WWII

WWII Photography in the PTO: The 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron

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I’ve always noticed the vast difference in quality between the typical ETO snapshot and it’s Pacific counterpart.  The European snapshots typically are printed on better paper and of much higher quality.  In this case, I was able able to purchase a pair of Pacific theater photos taken by an artist with the 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron.  The first photograph shows a US Jeep painted up with a cartoonesque rendition of the squadron name complete with shadow effects and 8 ball logo.   The same artist also designed the unit insignia seen below.

Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0892010975

Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0892010975

8th Photo Recon Squadron Jeep

8th Photo Recon Squadron Jeep

And I was also fortunate to win an Easter card designed by the same artist.  The card is folded in four sections and was made from a single cut sheet of photo paper printed with a special design created specifically for the 1945 Easter season.  A unique piece!  I wasn’t able to win anything else from the auction – many of the sales were in the triple digits and well out of my comfort zone for an obscure topic.

1945 Easter Card

1945 Easter Card

I hope to pick up a copy of a fantastic tome put out a few years back to help my future research in the unit.  http://www.adastron.com/lockheed/lightning/8prs.htm

Also

For those interested in some great footage of the 8th Photo Recon Squadron, please check out the links below:

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675059603_A-2-intelligence-officer_Rabaul-prints_looking-through-lens_5th-Bomber-Command

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675059599_8th-Photographic-Reconnaissance-Squadron_drying-prints_washing-prints_Rabaul-negative

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675077240_8th-Photographic-Reconnaissance-Squadron_Rabaul-prints_prints-are-dried_sorting-prints

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675077238_8th-Photographic-Reconnaissance-Squadron_Operations-Officer_Engineering-Officer_status-board

2013 Veteran Reunion Post – Men of the 222nd Infantry Regiment, 42nd Rainbow Division

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222nd Infantry Regiment Veterans

222nd Infantry Regiment Veterans

 

Followers of this blog will know that I have a special place in my heart for the 42nd Division.  My favorite collection of WWII photos, negatives and stories comes from the 222nd Anti-Tank Company of the 42nd Division.  Seen above are a few of the living members of the 222nd Infantry Regiment posed together at a recent 2013 reunion.  Thanks for your service!

WWII in Color – Rare Marine USMC DUKW Boat in Color! Saipan Quack Corps 35mm Color Slides

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I always try to pick up groupings of WWII color slides whenever possible, but they are incredibly expensive.  I don’t want to say what I paid for these slides, but they weren’t cheap!  This small selection of slides comes from the WWII 35mm slide collection of a fighter pilot who spent some time on Saipan and shot some incredible images of the things he witnessed while on the island.  In this set we wee a DUKW of the 2nd Marine Division complete with painted duck logo, serial codes, and prisoners/laborers in the back. A rare color glimpse into the paint schemes and battle-wear of a wartime DUKW.  I would love to find more info on the unit, but don’t know where to start!

Saipan498 Saipan499 Saipan501

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

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Lt. Peter Figler

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

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

1940 Census Record

French Brass Fire Helmet

French Brass Fire Helmet

WWII249

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 American Nurse Corps Overseas Cap Identified – Lt. Frances M. Gleason of Washington

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This cap comes my way via eBay; it isn’t in the best condition, but it was inexpensive and came with the possibility of a solid research piece.  I bid knowing the item was identified with a short, atypical name with a military rank (Lt.) to reference.  Only $21.00, this US Army Nurse’s cap is a solid buy considering the amount of information I was able to tease out of a simple name written inside a cap.
2013-06-19 19.37.50
2013-06-19 19.38.00
The nurse’s name was both stamped as well as inscribed on the interior silk lined interior.  I was able to determine that it belonged to a Frances Kain in 1944-1945.  The cap is an overseas cap, so the veteran clearly served overseas.  Nurses were required to be at least 25 years – this gave me a general birth year to search for.  A quick ancestry.com search for a Frances Kain turned up a Frances Kain born in Pennsylvania in 1919.  The birthyear and the name matched perfectly.  A school directory subsearch on ancestry yielded PortraitsofWar gold with a solid hit for a Harrisburg, PA nurses training school.
Frances M. Kain

Frances M. Kain

From there I did a search for marriage records to figure out her name later in life and found that she married David H. Gleason in April of 1951.
Kain Gleason Marriage

Kain Gleason Marriage

From here I was able to confirm my hunch that she was the owner of the cap.  Her obituary and grave record show that she was a WWII veteran who served in the ETO as a Lt. in the Army Nurse Corps.

