wwii photo

WWII 388th Bomb Group Portrait Artist – Alva V. Alegre – ORIGINAL Portrait Surfaces on eBay!

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Ever since I first laid eyes upon the WWII portrait art of Alva V. Alegre, I knew that I had to track down an original piece of his work.  I tracked down his original photographic prints, his negatives, and even have spoken with people knew him.  I’ve followed him from his first arrival in the US in the 1930s, through England during WWII, to NYC in the 1950s and eventually to Troy, NY in the 1960s.  After years of waiting, I providentially stumbled across one of his portraits on eBay.  It’s all coming together…….
With the help of a group of dedicated historians with the 388th Bomb Group, we’ve (possibly) identified the Major as Frank Hess.

For more photos and images of Alva’s work, please search for “Alva” in my search bar.

Frank Hess

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do we know this is a piece of Alva’s work?  For disbelievers, check out this comparison of signatures from my negative collection and the signature on the recently acquired painting.  100%!

 

WWII Color Photo – USMC Marine SBD Bilot Walter A. Huff Poses in Hawaii – Vibrant Color

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A member of VSMB-332, Walter A. Huff poses for the camera.  Luckily a roll of 35mm color Kodachrome was ready for shooting!

From a  continuation of a series of 60+ slids/color photos from this collection, this image captures the virginal quality of the Marine (USMC) aviator.  Prepped for war on the SBD/ Marine Douglas SBD Douglas Fighter/Bomber, the Dauntless was a key implement of many Pacific battles.

Looking towards an uncertain future, Walter  Huff grins and bares the inevitable future as a Marine dive bomber pilot!

WWII Studio Portrait Photo – 9th AAF Mechanic Georges G. Bond in St. Dizier, France

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Another nice studio portrait taken in 1945 in St. Dizier, France in 1945.   A member of the 511th Fighter Squadron during WWII, Georges G. Bond later went on to serve in Korea.  His wartime address was 415 West Pine St. in Enid, Oklahoma.  Georges was born on July 10th, 1920 and passed away on September 7th, 2007. My condolences to his family.

 

 

Source: FindaGrave.com

WWII 9th Air Force Portrait Photo – Ervin G. Collins of Pawtucket, Rhode Island

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Another great WWII interior studio portrait arrived in the mail yesterday. The subject of the photo is Ervin G. Collins of (wartime)  391 Liverpool Ave, Pawtucket, RI.  The photo was taken in France and shows Ervin posed with a studio prop – a French Louis XVI Style gilt rectangular center table. The photo was taken in St. Dizier by a photographer named Andre Dirler.  St. Dizier is roughly 120 miles east of paris; the 511th was stationed at Clastres (A-71) during the tail end of 1944.  He was 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 112 pounds when he enlisted on July 3rd, 1942.  Before the war he was able to graduate high school and worked as a salesperson.

 

Mr. Collins was born on March 5th, 1921 and passed away on November 2nd, 2001.  He is buried in Notre Dame Cemetery in Pawtucket, RI.

PortraitsofWar Book Review #1: Panzerwrecks’ Duel in the Mist 2: Leibstandarte During the Ardennes Offensive

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One of my favorite current WWII publishers has to be the tag team duo of Lee Archer and Bill Auerbach of Panzerwrecks.  This international dreamnteam has been meticulously researching and compiling books on knocked-out German armor since 2005; focusing on amateur photographs of (often) never-before-seen scenes of German armor moments after destruction by US forces during WWII.

In a world filled with overused and reprinted images, it’s a refreshing relief to open a new copy of Panzerwrecks and see new images of late war German armor with wonderful descriptions.  A balance of tongue-in-cheek humor mixed with meticulous research offers the reader with a book worthy of a well-stocked research library or office coffee table.

 

I recently finished my review copy of Duel in the Mist 2 published by Panzerwrecks and written by Timm Haasler, Roddy MacDougall, Simon Vosters and Hans Weber.  With nearly 700 footnotes (really!), this book is well reseached, cited, and backed up with primary source documentation that includes first hand accounts, after-action reports, photographs and veteran interviews.  A well balanced piece; Duel in the Mist 2 views the initial battles of the Ardennes Offensive through a non-biased lens.  Interviews with US veterans easily mesh with similar accounts from SS veterans.

The superlative collection of wartime images compiled for the book is, by far, the most amazing part of the book.  Images from the deep collections of David Thompson and Stefan De Meyer of AMC, Bill Auerbach, Jeff Tomkinson, Freddy Lemaire, Gerard Gregoire, Eddy Monfort, Tom Fischer and many others supplement the written component.

Artistic representations of German armor were intricically detailed by Simon Vosters, with a special attention to detail regarding camo patterns.  This, combined with actual portraits of the men involved in the battles, provides the reader with an intimate view of WWII not often seen in other publications.

A series of intensive maps follows the progression of the battles using modern day color and figures.  An easy-to-follow chart accompanies each map, allowing the reader to follow the battle with relative ease.  Flipping back and forth between maps is made easier by the 8.5 in by 10.25 in format of the book.  The pages want to be turned!

A special thanks to the guys at Panzerwrecks for providing me with a review copy of Duel in the Mist 2, and a special thanks to Timm Haasler, Roddy MacDougall, Simon Vosters and Hans Weber for their fantastic work.  Keep up the good work, and I hope to review Duel in the Mist 3 by 2014!

 

 

Interested in picking up a copy of Duel in the Mist 2?  Check out Panzerwrecks website for a compendium of top notch WWII material!

 

 

WWII Photo Collection – 226th Signal Corps Invade Southern France 1944

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All in all, a pretty well rounded collection. The unnamed photographer made sure to captured shots of German equipment, a few Panther tanks, U.S. aircraft, lots of vehicles and trucks, destroyed buildings, local people and some great painted signs. Essentially this collection contains everything that makes a good wartime ETO photographic grouping.

226th Signal Corps – From what I can tell they were in charge of transmitting info from the front back to London. They operated specially fitted trailers with radio and signal equipment. I found the address of the 226th historian and will write him a letter.

D-Day Southern France

German Panther Tank

WWII Nose Art – Hal Olsen, the Last Living WWII Nose Artist

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I recently had the esteemed pleasure of acquiring five nose art photos of PB4Y-2 airplanes.  Using the power of the internet, I was able to look up four of the  planes, the Green Cherries, and the Lady Luck II.  With a bit of luck I tracked down the name of the original artist.  Hal Olsen painted over 100 nose art pin-up ladies on various planes in the PTO during his stint with the US Navy during WWII.  He charged $50 per painting and eventually used the money to enter formal art school and travel with his wife.  He is considered the last living nose art painter of WWII.    Having tracked him down, I wrote him a nice letter asking for his autograph and promising that I would send along some copies of my photos. He graciously signed all of my photos and added an inspiring letter with the group.  Thanks Hal!  You’re one for the story books.

Thanks Hal!

Lady Luck II
Green Cherries

Hal’s Autograph
"Gear Down and Locked Up" - an image shot by Lt. Theodore Rowcliffe, USNR before the plane was shot down in August of 1945Special thanks to Dave Rowcliffe for providing this image watermark free!

“Gear Down and Locked ” – an image shot by Lt. Theodore Rowcliffe, USNR before the plane was shot down in August of 1945
Special thanks to Dave Rowcliffe for providing this image watermark free!