WWII 3rd Armored Division Snapshot – Tanker John F. Housman of Braceville, IL in France

July 11, 2014 / portraitsofwar / 8 Comments

WWII Snapshots are easy to come across. They appear in bundles at flea markets and yard sales. It’s very uncommon to be able to positively identify a US soldier in a snapshot – let alone one that has relatives actively seeking information on ancestry.com. Please see below for a step-by-step breakdown of my research on this photo.

Step 1: Purchase of Photo

A $12 eBay Purchase

With the purchase made, I had to wait a week for the photo to arrive without any research potential on the photo. All I knew was that the shot was of a tanker with sand/dust goggles standing in front of a Sherman tank in France. An interesting shot, albeit sleightly out of focus…..

John Housman Jr.

Step 2: Research Photo

Researching photos can be a daunting task without a proper research database at hand. Luckily, I subscribe to ancestry.com as well as a number of other databases. In this case, I was able to make the proper ID with the US census record combined with the WWII draft record. What do we know from the photo? It turns out that the photo arrived with an ID on the reverse: Johnny Housman-Tanker of Braceville, Illinois. It’s a great starting place and provided the key to the unlocking of the positive ID of the photo.

John Housman Jr. WWII from Braceville, IL

With the info at hand I was able to make an easy identification using the tools at hand. A quick search yielded the following info:

John F. Housman Social Security Number 358-05-2949
Born 10/11/1918
Died 9/17/1992

And his enlistment which appears to be off be off by a year:

WWI Draft Registry

I’m sure the family of John Housman Jr. will find this site and I hope they will share some info on their father/relative. I’m more than happy to send the original to an identified member of the family. I know you’re out there !

WWII Identified Portrait Photo – Roxbury, MA and Rockland, TX Veteran Ernest Chekoulias 295th Engineer Battalion

May 14, 2014May 14, 2014 / portraitsofwar / 1 Comment

Ernest “Chick” Chekoulias

A recent eBay purchase has landed me with a fantastic group of WWII portrait photos all identified to members of Company A of the 295th Engineer Battalion, a unit that landed on the Normandy beaches only two weeks after the infamous June 6th, 1944 D-Day landings. Here’s an excerpt from the unit history that described that fateful day:

“The Big Moment did come at last; actually there were lots of big moments. The battalion was divided up into three serials, and each serial was on two or more boats. The first wave started from Hindon a little after midnight on 13 June. There was battalion headquarters, parts of each line company, and the medical detachment. They all reached the marshaling area in Winchester at 0830 that morning. Before dawn two days later, half of them were awakened a few hours later and they too reached another set of docks at that port. They all sweated out a day and a night, sleeping on the quayside, before they got on the boats. The first half, after moving into the Channel, had to return to port because their ship’s anti-mine apparatus was not working. The second half joined their convoy, stayed the night off the Isle of Wight, and then started off for France. They saw the coast at about noon on 18 June. They surveyed the coast defenses, and the wreckage, and the boats sunk near the shore. It all looked very grim. That night the skyline glowed with glare of fires and bursting shells, and they were still on the boats in the Channel………”

The photo I’ve selected for this post was initially partially identified as an Ernest Chek…… of 9 Mt. Pleasant Ave, Roxbury, Massachusetts. I eventually tracked down a unit roster for the 295th Engineers that lists a Sgt. Ernest Chekoulias, serial number 31301800 from Roxbury, MA. It’s clearly a hit and a cross reference with his obituary confirms that this is indeed the same soldier. Sgt. Chekoulias is listed in the unit history as having been awarded the Bronze Star for Heroic Achievement. His obituary page confirms this.

