B/W Photo

Original Never-Before-Seen WWII D-Day Landing Photos on Omaha Beach – LCT-535

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Preparing the 535

Half the fun of winning a new group of WWII photos on eBay lies in the research and presentation of the material.  After recently having placed the winning bid on a set of 50

or so WWII photos of what appeared to be some sort of beach landing, I quickly realized that I had something more important in my possession.

After asking the gracious seller a little bit of info about the provenience of the lot, I soon found out that the photos came from the estate of a deceased WWII veteran from Santa Rosa, CA.  Al Pellegrini was the skipper of the LCT-535 during the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach, and either snapped, or was given these photos as a memento of his time aboard the 535.

According to a 1994 article by Gaye LeBaron of the Press Democrat,

“Ensign Albert J. Pellegrini of Santa Rosa, California, came early to the invasion of Normandy.  He landed his LCT 535 about 10 minutes ahead of H-Hour on the sands of Omaha Beach, earning the distinction of being the skipper of the first American vessel to land on the French coast on June 6th, 1944.”

Wow!  What did I stumble across with this innocuous looking eBay listing?  I hope to present these photos to show the world the faces of the first men to land on Omaha Beach on that fateful day nearly 70 years ago.

3rd Trip on June 6th - Dropping off Field Hospital

Many more photos to come!

42nd Rainbow Division Rolls Through Bavaria – 222nd Infantry Regiment Photo Post

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222nd Anti-Tank Company

 

A member of the 222nd Anti-Tank Company of the 42nd Division snaps a photo while a convoy of trucks rolls through a small Bavarian town.  One of a series of nearly 800 negatives from the 222nd that I acquired last year; this photo encompasses the fast moving blitz through Germany and Bavaria that the 42nd took on during the last parts of the war.

 

WWI Panoramic Photo Yardlong – 36th Division, 131st Machine Gun Battalion in French Street – Check the Detail!

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Click for Larger View

The large format of WWI panoramic photos is not an easy scan, but after scanning this yardlong photo in seven sections, I was able to seamlessly splice the photo together using Photoshop.  The results are an eye pleasing display of WWI doughboys sitting in a French street. One could spent hours looking at each battle wizened face, or the citizens and scenery in the background.

131st Machine Gun Battalion – 36th Division

Using the magical power of GoogleEarth, I was able to track down the exact street corner in this photo.  Not much has changed in 100 years!

Saint Aubin Des Coudrais, Sarthe France

WWI 2nd Army Engineer – Immaculate Portrait Photo

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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!

2nd Army Patch

WWI 107th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division NY KIA Portrait Photo – Harold E. Manners – Meuse-Argonne Offensive

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I picked up this little gem in a Palmer Massachusetts antique store a few months back and never took the time to look at the photo closely until this past week.  The frame was intricately created; something not often seen in run of the mill WWI photos.  The gold stars on the corners and bottom of the image should have been a dead giveaway.  Once I  decided to look at the photo a little closer, I took the frame apart from the back and began to uncover the identity of the soldier depicted in the image.  I knew he was a member of the 7th Infantry Regiment; this was evidenced in the collar disc.  The 7th New York eventually became the 107th Infantry Regiment of the 27th Division.  Harold was in Company H.

The reverse of the photo was beautifully inscribed with everything I needed to know to track this fellow down.

Harold Edward Manners

Killed in France in the

Great War, Sept. 29th 1918

aged 23 years

After extensive research I’ve learned that Harold was killed during the operations before the Hindeburg Line east of Ronssoy, September 29th, 2918.  His citation for the day reads:

“This soldier, with great gallantry and determination, advanced against unusually difficult enemy positions composed of strongly fortified machine gun nests until killed.”

I found an auction result online that showed his medals which were sold in 2008 at an auction in NY. A beautifully inscribed NY veterans medal for a KIA was included.  I wish I had that grouping!

Harold E. Manners – KIA Meuse-Argonne 1918

WWI 78th Division Portrait Photo – Wounded

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Today’s post comes from my growing collection of 78th Division portrait photos.  Although we don’t know his specific unit designation, we do have his name and company.  Taken in a French studio, Alex Lindell was posed in a manner which allows the viewer to see his maimed hand.  The fact that he was wounded is evidenced by a visible wound chevron on his right hand sleeve.  The stitching is barely visible. 

Alex Lindell of the 78th Division

WWI 79th Division Veteran w/ Purple Heart and Uniform in the 1940s – IDENTIFICATION UPDATE

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A wonderful set of negatives from a family in Pennsylvania shows the lighthearted side of aging WWI veterans.  An elderly member of the 316th Infantry Regiment of the 79th Division pals around with friends and family while showing off his war medals.  A Purple Heart medal was awarded to our subject for wounds received in battle, and was likely delivered to him in the early 1930s when the current medal was officially created.  Enjoy the images!

Legs Wraps and All!

June 22nd, 2022 UPDATE

Incredibly, an ancestry geek like myself whose husband is related to the WWI veteran above was able to positively identify the veteran after searching online and finding this site. Special thanks to Amanda who provided me with the name of Elmer Brandt Sweigart to pin to the name of the elderly WWI vet.