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Help ID WW I 26th Division Vehicle Marking


world war I nerd
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world war I nerd

WW I press photo of a 26th Division (Yankee Division) supply train truck at an unknown location on an unknown date sometime during 1918.

 

On the left side of the photo, just behind the cab of the truck, and beneath its canvas tarp, an insignia in the shape of a bell has been painted. Above the bell insignia is the familiar 'YD" monogram which identifies this vehicle as belonging to the 26th Division.

 

To my knowledge, this bell emblem has not yet been identified as being the logo of any company, regiment, brigade or HQ within that division. It is, however, thought to belong to one of the companies 101st Supply Train.

 

Does anybody know if the above assertion is true, or to which unit within the Yankee Division this insignia is affiliated with?

 

Thanks for looking ... World War I Nerd

 

 

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world war I nerd

A closer look at the YD and bell insignia painted on to the side of the 26th Division truck.

post-5143-0-32847700-1563656224_thumb.jpg

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world war I nerd

This image posted by YD102 shows a similar bell insignia painted on to the side of another Yankee Division Truck. In addition to the bell, this truck also bears the insignia of the 101st Supply Train.

post-5143-0-16412900-1563656421_thumb.jpg

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world war I nerd

Close ups of the 101st Supply Train insignia and the, as yet, unidentified bell emblem as painted on to the above truck, plus a drawing of the insignia of the 101st Supply Train, which can also be found painted on the front of 26th Division steel helmets.

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post-5143-0-32448100-1563656658.jpg

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Hi,

 

Here is the official caption from the Catalogue of Official A.E.F. Photographs. Unfortunately, it does not help in identifying the insignia. Photo 23485 showed Company D, 101st Engineers, working on the same stretch of road.

 

-hist3891

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world war I nerd

Jon, thanks for posting the caption of the Signal Corps photo that began this topic. Also, thanks for posting the link to list of Signal Corps official WW I photos and their captions. Now i can get accurate captions for the dozen or so Signal Corps photographs that have come into my possession over the years.

 

Still looking for an ID on the 26th Division's bell insignia though. Anybody?

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I wonder if it's possible that the trucks with the liberty bell on them could've originally belonged to Seventy-Sixth Division (National Army), known as the "Liberty Bell Division", and were subsequently used by the Twenty-Sixth. Insignia is a blue liberty bell superimposed on a khaki square. Organized at Camp Devens, Mass., in Sept., .1917. The division was composed of National Army drafts from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The first units embarked for overseas on July 5, 1918, and the last units arrived in France on July 31, 1918. Upon arrival in France the division was designated as a depot division and ordered to the St. Aignan area. Here the division was broken up, training cadres were formed and the personnel used as replacements for combat divisions at the front. The special units, such as the Signal Battalion and Sanitary Troops, were sent forward as corps and army troops.

 

Commanding generals: Maj.Gen. H. F. Hodges,. Aug. 25 to Nov. 27, 1917; Brig. Gen. Wm. Wiegel, Nov. 27, 1917 to Feb. 13, 1918; Maj. Gen. H. F. Hodges, Feb.13 to Nov. 11,1918.

 

This division was composed of the following organizations: 15ast and 152nd Inf. Brigs.; 301st, 302nd, 303rd, 304th Inf. Regts.; 301st, 302d, 303d Machine Gun Bns.; 301st, 302d, 303d Fld. Arty. Regts.; 301st Trench Mortar Battery; 301st Engr. Regt. and Train; 301st Fld. Sig. Bn.; 301st Hqs. Train and M. P.; 301st Amm. Train; 301st Supply Train; 301st Sanitary Train (301st, 302d, 303d and 304th Field Hospitals and Amb. Cos.).

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