marines.html

Perhaps an even more astonishing example of heroism was provided by First Lieutenant Jacob Harrison Heckman, whose actions on June 25 were just one of many examples of courage up and down the line that day that secured victory. His citation reads as follows:

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Jacob Harrison Heckman, First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving with the 5th Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F. in action in the Bois-de-Belleau, France, June 25, 1918 resistance, and captured one officer and ninety men. Each of his men destroyed a nest and captured two of the enemy at each po. With the assistance of three sergeants, Lieutenant Heckman started out to destroy the final stand of the enemy in the Bois-de-Belleau, an impregnable position, where enemy guns were concealed by rocks and heavy shrubbery. Armed with only a pistol, Lieutenant Heckman rushed the nest which was offering the most violent sition. After effecting the complete reduction of the last element, Lieutenant Heckman marched his prisoners in under a severe and harassing fire of the retreating enemy.

WWI Photo Discovery – Norton-Harjes Ambulance Drivers w/ Richard Norton!

September 29, 2013February 7, 2015 / portraitsofwar / 2 Comments

I often check eBay listings for groups of assorted black and white photos in the hopes of discovering some exciting WWI material hidden in the mix. In this case, I was lucky enough to recognize the uniforms and insignia of the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps amidst the piles of junk photos. An astoundingly cheap $20.00 Buy-it-Now option was on the photos, so I purchased them without haste. What a rare treat! Scroll down for cropped versions of the photo.

US Ambulance Drivers in France

This is possibly one of the clearest shots of Richard Norton I’ve seen in a digital form on the internet. Norton was the son of an influential Harvard archaeologist named Charles Norton who bankrolled a group of well-to-do American men to travel to France to assist in the movement of wounded soldiers from the battlefields. In this photo we see Norton posed with his fur overcoat, swagger stick and uniform. I’m guessing this photo was taken to depict a certain group of men overseas at the time. My best educated guess is that it was a photo taken of all the Harvard men in the Ambulance Corps at the time. Who knows?

Richard Norton

E.E. Cummings?

Edward Estlin Cummings
1917 Passport Application for travel to join the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps

WWI Portrait Photo – Italian Born US Soldier 1st Mobile Veterinary Hospital Farrier

September 7, 2013September 7, 2013 / portraitsofwar / 1 Comment

John Belli in WWI

John Belli was born in Italy in 1895 and traveled to the United States during a big wave of Italian immigration in the early 1900s. I was lucky enough to purchase a superlative WWI German-shot studio portrait of a helmeted US soldier wearing his gas mask with patches attached to his jacket. To sweeten the deal, the photo came identified to a John Belli. A few John Belli’s appeared on ancestry.com, but only one was associated with a veterinarian unit as evidenced by the veterinarian corps collar disc visible in the photo. A great shot with an interesting back story!

John Belli Service Card

John Belli Draft Card

VJ Day in Hawaii – August 14th, 1945 Caught on Film!

August 28, 2013August 28, 2013 / portraitsofwar / Leave a comment

Visit discoveringhawaii.com for color stills from this amazing day, and other Hawaii-related films. I have over one hour of beautiful Kodachome 16mm movie footage filmed by my Dad on VJ Day and the three weeks following, which was always intended to be expanded into a documentary, “The Day World War II Ended.”

WWI Middlebury, Vermont Soldier Photo – 102nd Field Artillery – Curtis J. Sawyer

August 27, 2013August 27, 2013 / portraitsofwar / 1 Comment

My passion for WWI Vermont material is endless and I make every effort to track down unique, original photos and objects related to Vermonters in the Great War. It’s not easy to find and often comes at a price; 26th Division material is popular with French collectors and fetches a high price when purchased on eBay. In this case, I was able to purchase a studio photo of a 102nd Field Artillery Vermonter of Battery A . Curtis J. Sawyer was born in Middlebury, VT on September 13th, 1893 – nearly 120 years ago!

He worked at hotels most of his life, having worked at Clark’s Hotel in Boston in 1917 when he registered for the draft. Previously he served as a clerk for City Hall in Barre, VT – not far from where I work! He started his career early at the age of 17 (at least) and worked as a clerk and hotel man unit his death. He is listed as being tall with a slender complextion with blue eyes and brown hair. He lived nearly 90 years and died in 1980 in Arlington, MA – not far from Boston.