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96th Co. 6th Marines Quantico Oct.22,1917 yardlong


GWS
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PGN63 - Several years ago on a visit to Quantico, I asked this same question as to where the pano photos were taken. I was told by a very top level historian, that the parade grounds back then was the location. That location is where the Alfred M Gray building is...that general area. The building is also the "Library of the Marine Corps." The RR tracks are still there but the other landmarks are most likely gone. Worth the look though!!

 

Just had a confirmation, the location is where the Alfred M Gray Research Center is. Regarding the railroad tracks; the main line is there but there were two switches that formed a V.....the parking lot to the south of the train station is that V.

 

Looks like they will take the Battalion picture there in July. I sent the battalion a modified schedule taking away some time from the museum and spending 4 hours over there. The History Division has promised a PME that the Marines will never forget about their battalion.

 

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I've been reading "Through the Wheat" by Gen. Edwin Simmons USMC and Col. Joseph Alexander USMC and found the following passage on page 31:

 

"The summer of 1917 at Quantico was one of the hottest on record. The red mud, when it dried out, generated dense clouds of red dust. Most of the acreage was in cornfields or second-growth Virginia woods. Only along the river was it particularly flat and good for such things as drill fields and tent camps." *

 

Not much help in solving the photo location puzzle, and probably of little more than historical reference, the passage does at least confirm that the overall area we're looking for is close to the Potomac and not further inland.( which I believe we already knew!) So far, the book is proving to be a very interesting read and I would highly recommend it.

 

 

 

* Quote from: Through the Wheat, The U.S. Marines in World War 1, Gen. Edwin Simmons and Col. Jos. Alexander, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis Maryland 2008

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GWS, we're positive about the location. The Marine History Division is going full throttle on this.

 

There is a 78th Company Living History Unit that will also be there to help teach the 2/6 Marines about their Battalion in 1917. A member of the group is related to a Marine that was KIA at Belleau Wood. They plan on taking a battalion photo within grenade range of the original photo.

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GWS, we're positive about the location. The Marine History Division is going full throttle on this.

 

There is a 78th Company Living History Unit that will also be there to help teach the 2/6 Marines about their Battalion in 1917. A member of the group is related to a Marine that was KIA at Belleau Wood. They plan on taking a battalion photo within grenade range of the original photo.

 

Thanks for the update. Very interesting research! Please post a photo after it's done, I know it's a ways off yet but would be very interested to see it. So much history there, so little time to learn about it. Thanks again.

Steve

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Thanks for the update. Very interesting research! Please post a photo after it's done, I know it's a ways off yet but would be very interested to see it. So much history there, so little time to learn about it. Thanks again.

Steve

 

Steve,

 

Solid copy.

 

Marine Corps Association (Gazette & Leatherneck) mentioned that they might want to make a commemorative picture with the subject of this thread and the 100 years after picture of 2/6 in July. I'll keep you posted as this progresses. I'm stopping by the History Division sometime this week.

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Steve,

 

Solid copy.

 

Marine Corps Association (Gazette & Leatherneck) mentioned that they might want to make a commemorative picture with the subject of this thread and the 100 years after picture of 2/6 in July. I'll keep you posted as this progresses. I'm stopping by the History Division sometime this week.

 

That's sounds too cool! Thank you for your efforts on this.

 

Steve

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  • 1 month later...

I'm at Lejeune visiting the battalion. The Commanding General to II MEF presented the battalion with 'Chesty Puller' award for being the best unit in II MEF today. As I was listening to the Companies report.....they weren't saying Echo, Fox, Golf, Wpns, H&S.....they report with the Company numbers...."78th Company all present of accounted for"

 

On a side note....how do you attach pictures here?

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

The PME from the History Division on base is going from 09:00-12:00 on the 7th. The History Division is pulling out a lot of memorabilia from the 1917 battalion; photos, uniforms, a French machinegun.....most of this stuff has been in storage for years.

 

The battalion photo will be done at the conclusion of the PME.

 

Dinner at the museum is from 19:00 - 00:00

 

The 8th will be 'Spartan Games' at Camp Upshur, 13:00 depart for a PME battlefield study of Chancellorsville and then back to Lejeune.

 

I will be taking pictures of all of these events, not sure how I can get them to this group.

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I use Picasa 3 for my photos. It's probably old and outdated (like me!), but it works just fine. Also,try not to use a real high resolution-size when you take the photos as even if you resize them smaller to post them here they may still be too large. 640x480 pixels is what I resize to for posting. If all else fails, I'll send you my email address so you can send them to me and I'll post them up for you. Good Luck and thanks.

 

Steve

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  • 4 months later...

The second man kneeling from the left in the center section of the machine gun platoon pano is Ratliff William Walne. He survived Belleau Wood, St Mihiel, Blanc Mont, and Meuse Argonne with two Purple Hearts (gas at Belleau Wood and shrapnel at Blanc Mont) and two Silver Stars (Jaulny and Blanc Mont).

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He's my uncle. Didn't know about his service until I stumbled across an entry for him on Find a Grave website. It had been posted by the grandson of Ratliff's best buddy during the war. The grandson has several pictures of Ratliff and his grandfather which he shared with me. Two of them are cropped from the center section of the pano. I got his SRB from National Archives and have been collecting books and articles about the 96th Company. In a letter to HQMC after the war, he says that Cates was his platoon commander.

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2ndTo None---Thanks for the correction, I'll correct my list! Fletcher is the photographer who took my 96th Co. photo. The name is. too small to see on the overall picture I posted on here.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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