Unit History Bronze Star Info

Ernest Chekoulias was born in Boston, MA on January 21st, 1923 and passed away in Rockland, TX on December 17th, 2008 at the age of 85. His obituary reads:

Mr. Ernest Chekoulias 85, of Rockland, died Wednesday, December 17, 2008 in his home, after an illness of several months. He was born in Boston on January 21, 1923, the son of the late Theodore and Pauline Zerolis Chekoulias. He was raised and educated in Boston Schools, and has lived in Rockland for 55 years. He was the Founder and President of Star Litho, Inc. in Weymouth. Mr. Chekoulias served in the Army during WWII, and saw service in Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland and Central Europe. He was the recipient of the Bronze Star. Husband of the late Dorothy T. McEnrue Chekoulias, he is survived by 1 son, E. Scott Chekoulias of Hanover, 4 daughters, Judith Chekoulias of Rockland, Jane S. Leonard of Hubbardston, Cynthia M. Chekoulias of Pembroke and Anita L. Drapeau of Kingston, 5 grandchildren, Daniel Leonard, David Leonard, Alissa Leonard, Kathryn Drapeau and Michael Drapeau, 2 sisters, Vera Marziarz of Southington, CT and Katherine Atherton of Bernardston, and sister-in-law, Mary M. Manley of Rockland. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, December 23, 2008 at 9 AM in Holy Family Church, 403 Union Street, in Rockland. Interment will be in Holy Family Cemetery in Rockland. Visiting hours in the Sullivan Funeral Home, 45 East Water Street in ROCKLAND on Monday from 4-7 PM.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the late Ernest “Chick” Chekoulis for his service with the 295th Engineers during WWII. This post is for you!

WWII War Orphans Pose in Germany – Barefooted German Children in Crisp B/W

April 8, 2014 / portraitsofwar / 2 Comments

Digging through backlogged collections is fun. I always seen to unearth a photo, negative or slide that eluded my initial passover. In this case, I found a poignant negative from 1945-1947 showing two barefoot children who survived the war somewhere near Munich. The photographer (unknown) had quite the eye for detail as evidenced in his 400+ negatives in my collection.

Bare Feet on Cobble

Winooski, VT WWI Veteran Photo Identification – eBay Photo Yields Vermont History Golden Research!

March 23, 2014April 7, 2014 / portraitsofwar / 1 Comment

This story starts with a 23 year old Earl F. Lavalle scribbling his name on the back of a photo to pass along to a friend during WWI and ends with a full identification of Mr. Lavallee’s life experience. The main goal of PortraitsofWar is to research and seek out every possible lead to identify an early 20th century photograph; recent digitization efforts have enhanced our ability to complete genealogical research from the confines of a remote desktop.

Earl in 1918

Our first accounts of Earl show him being born on November 29th 1894 to Fred Lavallee of Canada and Emma Pollinger of (my current hometown!) Colchester. Earl worked his entire life as a laborer in the American Woolen Co. in Winooski, VT, located along the Winooski/Onion River near Burlington,VT. He lived at various locations during his tenure at the woolen mill including 36 Hood Street, Winooski, 102 Mallets Bay Ave, 22 Park Street and many more.

Earl Lavallee Reverse

Earl enlisted on February 11th, 1918 at Camp Green, North Carolina. He served with Company G, 58th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division until August 21st, 1918 when he was transferred to Supply Co, same regiment. He was overseas from May 7th, 1918 to August 1st, 1919.

Earl was wounded in action on September 30th, 1918. This photograph depicts Earl after his wounding evidenced by his right-hand wound stripe. Earl was discharged on August 7th, 1919.

Earl Lavallee Draft Card WWI

Earl Lavallee WWII Draft Card

Lavallee Signature

Lavallee Family Story

The 1900 US Census from Colchester, VT shows the Lavallee family as a solid unit with five family members comprised of Earl’s dad Fred Lavallee, his mother Emma, brother Charles, sister Florence and himself (Earl).

1900 Census, Colchester, Vt

WWII Photo Identification – US Nurse and Navy Husband from Plymouth, Pennsylvania

February 23, 2014February 23, 2014 / portraitsofwar / 4 Comments

Family heirlooms come in many forms, shapes and sizes. It always amazes me what types of material appears on eBay as part of estate liquidation sales. Family scrapbooks, bibles, photo albums and personal diaries. In this case, I was able to purchase a small group of photos and a War Department Identification card from a nurse who served in WWII. Included were a few photos of her in wartime garb, shots of her husband (pre-marriage) and her wartime ID card. As I always say, it’s about the research….

