One aspect of war that is not normally discussed is the transportation of temperature sensitive material. Blood, meat, and some chemicals needed to be kept cool for use in the field and needed special trucks to deliver the goods. Here is a set of photos showing the trucks of the unit! Try finding these anywhere else! Scanned from original negatives.
A nice selection from my 388th Bomb Group negative collecting. Showing some of the more laid back facets of life on base.
Alva must have loved painting murals! He used Red Cross girls and local WAC’s as models…….
From the depths of my collection comes a series of amazing negatives taken by a member of the 388th Bomb Group stationed at Knettishall England in 1944. I have over 300 images from this collection and will slowly be posting them over the next few months. Keep checking back for updates. The medium-sized negatives are in immaculate condition and came to me rather inexpensively from an eBay auction. Enjoy!
Alegre was a Phillipino born artist who passed away in the early 1950s at the early age of 40. I one day hope to find a piece of his art!
Earl Denzil Reese
April 13th, 1945 – A combat engineer snapped this series of photos while riding on back of a truck during the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket. A member of the 395th Infantry Regiment , the photographer captured an amazing scene through the lens of this camera in these images. A group of German soldiers surrenders while riding a motorcycle, waving a white flag in a desperate attempt at self preservation. A cigarette dangles from the hand of sidecar rider.
Over 300,000 German troops were taken prisoner during the March and April battles in the Ruhr Valley of Germany.
Color war photos are one of my favorite forms of amateur photography. The history behind each image is intensified when documented in color, allowing the historian to glean historical details not visible in B/W photography. One such image can be found below, from my collection of images taken in Roswell New Mexico right after WWII. The photos were taken by a member of the 509th Composite Group. The unit was responsible for dealing with the atomic weapons of WWII and also dropped a bomb on the Bikini Atoll in 1946.
The QB-17 shown below is possibly one of the first handful of B-17’s outfitted to fly unmanned. This plane was used to fly through an atomic cloud and collect important radiation data. These data were later used to test for radiation fallout numbers. I’ve only personally seen two other color images of a QB-17 painted in this scheme. What an important resource for historians, hobbyists, and vintage photography collectors!
Front Page of Drone Unit History
Back Cover of Drone Unit History
Lee Marvin is hands down one of the greatest action movie stars of the post-WWII generation. Starring in such films as Attack, The Killers, The Professionals, The Dirty Dozen, Hell in the Pacific, The Professionals, The Iceman Cometh, and The Delta Force, Lee Marvin was a true action star.
The attached photograph was purchased directly from the son of a 4th Marine veteran who served with Marvin during WWII. Lee was a combat sniper with I Company, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division and was wounded in action on Saipan. He received the Purple Heart for his wounds. References say that he was one of only 9 survivors of a Japanese attack on his unit http://www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/military/lee_marvin.htm. Outside of personal photographs, this is one of less than a handful (literally 3) wartime photographs of Marvin available for view on the internet.
I hope you enjoy. This is one of my favorite WWII film actors, and now a part of my collection! 
A nice close up of Marvin – check google images for other shots of him…………..Keep in mind he was only 17 or 18 when this photo was taken.
A few formal portraits I found on the web:
Lee Marvin Formal Portrait Photo
Source: http://www.bongoludo.com/war-stories/
Lee Marvin’s War Record Mug Shot
Hand tinted photos normally are poorly done with little attention to detail. This hand tinted portrait photo was masterfully created with crisp detail to the pins and bracelets. The small pin on the girls lapel is known as a son-in-service pin and was normally worn by family members who had relatives, specifically brothers and sons, who were serving in the armed forces. She is also wearing a son-in-service bracelet, and a “stretchy” heart bracelet, possibly from a boyfriend? Who knows? A real gem!
Close up view of pin
Example from author’s collection
Portraits of War 
