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WW1 2nd Division Album


nchistory
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First off, great score on some beautiful shoulder patched images. the last fuzzy photo looks like crossed rifles, infantry, which makes since too the 23rd infantry regiment. 2nd Division. How ever there are so many variations of this patch and I'm not the expert on the Indian head patches. Over sea's stripes and new boots, no doubt glad to be home.... hopefully some are I'd. Very nice, thanks for sharing...

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Is the Soldier in photo in post 6 wearing a different jacket then the rest? M1918 with the internal pockets I think?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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You may want to re-post #7. Could be 1st Battalion, Company A or UFO. Maybe 12 DPI :D

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL, Maybe 4 DPI. This is the worst site on the internet for quality photos. I only had to reduce my scan by 75%, then blow up the disk for viewing. Go figure.post-153086-0-84283300-1518817706_thumb.jpg

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The seated soldier with the 23/A disc does not appear to have an overseas chevron on his left cuff. I have 2 uniforms in my collection (4th Balloon Company and 81st Aero Squadron) that do not have an o.s.s. on them. I always wondered if perhaps they had been "put together" by somebody who forgot the chevrons before putting them up for sale. Neither piece is named. This photo gives me a bit of hope that possibly they are good pieces after all. The missing chevrons were the only questions I have had about them, and I have had them both for over 20 years. I always assumed that everyone took pride in their time overseas and would have displayed the chevrons proudly. Even the blue chevron was nothing to be shy about. This photo has shown me that there is always an exception. I thank you very much for posting it. MHJ

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world war I nerd

As near as I can tell there was no regulation stating that a soldier had to sew on his overseas stripes ... Or at least, I've never encountered one.

 

I have found three uncut stripes in the pockets of patched service coats - twice.

 

I also read one soldier's account of his service during the war in which he stated he hated the army and just wanted to get out. When he was finally discharged he refused to sew on his overseas stripes. He threw them away instead!

 

In period photos, like the one above, it's possible that the soldier without stripes was a new arrival and not yet qualified for an overseas stripe. Or perhaps, he had made the six-month mark, but was waiting for orders from HQ to be generated authorizing him to wear the insignia. It's also possible there were no overseas stripes available at the time he received a replacement service coat or the orders permitting him to wear the stripe(s).

 

I know that in combat, the men rarely sewed overseas or wound stripes onto their service coats because they knew that their coats would be torn to shreds at the front and then replaced as soon as they came out of the line. They usually waited until they had a coat that they knew they were going to hang onto for a while before sewing any wound and overseas chevrons on.

 

Littlewilly is correct in that the majority of men were very proud of their overseas service and couldn't wait to sew the stripes on for all to see.

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I was aware of the periodic shortage of Honorable Discharge Chevrons as the AEF was sent home, and several of my outfits lack that chevron. I understand a paper discharge certificate was issued instead to be presented to any MP that stopped a discharged man still in uniform (and wearing an overseas cap - not authorized stateside). I have quite a few without the red chevron. I had never considered the possibility that there were also shortages of o.s. stripes as well. Interesting. The account of a soldier throwing away his chevrons is also interesting. My dad was so glad to get out of the Army after WWII he threw away everything issued to him upon his discharge. He had quit high school at 17 and joined the Army Air Corps after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, so there was no question that he wanted to serve, He just did not want to carry it all home. My 4th Balloon Company uniform is one of the "salvaged and repaired" uniforms produced at the end of the war by the QMC from uniforms that had seen hard service. The upper left coat pocked flap was replaced with one that is not even close to the same color, and makes for an unusual appearance. I saw one on eBay last year that had one sleeve completely replaced, again in a totally different color. The 16th Engineer Regiment complained about this practice in their official history. They must have received quite a few of them to wear home to put that complaint in their book. The Army did what it could to cut costs and reduce waste after the Armistice, and if a uniform still had most of its original construction usable, adding what was needed from another less usable piece was seen as a viable option, as most men were going home and would not be on the parade ground with 3 different colors of cloth on their coats. I think I would have hated having to wear one of those concoctions home to meet the folks, no matter how many chevrons I had on the sleeve! Second Division discussions (and photos) are always an interesting read for me. Keep 'em coming, guys! MHJ

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Great photo from the well-known Theodor Loos Photo Studio at 2 Schloss Strasse in Coblenz...

Al

That's cool, do you have another image that verifies that? same chair?

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That's cool, do you have another image that verifies that? same chair?

 

Actually there are a number of us who were chasing the location of this very prolific studio--based on the unique open window backdrop---we knew it was in Coblenz, just not where---until I found a photo with that same background at a militaria show in Richmond and on the back the guy had written the name of the studio and the location---I visited Coblenz--now Koblenz--in the summer of 2016 and went to the street address--the building (now a new modern building) houses the Civic Association for the city. it is just a 5 minute walk from the 1918-1923 Third Army HQ building (still in existence) on the bank of the Rhine.

 

We have a pretty active WWI Third Army group on facebook is you want to dig more into that period and the US Army in Germany from Dec 1918 to Feb 1923.

Al

 

 

 

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Actually there are a number of us who were chasing the location of this very prolific studio--based on the unique open window backdrop---we knew it was in Coblenz, just not where---until I found a photo with that same background at a militaria show in Richmond and on the back the guy had written the name of the studio and the location---I visited Coblenz--now Koblenz--in the summer of 2016 and went to the street address--the building (now a new modern building) houses the Civic Association for the city. it is just a 5 minute walk from the 1918-1923 Third Army HQ building (still in existence) on the bank of the Rhine.

 

We have a pretty active WWI Third Army group on facebook is you want to dig more into that period and the US Army in Germany from Dec 1918 to Feb 1923.

Al

Thanks Al. I'll check you guys out. Great work.

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