WWII Photos - Taken / Collected by Family Members

[Doublegun]

Widebrim,

You are right. That photo really struck a cord with me also from a technical standpoint and for the content. It really does tell a story - I just wish I would have found it before my dad passed away.

Thanks,

Jay

 

[Jabos]

[/IMG]
This is my grandfather, 370th FG, 9th Air Force. He was testing a new engine in this plane, and decided to buzz Monchengladbach (at the end of the war). Here is his story:
"About halfway across town my engine made a strange shudder and quit. Being so low my options of action were limited. I pulled up to approximately 100 feet and looked for a place to put down-houses and people everywhere. A small church yard was the only place in sight. I turned to the longest looking space, got low and flew it into the ground at approximately 130 mph. Demolished the plane. Even the tail was warped beyond repair. The prop came off and went through the right wing and gas tank. Fortunately, no fire. Just a lot of red dust. Of course, it seemed like a long time before I could get out.

"There is a red handle to release the bubble canopy. It says, 'For Emergency Use Only'. I thought this was certainly an emergency so I pulled it and, of course, nothing happened. No air was flowing over the canopy to blow it off. So, I touched it and it rolled off just like it is supposed to. I jumped out and ran a few yards expecting the plane to explode, but it didn't.

"The mechanics took it back to the base to see what went wrong. They decided a supercharger shaft broke and split the engine in half. When I got back to the base, Col. Giffin called me in and said, 'Did you know all test hops are to be flown within gliding distance of the field and we could make you pay for that airplane?' When I replied that I knew it, he said, 'Okay, we will write it off. Just wanted to be sure you knew.'"

He took the throttle handle (I have it) and the clock (stolen decades ago) out of that plane. He always joked that he would still be paying for it if Giffin hadn't been nice about it! The pic was taken the next day. A patrol guarded the plane overnight until they could get it back. When he pulled that emergency handle and nothing happened, he panicked and thought he was going to burn.

 

[Widebrim]

[/IMG]

Great photo and story, Jabos. That is what this link is about: Family-related photos and stories that bring the war into a more personal focus.

 

[Lincsong]

These are from my Grandma's photo album. The girl on the left is my Mom's cousin Diana, taken in Honolulu. The top is my Grandma's brother Julio and his friend. Then we have the USO shot, that was taken at Pearl Harbor, where my Grandma's sister Mary worked for USO, then we have a shot of the Ernie Pyle marker. Not sure which relative is in that picture.

 

[Widebrim]

^^Nice photos, Lincsong. What outfit was your great-uncle with?

 

[Lincsong]

I sorry to say that I don't know what outfit my Uncle Julio was part. [huh] Obviously this picture was taken in the Pacific, but he was shipped off to Europe. He died 12 years ago and now we're down to the last of 16 children and the 2nd to youngest, Uncle Pat, doesn't remember. Neither does my Dad and the three of them were several months apart in both directions, Dad being the middle in age. (My Dad and my Mom's Uncles were friends growing up.) After the War Julio stayed in the Army and was stationed in Germany until around 1953 then he was a Merchant Marine for another 10 years. Perhaps my cousin Doug knows.

I'll try to get a couple of the pictures of my Dad when he was stationed at Hamilton Air Base in Marin County in 1944 and post those pictures.

 

[savoy6]

these are some shots from some 35mm slides i have from around the time my wife's grandfather was in the USMC...during and just after WW2...i still have to finish scanning the rest of the ones that are still in good shape..
my wife's grandfather, E.P. Dean. He fought on the 'Canal, Bougainville, Tarawa,and Iwo Jima. I actually have found a short amount of footage of him,in the "Color of War" series, at Camp Tarawa in Hawaii teaching hand to hand to his platoon before they left for Iwo.

this is my wife's great uncle and aunt and their kids..probably a year or two after the war..

this is from one of the troopships that her grandfather was on on the way to uone of his landings...this seems to be a photo of either a lecture or briefing of some kind...

who this is i have no clue...neither does my wife...a family friend or something.he's obviously a naval aviator, given the wings and the "aviation greens" that he's wearing.....this is across the street from the Officer's Club at NAS Pensacola,(the building in the background).they would be in front of the McDonalds over by the seaplane ramps today....

this is my wifes mother and her sister playing in the front yard of their home at the end of the war...my wifes grandmother is in the background with a friend..

i'll put up more as they get scanned..

