WWII

WWII Marine Nightfighter Unit – VMA-542 – Identified Photo! – Henry H. Thellman of Beaver Falls, PA

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A recent eBay purchase turned out to be from an obscure Marine Nightfighter (airplanes) unit stationed in the PTO during the tail end of WWII.  Included in the album are many shots of planes, tropical scenes, buildings, trucks and veteran “buddies”.  I always try to do research on name in the hopes of tracking down a living veteran.  I’ve succeeded on a number of occasions, but the search usually ends unfulfilled.  In this case, I was able to successfully track down the veteran.  Sadly, he passed way a few months back, but I’m hoping to contact one of the living relatives.

Here’s a copy of the obituary which I found on a public website:

http://www.timesonline.com/your_news/obituaries/henry-h-heinie-thellman/article_4b3bf879-ff69-53c9-8635-df231989db48.html?mode=image&photo=0

Posted: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 4:00 am

Henry H. ‘Heinie’ Thellman, 85, of Tampa, Florida, peacefully passed away on Thursday, January 26, 2012 in the University Hospital of Tampa. Born February 21, 1926 in West Mayfield, he was the son of Daniel and Regina (Untch) Thellman.

He served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He had been employed by the Kohlmann Bottling Co. and Babcock & Wilcox Co. He was a member of the Beaver Falls Owls Club where he was steward for many years.

Preceding him in death were his parents; his beloved wife, Pauline (Frier) Thellman; a daughter, Tammy; his son, Mark, and three brothers, Steve, Daniel and Richard.

He will be dearly missed by a daughter, Paula (Jeff) Jones, and three grandchildren, Megan Jones, Lauren and Alex Thellman, all of Tampa, Florida. Also surviving are his sister, Regina (Jennie) Karczewski, Chippewa Twp.; a brother, Michael Thellman, West Mayfield; sisters-in-law, Loretta Thellman, West Mayfield, and Margaret Thellman of East Palestine, OH; a brother-in-law, Walter (Dutch) Frier and his wife Betty, and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial will be held at a later date.

Without a doubt the same veteran.  Maybe the family would like to see photos from the album?

Henry H. Thellman of Beaver Falls, PA

Further research shows that Henry was one of four brothers who all served in the Marines during WWII. What a family!

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2002&dat=19921108&id=PrYiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CLUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2524,1689506

WWII P-51 Mustang 35mm Color Slide Photo – 44-74976 – Currently Still in Operation as Jeffrey Michael’s “Obsession”

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Picked this little gem off eBay for a great price and couldn’t help but do some research on the plane.  It appears to have been taken while it was with the New Mexico Air National Guard.  Likely in 1945 or 1946.  I missed out on another listing from the same seller showing the plane with it’s full insignia painted on the side, which was the New Mexico state symbol.  I believe this photo may be considered rare, as I can’t find another shot of the 44-74976 on the web, and certainly not in color.  I hope the current owner finds my site!

From what I can gather, as pictured, this aircraft was used by the New Mexico Air National Guard in WWII and in the 1940s and then was sold to Indonesia in 1958 or 1959.  It was then recovered in 1978 from Indonesia and purchased by a Ralph W. Johnson of Oakland, CA and registered as N98582.  It’s first flight after being recovered from Indonesia was in 1983.  It was then purchased by it’s current owner, Jeff R. Michael and restored to airworthy and redesignated as “Obsession” with it’s original tail code of 44-74976.  Phew!

 

 

 

Actual WWII Combat Snapshot – 99th Division, 395th Infantry Regiment in the Ruhr Pocket April 1945

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Amateur combat snapshots are nearly impossible to find.  I only have a handful in my personal collection, and have only seen them for sale on rare occasions. In this photo, a veteran named Earl Reese snaps a photo while his squad is attacking through a forest on April 13th, 1945 while in the “Ruhr Pocket”.  I have a collection of Reese’s photos and personal memoirs that were saved from the trash bin at an estate sale in California.  Imagine images like these rotting away in a landfill?

 

Is that a ricochet dent on the M1 helmet?

 

 

WWII in Color – Color Kodachrome Slides – 1944 SBD Dauntless Marine Dive Bombers VMSB-332 w/ Aircraft

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The color of WWII is something lost on our generation; WWII has been a war fought in black and white for everyone but actual WWII veterans who witnessed it firsthand.  One of my goals here at PortraitsofWar is to collect color slides from WWII and make them accessible to those who don’t know it exists.  Yes, color film was shot in 35mm(and sometimes larger format) and was used on a somewhat regular basis by shutterbug soldiers during WWII. My collection is roughly 500:1, black and white : color.    To find a complete collection of color slides is like hitting the WWII photography jackpot.  In this case, I was able to pick up a small selection of color slides from a Marine dive bomber.  Although I was only able to snag 7 from a grouping of nearly 200, I am still happy to pass along the images to interested parties.

