photography

WWI Vermonter Identified Photo – Irving C. Yates of Bellows Falls, VT – Trained at the University of Vermont, UVM in 1918!

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Here’s a good one!  A collector friend of mine pointed out a freshly listed eBay auction for an identified Vermont soldier during WWI.  Armed only with a name and general location, I was able to uncover a treasure trove of material on our seated friend.

 

Irving C. Yates was born in Manchester, NH in 1896 and soon moved across the Connecticut River to the good ol’ land of Vermont.  He lived in Bellows Falls for awhile before shipping off to Middlebury.  He enlisted at the University of Vermont and trained on those hallowed grounds (my Alma Mater) until August of 1918 when he shipped out for France as part of the 6th Division, 80th Field Artillery Battalion.  Presumably he worked in some capacity with 155mm guns.

 

After the war he moved to Brattleboro where he worked in the laundry industry.  He passed away in 1975 and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Bellows Falls, VT.

 

 

 

Irving’s WWI Service Record

 

World War One Draft Card

 

World War Two Draft Card

 

Irving’s 1940 Brattleboro Address

 

 

 

 

WWI Vermonter Identified Photo – John D. Hamilton of Middlebury, VT – 301st Engineer Supply Train

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As my followers will know, I’m a huge WWI Vermont collector who loves to uncover identified photos of First World War Vermont veterans.  In this case I was able to trade a series of photos to a fellow collector/friend who knew I search for identified Vermonters.  The photo itself has good composition and details with a visible pistol and holster as well as OS chevron and signet rings.  Mr. John D. Hamilton lived in Addison, VT and enlisted and inducted at Middlebury on April 29th, 1918.  He was set up with the 301st Engineers and was listed as a wagoneer.  He served overseas from July 10th, 1918 to June 13th, 1919.  Given that he is wearing a six month chevron on his left arm, this photo had to have been taken sometime between December 10th, 1918 and June 10th, 1919.  He has no visible insignia that give his rank, but he is wearing a brass whistle which indicates that he is likely an NCO.  All in all a great shot!

Francis D. Tyler Jr. – WWII Navy PBM Pilot 35mm Color Slide Collection

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Mr. Francis Tyler in 1944

Sometimes a small bit of information can open up lead to a bonanza of research potential.  In this case, I was able to find a name associated with a recently acquired set of WWII 35mm color slides I won on eBay.  I was able to deduce from the collection that the original owner was a pilot with the VP-209, a patrol squadron that went on search and rescue and sub-finding missions in the Panama Zone.  Google led me to a website where old members of the unit have been posting reunion information with little snippits of their service history included.  With this in hand, I contacted the seller and discovered that a name on some of the other personal material from the estate is F. Tyler.  Low and behold, Mr. Tyler posted to the site back in 2003.
Here’s what Mr. Tyler had to say:

TYLER, Francis D. Jr. http://world.std.com/~shermie/vets/vets009.html “…Francis D. Tyler, Jr. PE, PBM, Patrol Bomber Mariner (PBM) US Navy Pilot. First, I think I should tell you how I got in the Navy. Some of you also registered for that first draft, back in October of 1940. I have a brother, two years younger; his number was in the first 100, while mine was 8809. He was called up in February of 1941. Then by the time I was classified 1A, I had seen a friend home on leave in a sparkling white uniform with beautiful Gold Wings on his chest. I decided that was the part of the service that I wanted to serve in, so I enlisted. I finally got sworn in, on December 30, 1941, twenty-three days after Pearl Harbor. In March of 1942, I received orders to report to the Naval Air Station at Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans, Louisiana. I had become a Naval Aviation Cadet. In June I was transferred to the NAS Pensacola, Florida. Six months later I was designated an Ensign and Naval Aviator. I was then assigned to the Transitional Training Facility at NAS Banana River, Florida. Here we were introduced to the plane we would fly, the PBM, Patrol Bomber Mariner, as designated by the Navy. The Squadron in which I flew was VPB-209 was commissioned on January 1, 1943 and a full compliment of 15 planes was reached in June of the same year….

