WWII Photo Collection – 226th Signal Corps Invade Southern France 1944

April 24, 2012February 7, 2019 / portraitsofwar / 8 Comments

All in all, a pretty well rounded collection. The unnamed photographer made sure to captured shots of German equipment, a few Panther tanks, U.S. aircraft, lots of vehicles and trucks, destroyed buildings, local people and some great painted signs. Essentially this collection contains everything that makes a good wartime ETO photographic grouping.

226th Signal Corps – From what I can tell they were in charge of transmitting info from the front back to London. They operated specially fitted trailers with radio and signal equipment. I found the address of the 226th historian and will write him a letter.

D-Day Southern France

German Panther Tank

WWII USAAF on Guam – Small Series of Vibrant Color Kodachrome Slides

April 1, 2012 / portraitsofwar / 1 Comment

Although the focus is a bit off, I’m still pleased with the color range of the four color slides from Guam that I recently acquired through a trade with a friend. Nothing spectacular, but I thought others may enjoy seeing the “colors of war”.

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

March 14, 2012 / portraitsofwar / 4 Comments

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 388th Bomb Group Artist Alva Alegre – Random Snapshots Continued……

January 17, 2012January 23, 2012 / portraitsofwar / 1 Comment

Isn’t it hard to imagine that these images were taken in 1944? They were, and casual followers of the blog will remember that this is only a sneak peek of a larger collection of prints and negatives that I acquired from a series of two eBay auction in 2010 and 2011. The photographer, Alva V. Alegre was a professionally trained artist who served with the 388th Bomb Group during WWII. His treasure trove of images haunt me; my quest to figure out his life story has brought me many new leads and a number of new friends and acquaintances.

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WWII 1st Division “Big Red One” 16th Infantry Regiment Wartime Photo Grouping – German Escapee Shot in Leg

January 14, 2012 / portraitsofwar / 11 Comments

Snapped by a member of the 16th Infantry Regiment towards the tail end of the war near Falkenau, Czechoslovakia, the following pair of photos gives a brief glimpse of some of the encounters made by US infantry troops during the closing period of the war. In this instance, a German soldier dressed in civilian garb was shot in the leg with an M1 while attempting to run away from the concentration camp near Falkenau. Luckily for him, a medic is standing in the left center of the image.

388th Bomb Group – Visions of Wartime London – Summer 1944

June 4, 2011 / portraitsofwar / 3 Comments

Alva Alegre took every opportunity to shoot in and around London while on pass. His images capture wartime London as seen in 1944, at a time when the Luftwaffe was still a real threat to the civilian population. Please enjoy the view through Alva’s lens as he travels throughout the city of London!