PHOTOS: Cold Weather Clothing

[world war I nerd]

This image was scanned from a WW I photo containing photos of soldiers training at an unidentified training camp located somewhere in the southwestern United States. The only collar disc I was able to make out was a Signal Corps collar disc, otherwise, there was no other clues as to what outfit this man belonged to or where the training camp was located.

 

There was, however, a photo of a recruit posing with a Native American Indians, plus a photo of what I presume to be the main street of the town closest to the camp.

 

Here's what I'd like to find out, or hear opinions about:

 

1. What duty (or duties) is this soldier dressed for?

2. Can anybody ID the goggles?

3. What is the reason (or purpose) of the makeshift burlap booties?

 

It would also be nice to ID the training camp at which these photos were taken. To that end I'll post the photo of the town, as well as three random scenery snapshots ... maybe someone will recognize the topography? I'm also posting the image with the Native Americans, maybe someone has a guess as to the tribe, and hence the location?

 

Remember, all of these images are from the same photo album, and presumably the same location.

 

Thanks for looking and, I hope, guessing ... World War I Nerd

[world war I nerd]

Close up of the goggles and the burlap booties.

[world war I nerd]

Main street of the town. Note the date, May 19, 1918.

[world war I nerd]

The Native Americans.

[world war I nerd]

And three random scenery snapshots. Note the snow on the ground in the horizontal picture.

 

Where do you think this is?

[US82Bravo]

The street in post #3 is West Randolph in Enid, Oklahoma. The Fergeson Hotel was upstairs above the Randolph Street Garage at 221. Next door at 223 is the Woolard Brothers store(paint - wall paper).

 

No idea about the "outfit" shown. Fort Sill may be a possibility.

 

 

Larry

[world war I nerd]

Larry, thanks! You gave me a starting point ... Oklahoma. Next will be narrowing down any training camps or other military installations and then cross-referencing those with Enid, Oklahoma.

 

I knew somebody on this forum would recognize that street ... Thanks again.

 

Now, what about what that guy's wearing? I have some theories, but I don't want to influence anyone's thought process with my ideas.

[72psb]

Just a wild quess..Ice house duty?

[aznation]

At Fort Sill, there were native americans that lived there. Those particular native americans look like Apaches. Also, the picture of the rocks and water remind me of the Wichita Wildlife Refuge area which is close by Fort Sill. The panoramic landscape view might be that of the Wichita Mountains around Fort Sill as well.

[world war I nerd]

72psb, that's a good guess. Ice house duty never occurred to me. The goggles don't really seem to fit with working in an ice house though. Everything he's wearing is correct for a truck or wagon driver during cld weather, except those crazy burlap wraps on his feet. For the life of me, I can't quite figure out what those might be for?

 

aznation, I also thought the Native Americans looked Apache or maybe Comanche. Having only driven through one corner of Oklahoma, I have to take your word about the scenery surrounding Ft. Sill. I do suspect you are correct though.

 

Here's a different look at one of the Native Americans. I just noticed that the soldier behind the Native American is wearing the 1918 version of winter overshoes.

[world war I nerd]

Another terrain feature covered in a light snow, presumably near the camp.

[world war I nerd]

More mountains behind either the camp or a city.

[jprostak]

Aviation at Fort Sill added lighter-than-air ships to its inventory when Company A, 1st Balloon Squadron, arrived on 5 September 1917 from the Balloon School in Omaha, Nebraska. The company split to form the 25th and 26th Balloon Companies on 16 February and 2 April 1918. In order to meet the demand for trained aerial observers for field artillery, a Balloon Corps Training School was set up at Post Field in 1918. During World War I, the school trained 751 officers and created 89 companies, of which 33 were deployed to Europe.

 

So maybe aerial observer........

[world war I nerd]

Jon, thank you very much for the additional information about balloon training at Ft. Sill. A balloon observer was another possibility that crossed my mind regarding the outfit worn in the image that began this post. I initially ruled it out as unlikely until I read your post.

 

Unfortunately, there were no photos in the album to suggest that he was being trained as a balloonist or observer. But that doesn't mean he wasn't either.

 

Aside from a few pics, most of the images in the album are "run of the mill" depicting soldiers wearing olive drab service dress and campaign hats. A few show the men wearing fatigue clothing or rifle cartridge belts with bayonets slung from them. Other than light colored hat cords, which implies infantry, the only other visible insignia is one Signal Corps collar disc and a pair of Ordnance Department discs, plus a lot of U.S. collar discs.

 

Here's one of the fatigue clothing shots.

[world war I nerd]

An interesting photo of the boys showing off their knit caps and sweaters.

[world war I nerd]

Same thing. I guess somebody wanted a "do over".

[world war I nerd]

In this picture every man is wearing a pair of 'blown out' service breeches.

[world war I nerd]

Nothing exciting here, just overcoats and a couple of Ordnance Department collar discs.

[gwb123]

If you ignore the shacks in the foreground, that photo is very likely a military post in the West. If you let your mind's eye project le layout of the buildings, plus their uniform design, it suggests a post. There also looks to be stables in the background on the far left.

 

A town would have a much more random selection of buildings.