 

 

From the collection of Walter Huff.

Please enjoy the colors of WWII as they were meant to be seen! 

WWII German Snapshot Photo – RAF Gravestones in Germany 1939 – 1st Australian Soldier Killed in Action

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Today’s post comes from a loyal PortraitsofWar follower from the Netherlands.  He recently stumbled across a single snapshot at a Dutch flea market and did some savvy investigative work to tease out the historical significance.  Thanks Werner!

Wartime German Snapshot of the Graves

Begraafplaats Engelse Vliegeniers

By: Werner Peters

Here we have a photo taken by a German soldier depicting the graves of three Allied airmen who lost their lives in the skies over Germany.  These soldiers were likely recovered from their crashed plane and buried with full military honors by their German adversaries.  A Nazi laurel wreath can be seen in the left corner of the photo.

At the time, two of the airmen could be positively identified by the Germans; one body was unidentifiable.  One the left side of the burial plot lies Mr.Hammond whose RAF identification number was 562535RAF.  On the right side of the grave lies J. MCI. Cameron, Offr res 24225RAF.  The middle marker merely says , Engl. Flieger(English Airman).  On all three grave posts is written “Hier ruht ein Engl. Flieger – im luftkampf gefallen 28.9.1939 Vorden” – which translates as “here rests an English airman who died in aerial combat on 28.9.1939 Vorden(?)”.

With a little research it turns out that this crew belonged to the 110th RAF squadron.  They were flying a Bristol Blenheim type IV, number N6212 which crashed on September 28th, 1939 during a recon mission over Munster in the neighborhood of Kiel, Germany.  They were shot down by a German pilot named Klaus Faber, a feldwebel of the Ersten Abiteilung.  Jagdgeschwader Eins (1st Section of the 1st Fighter Group).

It turns out that the man buried on the right is wing commander Ivan McLoed Cameron, an Australian who, in fact, is the first Australian to die in action during WWII. The man to the left is Thomas Cecil Hammond, an Irishman.  The last grave belongs to Thomas Fullerton.

For more information regarding the crash, please check out the following website: http://ww2chat.com/biographies/5839-raf-australians-wing-commander-ivan-mcleod-cameron.html

After researching the photograph, Werner visited the current grave site in Kleve, Germany where the three men were reburied after the war.  He snapped some great photos and generously allowed for them to be posted here at PortraitsofWar.

Thanks Werner!

Reichswald Forest War Cemetery Gates

The Three Graves

Cameron's Headstone

Fullerton

Hammond


Captured German U-Boats in Portsmouth, New Hampshire – May 1945

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Who knew that the US captured a series of German U-Boats during the tail end of WWII?  I had no idea until I picked up a rare collection of 24 photos that belonged to a member of the original prize crew for one of the U-Boats.  The photos are incredibly detailed with crisp focus and in a large 8X10 format.  They show the capturing of U-234 and the subsequent arrival in port in Portsmouth, NH.  Also pictured in the grouping (not all posted here) are Captain Fritz Steinhoff and Luftwaffe General Ulrich Kessler.  Steinhoff actually ended up committing suicide in a Boston jail with the aide of a broken glasses lens. A wartime news article about the suicide can be found here.  Ulrich Kessler was delivering a load of Uranium and a set of German jet planes to an undisclosed South American country when the captain decided to surrender.  An amazing collection for sure.

 

 

Ulrich Kessler

 

 

 

Captain Steinhoff

 

 

 

 

 

WWII Photo – Celebrity Journalist Ernie Pyle Casual Snapshot – North Africa

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Casual followers of this blog (as well as some dedicated followers) will know that I’m obsessed with casual snapshots of celebrities during the war.  I’m more interested in obscure personalities that rarely show up on eBay.  My collection includes shots of Spike Jones, Joe Brown, Frank Sinatra, Ernie Pyle, and Lee Marvin.  A few months back I  was lucky to add another shot of famed WWII journalist Ernie Pyle to my collection.  Sorry for the delay!

 

WWII Original Combat Snapshot – 99th Division Soldiers Fight in Neustadt, Germany

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Snapshots taken during combat situations are the Holy Grail for WWII photo collectors.  In this case, a soldier in the 395th Infantry Regiment of the 99th Division snapped a photo during a firefight with Germans near a dike in Neustadt, Germany.  A great action shot! To make this shot even more amazing, I found an original film shot shortly after the same episode in the exact same postion.  This time the dike has been fortified with sandbags and pontoon boats.  Look for the 0:39 second mark.

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675049536_United-States-99th-Infantry-Division_crossing-Danube_soldiers-rest_behind-dikes

 

Source: CriticalPast.com