A fresh grouping straight from the hallowed halls of eBay! A wonderful selection of armor and scenery shots taken in 1951 by a member of the 987th Armored Field Artillery. The unit was supplied with M7 Priest tanks and served as an artillery support unit. The colors and scenes of the Korean War pop into life!
Caught in the act of painting!
POW Delivery
Wonsan, Korea – October 1950
POWs are delivered to the safety of their USMC Marine captors.
Original Amateur Color Slide – Dated October 1950
Members of the 12th Veterinarian Hospital
Straight from the bowels of a poorly listed eBay auction comes this tantalizing pair of WWI photographs. At first glance the images seem to contain little information to help aide in their historical dissection, but upon further sleuthing I found some clues to their identification. After scanning the first image on my super-duper Epson V700 scanner (awesome BTW), I zoomed in on the wagon using Photoshop. The name VET HOSP 12 can be faintly seen between the wagon wheels. A quick google search yielded a website dedicated to the 12th Veterinarian Hospital, which dealt with the care of horses during the Occupation period. I looks like the hospital was started in late December of 1918, and continued to service 3rd Army horses for the bulk of the Occupation.
The obverse of the second RPPC shows a date and location of January 1st 1919 in Treves Germany made out to a Mr.Arthur Fessler (hard to make out the last letter) in Philadelphia, PA. The card is a German postcard paper, and the style of chair is one I see almost exclusively used in German portrait studios of the period. The young doughboy is not wearing a shoulder sleeve insignia (aka Patch) but I assume he soon received one, as the first photo shows the patch in wear.
Interested in learning more about the 12th Veterinarian Hospital? Check out this site:
Or check out the U.S. Army Veterinarian Corps Historical Preservation Group Facebook page:
Posing in a German Studio
August 25th, 1944,
Glenn Miller poses with some members of the 388th Bomb Group. Only a few months later Miller went missing during a flight over the English Channel,. spurring 70 years of mystery and intrigue. His death is still an unknown, although many suggest that he was in fact a German spy. The second image shows the crowd during the concert – snapped by Alegre from the front of the stage.
Some of Glenn’s best known hits are Moonlight Serenade, Chattanooga Choo Choo, A String of Pearls, Little Brown Jug and Tuxedo Junction. Many of these songs are likely lost on my generation, but will be familiar to many of the readers of this blog. Please check out the links listed below for some vintage Glenn Miller footage!
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Sometimes a true gem will turn up among the pages of boring WWI eBay listings. In this case I was able to purchase a small lot of photos and letters for less than $10, and discovered an amazing field written poem by a battalion runner in the 103rd Infantry Regiment of the 26th “Yankee Division” (my favorite division BTW). Although the photos that came with the grouping are unrelated to the 103rd, I thought I would post the poem and transcription as a memorial to all those who died in the trenches of France. Memorial Day is only a few days away and I think it is a fitting tribute to the men and women who served during the First World War.
Please visit Soldier’s Mail for other photos and interpretations of further 103rd Infantry Regiment related material.
Written at Apremont France by Battalion Runner Blanchard of Company F of the 103rd Infantry Regiment of the 26th Division
Somewhere in France
I
A soldier boy lay dying,
On a road “somewhere in France;”
he had tried to get through a barrage
Tho he knew he stood no chance.
A pal knelt down beside him
While the tears ran down his cheek
For this soldier was his lifelong friend
And he longed to hear him speak.
II
When the dying soldier opened
Up his eyes, and look around
And saw his dear old pal
Kneeling side him on the grounf
He smiled and said “They got me Jim
Yes got me with a shell.”
“My orders were to take this note
Through water, fire and hell.”
III
“Take this message Jim and run it thru
Do not stop for me
It means two hundred lives and more
Its for our company
Fritz made a fake attack this morn
Just it break o’ day
If you can only get it rhu
We’ll make those dam Huns pay”
IV
“And when you get around to it
Just write a line or two,
To my mother and my sweetheart Jim
Old pay so good and true;
Tell them I tried to make it
Thru gas, barrage, and shell
That my resting place is heaven
For I when there thru a hell.”
V
Then the dying soldier closed his eyes
His pal with tender care,
Gently laid him down
And smoothed his bloody ruffled hair,
And with a sob of anguish
He started down the road,
In his hand he held the message
That was written out in code.
VI
Jim got the message there in time
To quell the Germans’ bluff,
He told the story to the boys
How the blood got on his cuff,
The dying words of Bill his pal
A runner dead and gone
And the company paid their last respects
To the brave but silent form.
~Wrote at Apremont by Batt. Runner Blanchard
At the conclusion of a dream – YD Co. F 103. Inf.
Portraits of War 
