WWI Real Photo Postcard – Portrait Photo and Autograph of J. Warner Reed – 59th Pioneer Infantry Commander

February 27, 2012 / portraitsofwar / Leave a comment

A new addition to my collection comes in the form of an autographed French RPPC of the 59th Pioneer Infantry Regiment commander. J. Warner Reed was a colonel with the Delaware National Guard during the Mexican Border War and later went on to form the 59th Pioneer Infantry of the 2nd Army. Units from this regiment were engaged in road building, bridge building, and front line construction and improvement projects.

For more info on the 59th Pioneers – check out this website from the Delaware National Guard: http://delawarenationalguard.com/aboutus/history/firstworldwar/

WWI 2nd Army Engineer – Immaculate Portrait Photo

July 24, 2011 / portraitsofwar / 1 Comment

2nd Army Engineer

The crisp details of this photo make it the best 2nd Army portrait in my collection. Although we can’t know which Engineering unit he served with (there were many in the 2nd Army), we can deduce a few things from the elements present in the photo. The crisp focus on his collar discs allow us to see that he was in Company E of an engineering unit of the 2nd Army. Note that the disc on his cap lacks the E designation. His 2nd Army SSI patch is well stitched and placed perfectly below the shoulder line. His WWI victory ribbon has one campaign star. A super example of a 2nd Army photo!