A female US service member rocks a summer dress and snaps a shot of the photographer; what more can you ask for from a blog dedicated to obscure vernacular snapshots taken during wartime? Originally digitally cropped down from a slightly larger print, this shot exudes the youthful demeanor of downtime during WWII. The taut, braced legs also hint to a slightly posed sexualized snapshot….
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here to PortraitsofWar, so I’m taking a quick moment to add a recently acquired real photo postcard of a St. Bernard mascot from the 67th Coastal Artillery Company. He’s even sporting his own uniform! Check out the 1st Army variant patch with the 67 denoting the unit number and a double overseas chevron for a year of service. Good work Barney!
Mascot photos are one of my favorite avenues of WWI photo collecting. They are relatively hard to come by and are tough to research. All the better for a unique challenge when trolling through the pages of eBay.
Barney the St. Bernard in WWI
Material related to wartime (and postwar) activities of the YMCA can be easily researched through the help of internet databases, digitized books, collectors forums and various other digital avenues. What is lacking, however, is information directly related to the individuals who volunteered their time and money to travel to a foreign county to serve donuts to war-weary doughboys waiting to return to their families in the US.
I was lucky enough to track down a large grouping of ephemera collected during the war by a YMCA canteen entertainer, a Miss Kittie Kunz. Included in the grouping is a selection of rare YMCA “unit history” paperwork which gives names and identities to many of the women and men who served alongside Kittie. I researched each of the names in hopes of tracking down passport application portraits. I was overwhelmingly successful and found nearly 75% of the names in the US Passport database that matched perfectly. Each was listed as being a member of the YMCA or Red Cross, and each matches the date range for the YMCA hut. A neat find! Please read on to see the faces of the women who served alongside Kittie. You will also find a smattering of hard-to-find ephemera related to the YMCA. It’s amazing that Kittie saved some of these items. Not all the paperwork is contained in this post, but the scanned material gives a quick glimpse into the typical material a YMCA canteen worker would deal with.
Kittie Kunz’s YMCA ID
Kittie’s YMCA Paris Travel Permit
Kittie’s YMCA Paris Travel Permit Reverse
Kittie’s Permit to Travel to Reims
YMCA War Service Pin Card
YMCA War Service Pin Card Interior
Tea Service Notice for the 28th Division
Here is where my favorite piece of researching WWI material came handy….. I was able to research the names of the women listed in the distribution section and track down their WWI era passport applications. Here are my results:
YMCA Women
Miss Gertrude Garden – YMCA
Miss Dorothy Berry – YMCA
Harriet McKenzie – YMCA
Margaret Robinson – YMCA
Katherine Parks – YMCA
Janet Kunz – YMCA (sister to Kittie Kunz)
Kittie Kunz – YMCA
Pauline Brown – YMCA
Mary Waden – YMCA
Dora Lewis – YMCA
Katherine Beakes – YMCA
Cora A. Kennedy – YMCA
RED CROSS WOMEN
Lois Loyhed – Red Cross
Harriet Maxon – Red Cross
Dorothy Peters – Red Cross
Alice McCoy – Red Cross
Esther Edmondson – Red Cross
Mary Jones – Red Cross
Eleanor Little – Red Cross
Mary Healy – Red Cross
Byron Miller in World War One
When searching for new portraiture to add to PortraitsofWar I generally tend to look for material with identifiable soldiers, uniforms, medals and other researchable information to help shed light on life during wartime. In this post, I will be researching a photograph of a US Navy sailor who caught my eye during a recent eBay search.
Reverse Side of Postcard
The information written on the back of the postcard shows an identification of the sitter as a B.G. Miller. He is identified as being a Pharmacist’s Mate 1st Class from Salt Lake City, Utah who was on duty at one point at a hospital in Samoa on August 1st, 1918. Additional info added to the photo includes an anecdote about his position as a Mormon missionary in Germany during the breakout of the war between Germany and France.
With a little luck and a lot of research I was able to track down our mysterious B.G. Miller. Byron Gardener Miller was found listed in the Utah World War 1 Military Service Questionnaire on ancestry.com. Please see his card below:
Byron G. Miller in WWI
It looks like Byron attended the University of Utah for a year before being shipped off for his overseas missionary work. This is likely the reason for his service as a Pharmacist’s Mate with the US NAVY as can be seen in the details of his uniform.
