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Post Your Span-Am to WW I Full-Length Soldier Photos


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And finally, I guess the classic bow tie, black or otherwise, was still in vouge with the up to the minute military fasionista in 1917, and perhaps later.

 

Brian, the neckties/bowties that you have shown are incredible examples of what the National Guard was allowed to wear. Have you seen similar with regulars?

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world war I nerd

Erik,

 

I have a number of period photos showing soldiers wearing skinny, fat, patterned & bow ties. Unfortunately, the majority of them show nothing that will ID the soldier as being National Guard or Regular Army. Most are just wearing a shirt, a tie and a campaign hat - no collar discs or anything else with which to make an ID.

 

PS, the images of your Siberian Doughboys are great!

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Grockett, nice photo of your grandfather wearing the seldom seen enlisted aviators' wing. Thanks for adding it!

Thank you!

 

He was a machinist and had a chance to fly while training at Kelly Field in Texas. At the time, the training program was in disarray, so he had a lot of time on his hands, but there was a provision that permitted enlisted men to undergo limited flight instruction and he logged a number of flying hours during that interim. Aircraft were not complicated machines at the time, and even those with the most rudimentary education could be taught to fly. It was something he enjoyed and a unique opportunity in which he took full advantage.

 

He was assigned to the 210th Aero Squadron in England, but detached to the 1107th Aero Replacement Squadron at Flowerdown. In late September 1918, the squadron was ordered to relocate to Camp #4, near Codford, Wiltshire. Second Lieutenant Elijah Allen Bright, who reported for duty as Supply Officer with the 1107th on October 2, found himself in an unenviable predicament and needed pilots to fly daily missions between Flowerdown and Codford. Even with all the flight-qualified officers transitioning through Flowerdown at the time, most were in training or had other duties that prevented them from volunteering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When my grandfather learned that Bright needed pilots, he revealed that he had pilot experience and offered to help. The lieutenant was skeptical, not being familiar with enlisted men being pilots, but he received approval from the commander. After a check flight, my grandfather began ferrying aircraft and essential supplies to Codford, sometimes making two trips a day. That's how he earned his enlisted pilot wings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm mighty proud of him...

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world war I nerd

Group of AEF nurses, three of whom are wearing Advance Sector, SOS shoulder patches and one a Service of Supply shoulder patch.

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Close up of the nurses showing both the Advance Sector and Service of Supply shoulder patches. In addition, all of the nurses are wearing collar brass on their blouses/shirts and on their coats.

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world war I nerd

The caption on the reverse of this press photo reads:

 

An Observation Balloon Crew. Lieut. R.K. Patterson, observer, and Lieut. F.J. Grant, maneuver officer, discussing enemy positions to be observed. 2nd Company, First Army Corps, Montrieul, France. July 8, 1918.

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world war I nerd

Cook, Troop C, 10th Cavalry Regiment circa 1908 - 1914.

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Close up of the cavalry cook. He's wearing pre 1914 shoes, 1906 Leggings, 1907 Waist Belt and 1908 pattern Service Breeches.

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world war I nerd

Enlisted man from the Medical Department circa 1907.

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Close up showing the enlisted men's pre-1910 medical cap badge and collar insignia.

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world war I nerd

Another shot showing an assortment of early military neckwear circa 1904-ish. No idea if these are National Guard or Regular Army troops. Note the monogramed pockets on the shirt worn by middle soldier in the bottom row.

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world war I nerd

German made postcard showing what is probably an MP. It's interesting that he is wearing woolen trousers as opposed to breeches. They could be British issue trousers or the late war 1918 "Straight Line Breeches" that were adopted by the AEF in May of 1918.

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world war I nerd

A nice image of General Hines, the commanding officer of the 3rd Infantry Division, in front of a group of AEF officers, four of whom are wearing 2nd Division shoulder patches.

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Close up of the 2nd Division shoulder patches. From right to left: 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, 6th Marine Regiment, and a dark shield shaped patch which could be any of the following: HQ (black), 1st Field Signals Battalion (red), HQ Train & Military Police (blue), 4th Machine Gun Battalion (purple).

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Poker game inside the barracks circa 1900.

 

Great photo!

 

Believe it or not this is actually a few years later based on the rifles in the arms rack. They are M1903 'Springfields', but they are not the first incarnation of it (the .30-03 'rod' bayonet). The hand guard has the raised 'hump' on it, which was introduced with the change to the M1905 rear sight. The hand guards were later changed again (to add a grooved relief for the rear sight). Of course it's impossible to know what cartridge the rifles in the photo are chambered for (the original .30-03 or the .30-06), but with the rear sight and hand guard in view, we can reasonably conclude that it must have been at some date in 1905 or later, but I wouldn't put the date later than maybe 1908/09. Now the issuance of the M1903 in the early years is a complicated one, but in 1907 it was authorized for issue to the Army and state guard. Prior to this, issue was sporadic in the regular Army, and pretty much non-existent outside of it.

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world war I nerd

RC thanks. I definitely need to study the weapons used between 1898 and 1919 more than I have. As you pointed out, they are quite helpful in terms of dating period photographs. I mostly rely on the uniforms and equipment, but that's not an exact science, as you've just pointed out.

 

Here's a better view of the rifles in the rack.

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One Pound Gun Section, HQ Company, 38th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Division, 1919, probably in Germany.

WWI Nerd:

 

You post some beautiful photos! Very clear and a great source of reference! My cousin, Charlie Barger, served as a machine gunner in Company D, 38th Infantry, 3rd Division, in 1921, in Arkansas. During WWI, he served in Company L, 354th Infantry, 89th Division. Attached is a photo of him in February 1919.

 

Thank you for posting all these photos. You can described uniforms and insignias all day long, but these photos are priceless!

 

Thanks again!

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world war I nerd

Grokett, thanks for the kind words and for posting additional photos. You, and whoever said this are absolutely right … a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

Beast, that's a killer image of an early African-American soldier!

 

Here are a few older and recent additions to my ever-growing military photo collection ...

 

Officer, NCO, and eight men from the medical section of an unknown military post circa 1908-1910. What's neat about this image that it shows the early officer, NCO & enlisted men's cap badge, and that the squad is flanked by a pair of stretchers on which an early Medical Department haversack is slung.

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Close up of the different cap badges - back row enlisted men's Medical Department cap badge, front row (left) U.S. Army officers' cap badge, (right) NCO's Medical Department cap badge with wreath.

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Medical Department haversack slung on the left hand stretcher. Does anyone know when this style of haversack was first adopted by the Medical Department.

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world war I nerd

A hot poker game in progress, I think, along the Mexican Border in 1916. If not, the game is taking place in one of America's southwestern training camps in 1917 or 1918.

 

I'm guessing the guy with the bat ensures that none of the gamblers cheats!

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world war I nerd

The Army's bayonet training protective gear, comprised of a face guard, padded 'plastron' (I think that what it's called), gauntlets and a wooden training rifle, in use. The photo probably dates to 1917 or 1918.

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world war I nerd

One of the things you'll notice if you read WW I soldier's letters and diaries is that they were always eager for reading material to alleviate the boredom of Army life. In the states, reading material, in the form of books, magazines, newspapers, and other periodicals, were distributed by each of the various charitable organizations that were doing 'war work', as well as by patriotic well wishers.

 

In this image, the men of an unknown training camp, are more than happy to accept a complimentary magazine distributed by a pretty young woman.

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