Helen (Boretski) Bronesky’s WWII ID Card

Reverse of Card Showing Fingerprints

It’s sad to thing that a family would sell off relics of their family’s past, but it’s not for me to judge. I’m here to interpret the material at hand and figure out as much as possible with scant information.

I always start off with a quick ancestry.com search to help figure out the background story. We have a name – Helen Boretski and a birthdate of March 31st, 1924. Helen was 5’6″ when the photo was taken and a healthy 142 pounds. Her hair and eyes are listed as brown. Her thumb and right index finger are both present on the back of the ID.

A quick ancestry and google search helped me discover that Helen was dating and eventually married to a Navy man named Paul Bronesky in 1946. A few photos included in the purchase we indeed identified to a Paul, so this helps confirm the identification. In fact, further research into Paul’s WWII service shows that he was a radio man on a Navy aircraft. This is further confirmed through the photo included in the group. He is wearing a rare set of Navy air crew wings with a radioman rate patch on his sleeve.

Paul Bronesky in WWII

Hubba Hubba

Helen Wearing “Sweetheart” Navy Wings

What makes this grouping of photos interesting is the fact that both the husband and wife (dating in wartime) were both service members. Helen was a nurse and Paul was a Navy radioman. Helen strikes a chord with me. There’s just something about her gaze and smile that make me want to reach out and talk to her. Sadly she passed away in 2008. Please see below for an obituary record from Plymouth, PA:

“Helen (Boretski) Bronesky, 83, formerly of Plymouth, died March 24, 2008, in Mequon, Wis., of a cerebral aneurysm. Mrs. Bronesky was born March 31, 1924, in Plymouth and raised in Lyndwood. She graduated from area schools and RN school and was a veteran of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in World War II. She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul; parents, Michael and Susan Boretski; her brother, Michael Boretski. She is survived by son, Paul; daughter, Susan; granddaughters, Michelle, Erica and Leslie; sisters, Mary Koliga, Anne Kochevar, Margaret Cowan and Dorothy Bedosky; numerous nieces, nephews and friends.

Interment will be Saturday, July 26, 2008, at 11 a.m. in S.S. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Plymouth Township. Arrangements are by the S.J. Grontkowski Funeral Home, 530 W. Main St., Plymouth.

Helen as a Nurse in WWII

Helen and Paul Marriage day 1946

Helen’s Kiss

WWII Identified Photo – Lt. Peter Figler of the 45th Division in Northern France, 1944

July 2, 2013August 25, 2017 / portraitsofwar / 1 Comment

Lt. Peter Figler

eBay listings can be a treasure chest of great genealogical and WWII material. My favorite photos are ones that can be linked to a direct individual in a combat unit serving overseas in WWII. In this case, I was able to purchase a signal corps shot taken by the well-known combat photographer Irving Katz. His last name is mentioned on the reverse side of the image. Luckily, I’m familiar with Katz’s work from my familiarity with the Smithsonian article about the famous discovery of the Rothschild furniture in a German warehouse. More on that in a later post. Also, I’m friendly with a 196th Signal Corps photographer who lives locally. The 163rd and 196th served together in similar capacities in Italy and Southern France.

(August 25th, 2017 UPDATE)

I was just informed that this photo was taken by a different Katz that served in the same unit. Irving didn’t make it to the continent until January, 1945. Thanks to Barry S. for clearing this up!

45th Division Insignia

Back to the identification portion of the blog post. Lt. Peter Figler posed for his snapshot while holding a French fire helmet next to a fire engine in the Northeastern French town of Brouvelieures. Figler was a Lieutenant with B Battery of the 160th Field Artillery of the 45th Division when they participated in the Vosges Mountain Campaign. The photo is dated October 23rd, 1944 which places it in the early portion of the campaign.