Navy Pharmacist’s Mate Rate Patch
The reference to his missionary service in Germany during the outbreak of war in July of 1914 is partially confirmed through my discovery of his listing aboard a ship ledger arriving in Montreal, PQ in September of 1914.
His service in Samoa has also been confirmed through the same series of records.
Sadly, his arrival back in the US in 1919 wasn’t likely a time of joy for the Miller family; a Utah death certificate shows that he died of influenza only a few months later on February 7th, 1920. Interestingly enough, my research into the US Hospital in Samoa shows that a MASSIVE flu outbreak in the Samoan Islands lead to the deaths of nearly 25% of the population. The US Navy set up an epidemic commission to deal with the issue. The results of the intervention in American Samoa were incredible. Apparently the method of using maritime quarantine lowered mortality rates to nearly 1%. It’s strange that Byron would die of influenza only a few months later while in the United States……
For the 1919 report please CLICK HERE
1920 Death Certificate
One of the main goals of this website is to help share photos and pertinent military service information with the families of the men and women depicted in the images I collect. In this case, I’m hoping a Miller family representative will discover a rare image of their ancestor who witnessed a formative time in history.
Straight from the dusty PortraitsofWar archives comes an incredibly unique 8×10 photo of a window display in Lancaster, Pennsylvania during World War Two. I typically shy away from purchasing and posting “press photos” taken during the war, but this shot has so much potential research that I felt it deserved to be digitized.
Lancaster, PA WWII Portrait Photo Display
I purchased this photo while visiting a friend in the Philadelphia area. The reverse side of the photo identifies the photo as the F.W. Woolworth building in Lancaster, PA. The store identity is confirmed in the image; the tiled entrance and gilded placard identify the establishment as such. The date of the photo wasn’t noted, but the presence of the 4th Liberty Loan Bond dates the image to 1944.
4th War Loan Drive Poster, ca. 1944
My guess is that the store asked for portrait photos of local veterans to post in the storefront. A rough estimate puts the number at 100 portraits visible in the window. The shots runt he gamut of WWII service branches, including the Marine leathernecks, Army Air Force pilots, female WAC and Waves, Navy Sailors as well as regular Army soldiers.
4th Loan Poster
I plan on contacting a number of Lancaster, PA historical societies, veteran groups and newspapers in hopes of identifying a few of the veterans posed in the Woolworth’s window.
This incredibly moving snapshot from my WWII collection captures a wide range of emotions. The only identification I have for the photo is that it was taken in a town/village/city named Poules during the tail end of the war. A US GI followed a joyous parade of French citizens and Free French (FFI) underground soldiers as they proudly walk down the streets of their newly liberated city. It’s a photo that speaks volumes.
German Collaborator Parade
After nearly four years of German occupation, a contingent of the French population were eager to fight back against the oppressive rule of their German visitors. In this post’s main photo we see a young, attractive female underground soldier causally smoking a cigarette, toting German “potato masher” stick grenades while holding a captured German rifle and briefcase. To her left we see a group of young French women who have been publicly shamed. Their shaved heads were shaped to show a swastika. A joyous moment for the FFI, yet a horrible moment for the women who were caught up in the frenzy of the German occupation. This photo has never been digitized for display on the web. You’re the first to see it!
Collaborator Parade
FFI Female Underground Fighter
US Signal Corps Footage of Collaborator Hair Cuts
Similar Photos From the Web
Another hero of the French Resistance during World War II and decorated for saving the lives of U.S. soldiers shot down behind enemy lines was Micheline Blum-Picard. Only eighteen-years-old when she first became involved in the Resistance, Blum-Picard started by carrying messages taped to her back and then progressed to photographing inside factories damaged by bombing raids By D-Day, however, she was carrying a rifle, a pistol, and a hand grenade wherever she went. inyourfacewomen.blogspot.com
Female French Resistance
World War II resistant woman fighter – Paris,1940s photograph the New York Public Library Picture Collection
Member of the French resistance with German tunic and thompson machine gun by Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse, via Flickr
Today I quietly celebrated my 200,000th blog view from my desk at work. I knew the number was coming, and with nearly 300 views a day I was able to predict that the 200k plateau would be reached this week. What should I write about on this momentous day? I thought back to all my favorite posts…….