With this in hand, I was able to track down an obituary for Mr. Tyler:

FRANCIS D. TYLER JR.
Monday, December 31, 2007

FRANCIS D. TYLER JR., 90, of Lancaster, Mass., formerly of the RED BANK area, a professional engineer and World War II veteran, died Monday, Dec. 31, at the Jewish Healthcare Center in Worcester, Mass. Francis was born in Bellevue, Pa., to the late Dr. Francis D. Tyler and Marie Trimble Tyler.

He was raised in Jamestown, N.Y., and Jesuit-educated. Mr. Tyler graduated from Campion in Praire du Chein, Wis., and Marquette University. He served in the U.S. Navy as a PBM pilot during World War II, after which he returned to graduate school at Carolina State University, earning a degree in civil engineering.

He retired from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1984. He was a member of the National, New Jersey and Monmouth Societies of Professional Engineers. Francis believed in public service and served each community in which he lived. Some of his community activities were as a board member of Monmouth Day Care Center, Brookdale Community College Foundation, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra League, member of the English Speaking Union, member of the Newcomon Society, district governor of Division Six of Kiwanis International, president of the Lions Club of Clinton, Mass., board member of Fruitlands Museums, and adjunct member of the Conservation Commission of Lancaster, Mass. Francis was an avid gardener, photographer, stamp and coin collector, and a world traveler. His outgoing interest in other people will be missed by many.

He was predeceased by his wife Johanna Beker Tyler. He is survived by his wife Ara Nugent Tyler of Lancaster, Mass.; three daughters, Joan Stewart Wood and her husband Gorton of Little Silver, Paula Paiewonsky of Los Angeles, and Martha Tyler Hoagland and her husband Jim of Kenmore, Wash.; and their mother, Barbara Wright Tyler of Stamford, Conn. He leaves a brother, Samuel Tyler and his wife Janice; and a sister, Marianne Panebianco, all of Jamestown, N.Y.; two step-daughters, Pamela Czekanski and her husband Robert of Bolton, Mass., and Elizabeth Plattenburg and her husband George of Atlanta; several nieces; nephews; grandchildren; and great-grandchildren.

A Memorial Mass will be offered at 10 a.m. Saturday at Immaculate Conception Church, Main Street, Lancaster, Mass. A celebration of life reception is to follow services immediately at the First Church of Christ Unitarian Fellowship Hall, 725 Main St., Lancaster. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Philbin-Comeau Funeral Home, 176 Water St., Clinton, Mass. Contributions may be made in Francis’s memory to either the Xavier Jesuit Community, P.O. Box 7300 Kanpala, Uganda, or to the First Church of Christ Unitarian, c/o Heritage Fund, P.O. Box 66 Lancaster, MA 01523.

All of this info jives with what I found in the slide collection!  Now for some of the slide collection……….

Francis in the Galapagos

The Future Mrs.Tyler

1990s 209th Reunion

October 1969 WWI Veteran Reunion Remembered – 36th Division, 132nd Machine Gun Battalion Veteran Photos Digitized

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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.

 

 

 

 

 

WWI Photo Identification – Charles H. Maasberg of Milwaukee, WI Poses in France 1918

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Charles H. Maasberg was born on July 2nd, 1894 in Wisconsin and enlisted for the draft on June 5th, 1917.  Although I can’t be sure when he was sent overseas, I can deduce that he was assigned to an ordnance handling unit.  He rose to the rank of Sergeant by 1919, and returned home to the US soon thereafter.  This wonderful outdoor posed shot was taken in France in 1918, and shows Charles posing in a hand-knit sweater complete with tie.  I can only imagine that it was taken in the backyard of a rural French home given the broken flower pots and creeping vines on the wall.  The lack of foliage may help us date the photo to the fall or winter months.  This would date the photo to the September-November of 1918 period.

1917 Draft Card

WWII Artist Profile of B.R. “Woody” Woodill WPA Artist – Rare WPA Color Kodachrome Slides Surface on eBay!