The reverse caption identifies Lt. Figler as being from the Pennsylvania town of Larksville. With a name and town I was able to easily identify him and track down some basic info on him from ancestry.com. He was born on September 28th, 1919 and enlisted on June 16th, 1941, well before Pearl Harbor. That would likely account for his status as a Lieutenant in 1944. Sadly, he passed away in 2006. I’ve attached his obituary at the bottom of the post in hopes of connecting with his family. I love to reconnect family members with images of their relatives and provide unwatermarked photos for them.

1940 Census Record

French Brass Fire Helmet

2006 Obituary

PETER FIGLER Peter Figler, 86, of Colonial Park, Harrisburg, formerly of Larksville, passed away Monday, June 26, 2006 at Community General Osteopathic Hospital in Harrisburg. He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Eleanor (Sheridan) Figler, Jan. 11, 2002. Born Sept. 28, 1919, he was a son of the late Peter and Eva (Yasenchak) Figler. He graduated from Larksville High School. A veteran of the U.S. Army, he served his country in World War II. The Army took him to numerous countries including Germany, Italy, France, Africa and Austria. He received the Bronze Star Medal for Heroic Achievement in Action, in France, in September, 1944. He worked for the United States Postal Service, retiring after more than 30 years. His family says he will be remembered for his strong family values. Mr. Figler was an active, founding member of St. Anns Byzantine Catholic Church in Colonial Park, Harrisburg and the former president of the Holy Name Society. During the early part of his retirement, he enjoyed traveling with his wife to Florida, Canada and Cape May, NJ. He was a former member of the ABC North Senior Bowling League. Surviving are his two daughters, Margaret Wolfe and her husband, Robert, of Lansdale and Elaine Witmer and her husband, Jonathan, of Harrisburg; four grandchildren, Pamela, Michael and his wife, Kim, Robert and his wife, Janelle, and Karen and her husband, Pietro; six great-grandchildren, Devon, Camron, Brandon, Elizabeth, Adriana and Arden; a sister, Helen Zalora of Wilkes-Barre; a brother, Paul Figler of Shavertown; and numerous nephews and nieces. Friends will be received from 6 to 8 PM, Sunday, July 2 at Neill Funeral Home, 3501 Derry St., Harrisburg. Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at 11:30 AM, Monday, July 3 at St. Anns Byzantine Catholic Church, 5408 Locust Lane, Harrisburg, PA 17109, officiated by Father Michael Shear. Burial with military honors will be at Resurrection Cemetery, Harrisburg. Memorials in Peters memory may be made to St. Anns Byzantine Catholic Church, at the above address.

WWII Photo Grouping – Men of the 31st Signal Company, 31st “Dixie” Division Portrait Photos

June 13, 2013 / portraitsofwar / Leave a comment

One of my favorite neighbors growing up was a member of the 31st Dixie Division and always took time to tell me about his experiences during the war. As I grew older, he told me some of the more intense stories of his time on Mindanao and of his being wounded while attacking a Japanese airport. Those memories have always stuck with me, and with those memories come an attachment to photographs from the 31st Division. It’s one of the hardest divisions to find on eBay and I was especially excited to find this set of 8 images listed as “(8) Vintage WWII photos / Happy American GI Soldiers with Names – Old Snapshots”.

My WWII patch radar went off when I recognized a portion of a 31st Division patch in one of the shots. I did quick searches on each of the soldiers and found a website for Mr. Fred B. Kearney of Kokomo, Indiana. The name matched with the town on the reverse of the photo and the writeup mentioned his service with the 31st Signal Company of the 31st Division during WWII. Bingo, my hunch was correct that this group was a portrait collection of soldiers of the Dixie Division.