Ambrose R. Canty ca. 1944
With all those topics in mind I kept coming back to the one man who “brought me into the fold” of researching WWII history. My grandfather. Ambrose R. Canty taught me from a young age that you should respect your elders, listen to their stories, as well as how to play poker, pitch, bridge, rummy and pocketknife baseball. He also told me stories of his experiences during the second world war. Stories that would be gradually elaborated on as I grew older. Having spent the majority of my youth with him, I was able to learn a lot about the 69th Infantry Regiment and specifically the 777th Tank Battalion.
Ambrose on Furlough, 1944
My interest in WWII history started with my grandfather, and I feel that on my 200,000th view that I should post a rememberance post to him. Although he passed away nearly five years ago, I still feel a connection with him. My early interaction with him live on through this website, and I hope I’m able to help pass on the passion Amby imbued in me at a young age.
Amby (second from right) Holds a Captured German Flag in Leipzig
Grampy, thanks for everything.
Ambrose Washing his Mess Kit, Germany 1945
777th Reproduction WWII Patch
And his 2009 Obituary:
Published Tuesday September 1, 2009 at 12:01 am
Ambrose �Amby� Richard Canty of 26 Roosevelt Dr. in Southbridge, died Sunday, August 30th, 2009, at home in the company of his family.
He leaves his wife of 55 years, Mary J. (Damian) Canty; 7 children: Ambrose �Amby� R. Canty Jr. and his wife Sandra of Davenport, IA, Anne P. Canty of Port Orange, FL, Jane E. Gauthier and her husband Richard of Southbridge, Joan R. Murphy and her husband Donald of Worcester, MaryLynne Deshaies and her husband Gerald of Sturbridge, John D. Canty and his wife Kimberly of Webster, and Kathryn M. Canty of Redondo Beach, CA; 12 grandchildren: Adam, Matthew, David, and Tom Canty of Davenport IA, Christhanha Canty of Port Orange FL, Brennan and Connor Gauthier of Southbridge, Maria and Anna Murphy of Worcester, Cailyn, Ryan and Kelsey Canty of Webster, MA; and many nieces, nephews and great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his 6 brothers and 7 sisters.
He was born in Webster, one of fourteen children of Patrick and Anne (McCauley) Canty. He lived in Webster and Southbridge all his life. He graduated from Saint Louis High School in Webster, was a graduate of Holy Cross College in Worcester, and received a Masters Degree in Social Work Administration from Boston College. He was an accomplished athlete lettering in 3 varsity sports at St. Louis High School: Basketball, Baseball and Track. He also played semi-pro football for the Webster Colonials, and refereed and coached basketball teams at various levels for many years, including a championship basketball team with 5 of his daughters and several nieces.
He proudly served in World War II as a member of the United States Army�s 69th Infantry Division from 1944 to 1946. The division rescued a sub-camp of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Leipzig, Germany and is recognized as a �Liberating Unit� by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. He was a member of the Webster-Dudley American Legion Post # 184.
Ambrose served as the Webster Public Welfare Director for 16 years and the Massachusetts Director of Public Welfare in Worcester for 20 years before retiring. He was a member of St. Mary�s Parish in Southbridge and a member of the Webster-Dudley Knights of Columbus. He also served on the Massachusetts Mental Retardation Board, and as a member of the Tri-Area Fresh Air Program.
The funeral, with full military honors, will be held on Friday, September 4th with a Mass at 12:00 PM at St. Mary�s Church, 263 Hamilton St., Southbridge. The burial will be at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Southbridge. The Webster-Dudley Veterans Council will perform military honors. There will be no calling hours. Following the burial, the family will receive friends and relatives at the �12 Crane St.� banquet facility in Southbridge. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Daniel T. Morrill Funeral Home in Southbridge.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the St. Mary�s Parish Ministry Center Completion Campaign, 263 Hamilton St. Southbridge, MA 01550.
morrillfuneralhome.com
Everyone knows that I love Vermont WWI material, but I also enjoy collecting photos from other New England states as well. I have a handful from every state but only one from Maine. Now I have another!