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Blanchard Robert “Woody” Woodill was born in 1916 in Glendale, California to Arthur and Maude Woodill.  His father was a successful car dealer in Los Angeles at the time, and likely planted the seeds that would eventually help design one of the most popular post-war American sports cars.  During WWII, Woody became a professor of Aeronautical Engineering at the the University of Southern California.  In 1948 he bought his father’s Dodge dealership in Downey, California and started down the path that would take him from car salesman to car designer.  Using his engineering and artistic skills (more on this later) he was able begin design on the car that would make him famous.  He purchased two Glasspar fiberglass body kits from Bill Tritt in Santa Ana, CA and eventually found a chassis designer to sign on board.  The Woody Wildfire was born.  The original sale price on the factory built Woodill Wildfire was roughly $3,000.  They now sell at classic auto auctions for over $100,000.  Very cool!

Interested in American Fiberglass Cars?

Check out this site: http://www.forgottenfiberglass.com/?p=12232

What does a car designer have to do with PortraitsofWar?  I was recently able to pick up an interesting set of 35mm color Kodachrome slides on eBay for a decent price.  I knew the photos were taken with an artist’s eye given the subject matter, poses, and setting of the shots.  After researching the address listed on the Kodachrome box, I realized that the photographer was actually working for the Southern California WPA as a photographer of Southern California life.  This fits in nicely with his profession as a professor of aeronautics at USC and makes sense given the quality of the images he took in the Southern California Desert.   His capturing of the emerging role of women on the homefront highlights the social realism that plays an important role in the WPA art of the period.

Kodachrome Box and Address

Original eBay Listing

Model Climbs into Biplane

Flight over the Desert

More Airplane Fun

Clearing Rocks

8th Vermont Infantry Regiment Civil War Soldier – Henry N. Derby Dies of Disease in Louisiana

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Henry N. Derby was born in Wardsboro, VT on April 15th, 1846, later moved to Townshend where he enlisted for Federal service on December 8th, 1863 and mustered in on December 29th.  He signed up for a three year enlistment with Company C of the 8th Vermont Infantry Regiment and traveled from Vermont to Louisiana, where he quickly became ill.  He died on March 31st, 1864 presumably of disease; one of 241 from the regiment that died of such causes.

This photo just arrived in the mail from an eBay auction where the name of the soldier was not revealed.  Luckily, I was able to tweak the lighting/contrast with photoshop to discover the name of the soldier before I bid.  CSI: Civil War style!

Henry N. Derby
Brennan C. Gauthier Collection

Brattleboro Backmark

Henry N. Derby Grave in Chalmette National Cemetery, LA
Source: http://vermontcivilwar.org/cem/virtual/getnatcem.php?input=13809
Photographer: Dan Taylor

Here’s a great link to a Vermont Historical Society collection from a Vermont soldier who also served with the 8th VT and also died in Louisiana.

http://www.vermonthistory.org/index.php/george-e-parker-letters.html

Sidney Kotler: A WWII Artist in the China Burma India Theater – Ilustrator of the Stilwell Road Booklet

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WWII Booklets are one of my favorite avenues of military ephemera collecting.  The small print runs, unique artwork, and theater-made feel make them a fun and easy collectible.  I picked up a copy of Stilwell Road: Story of the Ledo Lifeline this past week on eBay and was excited to leaf through the pages looking for possible research/blogpost material.  Immediately impressed by the artwork and layout, I decided to do a little sleuthing into the identity of the artist. Luckily, his name was printed in the back of the booklet.  Corporal Sidney Kotler obviously had an eye for illustration and technical art.  In my typical fashion, I plowed ahead with some research!

After searching around google and ancestry.com I was able to find that Mr. Kotler passed away in 1999.  This is sadly becoming the norm when researching viable identified WWII material.  Luckily, I was able to track down the daughter of Mr. Kotler and uncover a wealth of material about his life and war service.