 

[Widebrim]

^^Good photos, savoy6; your wife's grandfather certainly went through a lot. Also good to see a Naval aviator in his dress greens...

 

[Mike in Seattle]

The back does say COLOR PRINTS Inc. 1711 No. Vermont Ave. Hollywood 27 Calif, and has a re-order number, but that's all. (I'm going to skip by Hollywood and see what business is located at that address these days.)

According to Google Maps & street view, it's now a post office, where Hollywood Boulevard becomes Prospect Ave, kittycorner from Barnsdale Art Park.

 

[Widebrim]

According to Google Maps & street view, it's now a post office, where Hollywood Boulevard becomes Prospect Ave, kittycorner from Barnsdale Art Park.

Thanks, Mike. Come to think of it, there is a small post office over there, with tinted windows...

 

[Widebrim]

This was issued as a post card, from where my father did his basic training.

 

[thecardigankid]

Above is my grandfather (center looking at the camera) on my dads side of the family, this is during one of his training jumps. He made all the jumps with HQ 2nd Battalion 505th PIR in the 82nd Airborne during WW2.

This dashing Navy Officer is my grandfather on my mothers side of the family. He went from enlisted Navy to Officer through the course of the war. He was at Pearl Harbor on the Oklahoma when the attack happened. After that he was transferred to the USS Hornet (CV-8) and was with her till she was sunk in October of 1942. He then was then sent back stateside and in late 1943 was accepted into Harvard's V-12 Program (and in the course of that was sent into the Atlantic for a cruise with a German U-boat hunter) when he graduated from the V-12 program he was sent to the new USS Hornet (CVS-12) and remained with her till the end of the war.

These next two photos are WW1 era photos but I still like them.

This is a relative of mine named Otis Weiser not sure who he served with

Otis is on the right in this boxing match.

 

[Widebrim]

^^All great photos! I really like WWI photos of Doughboys in uniform; such a contrast from WWII uniforms, generally speaking. (The same applies to women's dresses!)

 

[Marla]

My grandfather and his best friends during WWII. From left: Rodney Herndon, Lawson Laprelle, and Guy (my grandfather). All three survived the war.

The goodbye party from left: Lawson Laprelle and Jane (sister), Rodney Herndon and Rosemary (sister), and Guy (my grandfather) with Mary Faress.

 

[Widebrim]

^^Very nice, Marla, especially with three different uniforms seen. I'm glad that they all made it home safely.

 

[StraightEight]

-dixon cannon

And here they still are (or were, last June) just south of Eisenhutte at the intersection of the K14 and L233.

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

Here's a post of my Dad's pictures from the South Pacific during WW2. If you can't see them because the Militaria site doesn't allow outsiders anymore, I'll post them here.

Weatherman

http://www.militariacollecting.com/index.php?showtopic=45751&hl=Schroeder

 

[Widebrim]

Hi

Here's a post of my Dad's pictures from the South Pacific during WW2. If you can't see them because the Militaria site doesn't allow outsiders anymore, I'll post them here.

Weatherman

http://www.militariacollecting.com/index.php?showtopic=45751&hl=Schroeder

I couldn't access them Weatherman...

Here is another from my father's collection, Camp Croft, S.C., 1942. I think the 77 Inf. Div. was formed here, but I'd have to check. On the back, he wrote: "This is a picture of the parade we had two weeks ago. Our group is the third...the center. Notice how our legs are all the same. The one saluting near the band is Col. Mills. I hope you like it. Put it away."

 

[Dixon Cannon]

And here they still are (or were, last June) just south of Eisenhutte at the intersection of the K14 and L233.

StraightEight, thanks for that update. I am really surprised that that area remains so unchanged. That is amazing!

-dixon cannon

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

I'll post them when I get time. I should probably make some of them smaller.

Later