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WWII Combat Sailors in COLOR - Beach Battalion

stealthytyler

By stealthytyler,
in EPHEMERA, PHOTOGRAPHS & MILITARY ARTWORK

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stealthytyler

stealthytyler

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Here is a photo of my grandfathers navy platoon buddies that I colorized. This is Platoon (yes, they adopted platoon from the Army) C-9 of the 4th Naval Beach Battalion. Photo was taken 2 days after the invasion of Salerno, Italy on Sept. 11, 1943 in a town called Capaccio. The 4th Beach Battalion were the first to storm the beaches of Paestum to set up ship-to-shore communications and various other duties to support the 36th Infantry landings. The blue stripe on the helmets represent the landing zone of BLUE BEACH near the town of Paestum. Notice the random gear/uniforms and weapons they have. HBT coveralls, dungarees, Springfield bolt action, Thompson smg, M1 Garand... They were a very unique unit that lived and trained with the Army and British commandos in North Africa between invasions of Sicily, Italy and Southern France.

 

I have been researching this platoon for some time now. Let me know if anyone has a connection to the 4th NBB. I am building a collection. Thanks.

 

I did the best I could on the colors. Let me know if I missed anything.

 

ENJOY!

 

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RustyCanteen

RustyCanteen

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Good work; a time consuming task.

 

RC

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."

*Sherlock Holmes in "A Scandal in Bohemia"*

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uplandmod

uplandmod

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Amazing Job looks great!

I collect items from The Battle of Iwo Jima (1945).

Top Iwo Jima Items I'm Looking For:

1) IDed 5th MarDiv Corpsman Jumper or Forest Green Coat.

2) IDed Coast Guard Navy Jumper

3) IDed CB's Sea Bee's Navy Jumper

4) IDed 147th Infantry Regiment Army Service Coat

5) IDed 32nd ID Army Service Coat (Occupation Kyushu with 5th MarDiv).

I am always looking for named and dated WWII USMC Forest Green wool alpha jackets/coats from the 5th Marine Division or other units who participated in the battle.

My Blog "Marines In Forest Green" http://marinesinfore...n.blogspot.com/

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stealthytyler

stealthytyler

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Amazing Job looks great!

 

Hey Uplandmod, thanks for the compliment and thanks again for letting me acquire an awesome 4th BBN group from you! It is in good appreciative hands!

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jgawne

jgawne

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nice job, but I find it interesting that the later BBns, such as in Normandy went to Army HBT's instead of dungarees.

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stealthytyler

stealthytyler

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I have photos of this unit during the invasion of southern france AFTER Normandy and they wore blue dungarees when they landed at sainte maxime a few hours after initial landings. I only have pictures of them a day or more after the invisions of sicily and italy. Not sure what they wore when they hit the beach. But everything I see is a mixture of dungarees and hbt coveralls. Maybe each battalion had different standards as far as uniform goes. I personally would hate wearing blue in combat haha

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fstop61

fstop61

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Love that photograph-you did a fantastic job.

Looking for: Fourth/ Seventh Rhode Island Infantry items


Purple Heart : Robert L. Freitag KIA ETO 2/11/45


Any US/German items with the last name "Freitag"


also, war-related posters



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David D

David D

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Great job. Which one is your grand father?

 

-Dave

Collecting WWI 26th Division Machine Gun and Infantry related Helmets, Equipment, Groupings, Photos and Dog Tags!


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stealthytyler

stealthytyler

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My grandfather is not pictured here. There were about 30 guys in the platoon. I became friends with the sailor in the top right while searching for information on my grandfathers experiences during the war. I even traveled to meet him. He was a WEALTH of knowledge. He passed away a few years back and I was able to acquire his grouping which included photos, uniforms, bring backs, etc...I even made an award winning short film about the invasion of Sicily with his audio tape memoirs.

 

Here are some pictures of my grandfather:

 

Standing over Radio during Operation Dragoon at port of Sainte Maxime, S. France (combat gear and weapons on ground)

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Second from left

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His helmet

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Members of 4th Beach Battalion taking cover during artillery attack (explosion in background)... Salerno (Paestum), Italy... Operation Avalanche

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stealthytyler

stealthytyler

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Forgot to note what the colors mean on his helmet:

 

Red Stripe(not seen, bottom layer) - RED BEACH Gela, Sicily...Operation, Husky

Blue Stripe - BLUE BEACH Paestum, Italy ... Operation Avalanche

Yellow Stripe - YELLOW BEACH Southern France near Sainte Maxime ... Operation Dragoon

Grey Stripe - I am not sure...

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  • 1 month later...
268th C.A.

268th C.A.

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That's excellent! What a tribute to these guys!


Pvt. James H. Honey 1st Md. Eastern shore Vol. Inf. Co. D (union) Gettysburg
Pvt. George Eddie Lear 26th Inf. Co.H 1st Div .(WW1) P.H. WIA Cpl. Richard Elsea 268th C.A. Bn. Battery A. WW2 SSgt. Grant Elsea 314th Inf. Hq.Co. I.R.79thDiv. WW2
Cpl. Harry Lawrence Butler Jr 23rd Regt. WIA Korea Lt. George Olin Tilghman 111th MG. 29th Div. WW1 DIS France 1919
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stealthytyler

stealthytyler

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wow, nice job. What a program did you use for coloring a picture?

 

I used Photoshop. Thanks

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  • 4 months later...
stealthytyler

stealthytyler

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I just stumbled upon this now, but I have to say excellent work on the colorization, Tyler! Always enjoy seeing your grandfather's helmet. ;)

 

Thank you Grant!

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