The following is from Mr. Kotlers daughter:

Sidney Kotler was born in Berdichev, Ukraine in the winter of 1912 into dire poverty.  His brother Shlomo died of dysentery in bed next to him at the age of ten.  His uncle was abducted by the Czar’s army.  His family decided to take no chances in the politically embroiled Ukraine.  Every time a militia came into town, his mother  would hide the children under the floorboards of her house.  One of Sidney’s brothers, Dave, told the story about a Cossack who found the boys hiding.  He told them to keep quiet and put the floor boards back in place.  They were saved!
 
After several attempts, Sidney, his mother and 3 brother made it across the Polish border and managed to slip into England and eventually “over the pond” to the USA.  In 1927 the family came to St. Louis Missouri where his father Isaac had preceded them.  “Sid” attended art school at Washington University in the early 1930s and did some apprenticing on the side to help bolster his portfolio.  He found a job after his WU classes as a commercial artist working with the St. Louis Dispatch and Globe Democrat Newspapers, where he worked on advertising for newspapers, magazines, and other illustrative ventures.  After the war, he worked with the Ford Motor Company art department in the Dearborn, Michigan headquarters.

WWII, Sidney Kotler in the middle with a moustache

Sid was proud of his army service. It made him feel like the true American that he fought hard to become.  By pulling himself up from the bootstraps, he was able to attain the American Dream.   His service in the China/Burma/India theater was not easy; he was on the first convoy over the Burma Road with the 18th Battalion.  The construction of the road was an arduous job, and Sid played his part without an utterance of frustration.  Besides his field duty, he was the unit artist, sketching hundreds of illustrations for the unit publications as well as the Stars and Stripes CBI newsletter.  He kept in touch with his army buddies most of his life.   Sid’s children fondly remember visiting one family in particular:  the Buchanans.

WWII, Sidney Kotler and buddy

In 1946 Sid married Elsie Fleishman.  The had four children two girls and two boys.  In 1952 the moved to Detroit where Sid began working as a graphic artist for Ford Motor Company.  He inspired me to study painting. After his retirement from Ford he continued painting.  His incredible artwork festoons his family’s homes;  magnificent landscapes and portraits dot the walls of his daughter Shira’s walls.   Sidney’s descendants include 9 bright and beautiful grandchildren.  Sid lived his life like a true patriot; he served his country, raised a stellar family, and left a legacy that will live for generations to come.
 
A special thanks goes out to Shira Chai and Mark Kotler for sharing the preceding passages as well as all the wonderful photos and illustrations.  Your father was a wonderful artist, and helped play an important part in American history!

WWII, Sidney Kotler and art work

WWII, Sidney Kotler, Easter Card

WWII, Sidney Kotler, Christmas card

WWII, Sidney Kotler, pin up girl

First Convoy on the Ledo Road

First Convoy Illustration

WWII 388th Bomb Group Post – Radio Mechanic Cpl. Roland Downs Fixing a B-17 in Knettishall, England

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My obsession with the 388th Bomb Group stems from a chance encounter with a collection of negatives and photographs taken by an artist attached to the 388th in Knettishall, England.  Followers of PortraitsofWar already know the story, so I won’t go into great detail, but anyone interested should search for Alva Alegre in the search bar.
Anyway, I recently purchased a small group of photos that providentially yielded a handful of identified photos of members of the 388th BG.  In my typical fashion, I’ve fleshed out historical details and hopefully will give Mr. Downs a proper place on the internet.

I found the following info penciled on the back of the photo: “Roland Downs, Cpl. Alabama”

ALABAMA Inked on Cap

Judging by the inked info on his upturned mechanics hat, I felt that this was a likely identification of Mr.Downs.  With this info in hand I visited the 388th Bomb Group website: http://www.388bg.info/

 

Darn!  They already had his photo, but at least I was able to learn that he was a radio mechanic, something obvious after inspecting what he’s doing in the photo.  My next stop brought me to ancestry.com, where I do most of my genealogical research on mystery photos.  From a little bit of searching I was able to discover that he was indeed born and raised in Alabama and born on July 8th, 1923 and passed away on April 19th, 1980.  He served in the Airforce (USAAF) from 1942 until 1971.

 

1940 Census Record