This fantastic interior studio RPPC has a ton of great qualities that drove me to make the purchase. The crossed flags at center, the helmet and pistol props, the uniform details, and the identification on the reverse all make it a great shot to add to the collection. This particular group is comprised of men from Portland and Bath.
Battery D of the 54th Artillery Regiment, C.A.C.
Identified to a Corporal Carl L. Pearson who I believe is positioned directly right of the flag, this shot shows a group of 19 soldiers posed in a French studio. This may be a record for my collection! I have a few with 6-8, but none with more than 10.
Pearson was from West Falmouth, Maine and was born in January of 1893. He enlisted with the National Guard in Portland in March of 1917 and reported for Federal service in June of that year. He was overseas from March of 1918 to March of 1919. This photo was taken in either late March, or April or May of 1918. He was promoted in early June of 1918. Since this photo shows him as a Corporal at the time of the photo, we know it was taken before his promotion. Also, his lack of OS chevron and the abundance of spats likely points towards an early photo taken in France.
A little info on the 54th CAC
Source: http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cacunithistories/54thcac.htm
WORLD WAR I — 1917 – 1919The Coast Artillery Corps a Maine National Guard were mobilized on 25 July, 1917, and all companies, band, field officers, and non-commissioner staff officers reported on 27 July. 14 staff officers reported at Portland Coast Defenses and were assigned to duty in the Coast Defenses. The several companies were re-designated at once. This designation was changed again on 23 August 1917, and on 25 December 1917, nine of the thirteen C.A.C. Maine National Guard companies were made a part of the 54th Artillery, C.A.C., the supply company and Batteries B, D, E, and F, of the new 54th Artillery, C.A.C. 6 inch guns (Motor drawn), were entirely constituted from the nine companies Maine National Guard.
The 54th Artillery, C.A.C., was organized with a Headquarters Company, a supply company, and three battalions of two batteries each. Of the 6 batteries, four were taken from the Maine National Guard and from 25 December 1917, the further World War history of the C.A.C. Maine National Guard is properly that of the 54th Artillery since over 62 percent of its units were entirely Maine National Guard. In addition, only 30 percent of the units of the Maine National Guard were not included in the organization of the 54th Artillery C.A.C.
The 54th Artillery, CAC, (6-Inch Guns, Motor)
This regiment was organized in Portland Harbor Forts on 25 December 1917, five of its units being formed from National Guard units and three from Regular Army units.
The batteries of the 54th Artillery were organized as follows:
Headquarters Company, and Batteries A and C from the Regular Army.
Supply Company, from 20th Company, Lewiston.
Battery B, from 4th Company, Portland, and 7th Company, Biddeford.
Battery D, from 2nd Company, Portland, and 4th Company, Bath.
Battery E, from 3rd Company, Auburn, and 3rd Company, Kennebunk.
Battery F, from 9th Company, Lewiston and 11th Company, Portland.
Headquarters Company, Batteries C, D, E, and F, sailed from Portland, Maine, on the CANADA, 22 March 1918 and arrived Glasgow, Scotland 2 April, Winchester, England 3 April, and LeHarve, France, 6 April 1918.
The Supply Company, Batteries A and B, left Portland 14 March, sailed from Hoboken 16 March, 1918 on BALTIC arrived LeHarve, France, 6 April 1918.
The 54th Artillery C.A.C. was sent to rest camp at Mailly-le-camp (Aube) and on 2 May 1918, transferred to Haussimont (Marne), as replacement regimen to Railway Artillery Reserve and Tractor Artillery Regiments. On 20 September 1918, the 54th Artillery was reorganized into three battalion stations as follows:
1st Battalion, Training Battalion (A and B Battery) Angers (Marne-et-Loire).
2nd Battalion, Tractor replacement(E and F Battery), Haussimont (Marne) Angers (Marne-et-Loire.)
3rd Battalion, Unknown.
After the Armistice the 54th Artillery was assigned to Brest, and part of the Regiment sailed 23 February 1919 on the Vedic arriving in Boston 7 March 1919. It was completely demobilized at Camp Devons by 13 March 1919.