On FindaGrave.com I was also able to find a wartime photo of Frances:
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And a copy of her 2009 obituary:
Frances M. Gleason

Frances M. Gleason, age 90, passed away August 14, 2009 in Mount Vernon, WA.

She is survived by daughter, Beverly (Dr. Marshall) Anderson of Camano Island; and grandson Kristopher Anderson of Arlington.

She was a World War II Veteran of the Army Nurse Corp. serving in the U.S and European Theater. She worked as a nursing instructor for the Practical Nursing Program at Columbia Basin Community College in Pasco for 21 years.

At her request no public services will be held.

Arrangements are under the care of Hawthorne Funeral Home, Mount Vernon.

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

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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

Fred Kearney in 1944

31st077

 

Jack Parsons of 905 Kramer Ave, Lawrenceburg, TN31st074 31st075

 

Joseph Kalmiski (sp) of 26 Willow Street, Plymouth, PA31st078 31st079

Edwin Wilson of Oakwood, MO31st080 31st081

“Shaw” of 220 N. Lewis Street, Staunton, VA31st082 31st083

 

Merrell Warren of Box 84 Bowdon, GA31st084 31st085

 

Eugene W. Carroll (identified through draft records) of 3140 Long Blvd., Nashville, TN31st086 31st087

 

Unidentified – Possibly “Curly”31st088

A Voice From the Past – WWII ” Letter on a Record” Digitized!

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WWII USO "letter on record"

WWII USO “letter on record”

I have to admit that this is a first for me.  99% of my posts have been dedicated to photos mixed with the occasional letter and/or youtube video.  This is the first time I’ve digitized a WWII record! The process was incredibly laborious and the results were scratchy and hard to listen to.  Given the condition of the record as well as the limited audio digitization available, I think I did a decent job.

Here’s the story – I purchased a set of WWII “Letter on Record” wax and paper records produced by the USO in WWII.  They were put out by the USO in affiliation with organizations such as the National Catholic Community Service.  According to my research, over 350 recording booths were available during the war with a total production of 350,000 +/-.  They were printed on wax and paper records using a recording booth where the sitter would talk while the machine “cut” their voice into the record.  They were then sent home to be listened to by loved ones.  I can’t imagine they were made to survive 70 years, but these two copies remain in decent condition.  I purchased them for $1.50 each at a local flea market.

The discs were recorded by a Eugene “Gene” Daly who was stationed at an Army Air Corps base in Charleston, SC during the war.  He was a member of Crew 620 of Sub Unit E.  I’m not entirely sure what this group did but it may have to do with sub patrol on the East Coast.  It was sent to Bunny Echenique of 122 Bedford Ave, Grant City, Staten Island, NY in February of 1945.

I played the disc on my record player at 33 speed and held my iPhone up to the speaker and recorded what played.  I could hear a slowed down version of human speech so I knew that the process was working.  From there I sent the audio file to my computer where I fiddled with Audacity to tweak the speed.  I was able to speed up the voice by 1.6X.  A voice from 70 years ago played on my speakers.  From there I created a video with the actual record as the visual and posted it to youtube.  Listen for yourself!  I still have a few additional sides to record, but this one gives you the general feeling of Gene Daly’s “letter on a record”.

Envelope details

Envelope details

WWII Photo Negative – German Prisoners Captured in Munich, May 1945 – Event Captured on Film!

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It’s not often that I’m able to link an amateur still photograph with a professional moving film, but I’ve been able to do it here.  In this particularly crisp shot, a member of the Anti-Tank Company of the 222nd Infantry Regiment snapped a shot of a group of Munich city officials and policemen surrendering in the main center of Munich.  I thoroughly researched this set of images and was able to track down living members of the Company who remember the events in the images.  A rare opportunity!

222nd Munich

222nd Munich

 

Here’s a video that captures this exact scene.  http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675075225_German-officers_United-States-officers_conference_prisoners-marched-along-street

Please skip ahead to 00:44 to view the quick clip of this scene.  Trucks of the 222nd Anti-Tank company can be seen escorting thousands of German POW’s in the next scene.  I’ve included a screengrab for those of you who can’t view the video.  The film was shot by Sgt. Fred Bornet, a well-known combat photographer who made recent news when he gave an interview with NPR’s All Things Considered in 2004.  Please check out this: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1914938

222nd Screengrab

222nd Screengrab