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Then and Now


Steve B.
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Here is a link to on e page on my website that you might find interesting: http://36thair3ad.homestead.com/Borgoumont.html

 

The WWII photos were taken at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge, and show soldiers of the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division occupying a building in Borgoumont, Belgium.

 

The location of the building was brought to my attention a coupl of days agoi by Benno Deckers of La Gleize, Belgium.

 

The color photos were taken earlier TODAY by Benno and are posted on the website with his permission.

 

I love these "then & now" photos.

 

Steve

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BRILLIANT.....Steve love those comparison shots.

 

Great website too by the way.....you guys will have to come over the pond and play with our toys sometime....!!!!

 

Steve that picture with the rear of the Jeep facing us in Bourgoumont...whats that on the rear ..armor plate for the MG gunner ?

 

Regards

 

Lloyd

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Thanks, Lloyd!

 

I'm not sure what that is on the jeep, but I always figured it was a radio, a storage box of some kind, or a combination of the two. That jeep looks like it has an antenna on it, so there must be a radio on it somewhere.

 

Steve

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Here are a couple more.

 

The first is a fairly well-known photo that is usually described as Liege, Belgium, but actually is in Chenee, Belgium on September 8, 1944.

 

Then:

 

 

Chenee10.jpg

 

And now:

 

Chenee09.jpg

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The last of what I have is also one of my favorites. It is a photo of Staff Sergeant Stan Rich, 1nd Platoon, E Company, 36th Armored Infantry, 3rd Armored Division as he lies wounded on a street in Eupen, Belgium.

 

S/Sgt. Rich was wounded in both legs by a German MP-40. He sustained the wounds while leading his squad in an attack on a German anti-tank gun set up in the alley behind him. The anti-tank gun was attacked successfully and it's crew killed or driven off.

 

The photo was taken by S/Sgt. Jim Cullen, Squad Leader of 2nd Squad.

 

Stan_Rich_2.jpg

 

Another view:

 

 

Stan_Rich_Wounded_2.jpg

 

And the same spot as it appears today. Note the stone leaning against the building at the left in both photos.

 

Eupen_Today_1.jpg

 

Another "modern" view. The anti-tank gun was postiioned approximately where the red car is parked in this photo.

 

Eupen_Today_3.jpg

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Jeez Steve that must hurt your pride getting shot outside a pub/bar.....

 

still bet the beer was "off" or worse..warm that day....

 

GREAT pictures mate..nore then and now please

 

Regards

 

Lloyd

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Johan Willaert
Steve that picture with the rear of the Jeep facing us in Bourgoumont...whats that on the rear ..armor plate for the MG gunner ?

 

 

It's the large case with the big radio SCR508 that you mostly see on Dodge Command Cars and such....

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Thanks Johan for that....so an SCR 508 in a Jeep ?

 

I will give you a "NOW" picture of the grotto on the road between Longvilly and Bastogne where the Team Cherry roadblock happened

 

The railings and rock faces are still "spang marked" and holed from the firefights there between 17thDecember and 25th December 1944

 

I am facing the railings looking into the grotto next to the civilian in the hat..this was taken to the day exactly 63 years later

post-6-1168813556.jpg

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Cool, Even the bench is still there in the second post. If it were here the whole damn neighborhood would have been torn down and renovated since then.

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Lloyd-

 

That's all I have right now, but I might have some more Borgoumont photos coming soon. I'll be sure to post it here when they arrive.

 

Steve

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mY EX=FATHER IN LAW GID A NEAT THING IN EARLY 1946 AFTER PBY SERVICE IN THE S.PACIFIC WENT TO GERMANY AS A CIVILIAN BECAUSE HE WAS WANTING TO SERVE THERE IN WW2 , HE PHOTOGRAPHED A LOT OF WAR DAMAGE AND WENT BACK IN 1970'S. HE TOOK THE TIME TO LOOK IN HIS LITTLE BOOK AND SEE WHERE EACH PLACE WAS AND TOOK A 1970'S PHOTO TO SHOW WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE NOW. HE PUT IT IN A SLIDE SHOW, ONE IN 46 AND ONE IN 70'S.

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mY EX=FATHER IN LAW DID A NEAT THING IN EARLY 1946 AFTER PBY SERVICE IN THE S.PACIFIC WENT TO GERMANY AS A CIVILIAN BECAUSE HE WAS WANTING TO SERVE THERE IN WW2 AND HAD FAMILY THERE, HE PHOTOGRAPHED A LOT OF WAR DAMAGE. HE WENT BACK IN 1970'S. HE TOOK THE TIME TO LOOK IN HIS LITTLE BOOK AND SEE WHERE EACH PLACE WAS AND TOOK A 1970'S PHOTO TO SHOW WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE NOW. HE PUT IT IN A SLIDE SHOW, ONE IN 46 AND ONE IN 70'S.

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Johan Willaert

Then & Now images of three SC Photographs in miy collection...

 

101AB Div troops on the road from Bastogne towards Noville and Foy on December 19th, 1944. The Belgian Army barracks visible in the background across the road housed the Divisional HQ...

bastogne194418hp.jpg

 

December 2003: The large house on the left is till there. The barracks are still there too, but obscured by the Elderly Home across the street...

bastogne20031dt7.jpg

 

101AB Div troops on the road from Bastogne towards Wiltz, late December 1944

bastogne194428qj.jpg

 

December 2003: The city boundary is still marked, and some houses in the background are still standing...

bastogne20032gb8.jpg

 

A M7 Priest from the 14AFA/2AD in Carentan in June 1944...

carentan194416tc.jpg

 

June 2006: That same RR crossing is now closed and this photo was taken from a pedestrian bridge across the RR.... The best I could do!

carentan200614te.jpg

 

Enjoy,

 

Johan

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  • 7 months later...

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