The four companies (1st, 6th, 10th and 12th) that were not formed into the 54th Artillery, C.A.C. were demobilized in January 1919 at Harbor Defenses of Portland however, but few of the original members of the companies remained in them late in 1918. Two large transfers of enlisted men from these batteries were made. The first was made on 23 August 1917, to the 26th Division Artillery and Engineers. One hundred-sixty-nine men were taken from these four companies in the transfer. On May 31 1918, the other large transfer was made to the 72d Artillery, C.A.C. From the 1st Company, 147 men were taken, and from the other three companies large numbers. However, the transfers were made as individuals no units being reformed or discontinued.
In July 1922, the regiment was reorganized and designated as the First Coast Defense Command, C.A.C., Maine National Guard. The regiment was formed into Headquarters, Headquarters Detachment, Band, Medical Detachment and 1st Fort Command.
1st Fort Command
301st Company, Portland, org. 1803 – later Btry A
306th Company, Sanford, org. 1903 – later Btry B
307th Company, Brunswick, org. 1884 – later Btry C
311th Company, Portland, org. 1807 – later Btry D
2nd Fort Command
303d Company, Camden, org. 1920 – later Btry E
304th Company, Thomaston, org. 1921 – later Btry F
305th Company, Rockland, org. 1921 – later Btry G
302d Company, Vinalhaven, org. 1921 – later Btry H
On 17 September 1923, the 1st C.D.C. was re-designated as the 240th Artillery, C.A.C., and individual batteries as shown above. The designation was again changed to 240th Coast Artillery, Harbor Defense, on 16 April 1924.
Sometimes a little research and hard work pay off. In this case, I received a WWI 26th Division portrait in the mail from a friend in Pennsylvania. I knew it was a good image given the subject matter and the fact that the soldier was likely from the Lewiston area given the photographers embossed stamp. Not an easy task. I counted a dozen or so guys in a thirty mile radius of Lewiston that were possible contenders. Lots of Maine men were members of the 26th during the war, and it’s not always easy to associate a location given a photographers stamp.
Mellen F. Tuttle
With a little forensic work I was able to figure out the identity of our mysterious hero. Since I’ve handled thousands of vintage photos and negatives, I know that photographers often penciled info on the back of the print, or etched names/numbers on the bottom of the original negative. The numbers would cross reference to a name and address to ship the photo. In this case I was lucky to find a name etched on the original negative. Obviously it was in reverse on the positive image, so I flipped it 180 degrees with photoshop and tweaked the contrast and brightness. Bingo, a name appeared. Tuttle. A quick search found a Mellen F. Tuttle from New Gloucester, ME who served as a private in Company B of the 103rd Infantry Regiment.
Further research shows that his actual name was Francis Mellen Tuttle, but he went by Mellen F. Tuttle during the war. After an hour of searching in vain for the death records of Mellen F. Tuttle, I decided to search for birth records for the Tuttle family in Maine. I came across a Francis M. Tuttle Jr. and clicked on the birth record. His father was Francis Mellen Tuttle! Everything fell into place after that. Please see the end of the article for a photo of his grave showing his name as Francis M. Tuttle. Somehow he made it all the way to Los Angeles and passed away in 1961!
His feat of bravery occured on July 20th, 1918 on Hill 190 near Rochet Woods, Chateau Thierry. Mellen was with an automatic rifle team of Co. B of the 103rd when all of his fellow soldiers wounded. He single-handedly advanced on an enemy MG nest and forced them to retreat. His detachment was able to advance due to his bravery.
Reversed photographer etching
Hammond Brothers
Lewiston, ME Photographers Stamp
Maine soldier registry entry
Name: Mellen F. Tuttle
Serial Number: 67163
Birth Place: Freeport, Maine
Age: 22 6/12 yrs.
Residence: New Gloucester
Comment: Enl: NG Augusta, May 30/17. Pvt 1st cl Jan. 2/18; Cpl July 18/19. Org: Co B 2 Inf Me NG (Co B 103 Inf) to Mar. 6/19; 291 Co MPC to disch. Eng: St Mihiel; Defensive Sector. Awarded French Croix de Guerre; awarded DSC. Overseas: Sept. 26/17 to Aug. 3/19. Hon disch on demob: Aug. 8, 1919.
Note the Chateau Thierry reference on the grave marker!
A recent eBay purchase will add yet another mascot dog photo to my collection. The 28th Division keystone is clearly visible on the mascot’s vest, as well as two overseas chevrons. Very cool.
Portraits of War 