Company members identified in the images include:

Fred Kearney of Kokomo, Indiana

Fred Kearney in 1944

Jack Parsons of 905 Kramer Ave, Lawrenceburg, TN

Joseph Kalmiski (sp) of 26 Willow Street, Plymouth, PA

Edwin Wilson of Oakwood, MO

“Shaw” of 220 N. Lewis Street, Staunton, VA

Merrell Warren of Box 84 Bowdon, GA

Eugene W. Carroll (identified through draft records) of 3140 Long Blvd., Nashville, TN

Unidentified – Possibly “Curly”

WWII Christmas Card Identification Research: Henry Behrens of Grand Island, Nebraska

March 30, 2013July 18, 2016 / portraitsofwar / 4 Comments

UPDATE: This Christmas card has been returned to the Son of Mr. Henry Behrens. He found this post while searching for information about his father online. I’m pleased to have returned yet-another WWII photo to it’s rightful place.

Followers of PortraitsofWar will know that I love to do in-depth research to ferret out the names and stories of WWI and WWII veterans through the photographs they left behind. In this case, I purchased an inexpensive World War II postcard on eBay with the hopes of doing some sleuthing to find the identity of the sender. I already have a huge backlog of material to post, but I figured I would add yet another to the collection.

A Pilot Christmas Card

The card was interesting, and had nice composition. These style cards were often sent home by veterans to family members back home. With this in mind, I flipped over the card to check the reverse. Bingo. A name and address. Figuring that he likely send the card home to a family member (and not to himself) I began a quick ancestry.com search for the name. John Behrens of Grand Isalnd, Nebraska. I pulled the 1930 census record for the Behrens family to see if there were any likely candidates for the sitter in the photo. My initial guess was the he was likely 20-25 years old.

The address matched up on another record, so I’m 100% confident that this is the John Behrens named on the reverse of the postcard. John had two sons named Willie and Henry. Both were born in Germany and eventually emmigrated from Germany to the United States in the 1920s. I thoroughly researched both brothers and eventually found a reference to Henry having been in the air corps during WWII. His obituary also confirms that he was born in Eckenforde, Germany. It also sounds like he was a lifetime Air Force veteran.

Here’s his obituary:

Marin Independent Journal
Saturday, June 29, 1985

HENRY BEHRENS

A memorial service for Henry Behrens of Novato will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Redwood Chapel Funeral Home in Novato.

Mr. Behrens died unexpectedly Wednesday at his residence. He was 67.

He was a native of Eckenforde, Germany. He spent 31 years in the U.S. Army and the Air Force. He retired from Hamilton Air Force Base in 1966.

His most recent job was office service manager for Mission Equity Insurance Co. in San Francisco.

He is survived by his wife, Runee Behrens of Novato; two sons, William H. Behrens of San Jose and John W. Behrens of Fairfield; a daughter, Linda P. Garrecht of Irvine; his mother, Alwine Behrens of Grand Island, Neb.; and three grandsons.

Inurnment will take place at 3 p.m. Tuesday during a graveside service at the San Francisco National Cemetery at the Presidio.

The family prefers memorial gifts to the American Heart Fund.

WWII Kodachrome Color Slide – USS Canfield DE-262 Escort Destroyer at Eniwetok 1944 in Vibrant Color

December 28, 2012December 28, 2012 / portraitsofwar / Leave a comment

For all you Navy buffs out there…………. this photo has been hidden away in a slide carousel since it was taken in 1944. Never before digitized. Enjoy!

USS Canfield (DE-262) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She was sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft. She performed escort and antisubmarine operations in dangerous battle areas and returned home with four battle stars.

She was launched on 6 April 1943 by Boston Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. L. W. Canfield; and commissioned on 22 July 1943, Commander J. B. Cleland, Jr., USNR, in command.

WWII in Color: U.S. Navy Seabee in the Pacific Theater of Operations in 1945

December 9, 2012December 9, 2012 / portraitsofwar / 1 Comment

The lush greens and vibrant reds of the jungles of the Philippines are represented in typical WWII photography as dull grays, whites and blacks. In this case, a WWII U.S. Navy seabee shot 35mm Kodachrome in an attempt to document his surrounding environment for posterity. Although the non-martial content of the slides may be boring to some, it is an incredibly rare glimpse into the everyday life of the seabee during WWII.