WWII Photos - Taken / Collected by Family Members

[MisterCairo]

Two more from the collection:

Sgt. Raleigh, Royal Fusiliers seconded to the RAF Levies, Iraq:

Lance Corporal Raleigh, Royal Fusiliers, on leave London, with his step aunt, mother, step father (WO Hearnden, RAF) and little brother George (who is now 75!):

 

[Widebrim]

^^^Great photos all. Especially like the slouch hat on SGT Raleigh.

 

[MisterCairo]

My father's uniforms were stolen from the ship he emigrated to Canada on in 1947. Amazingly, he had a service revolver in his luggage, and when the Mounties had to be called in as a weapon had been stolen, everyone thought he was being arrested as they escorted him about the ship during a search!

He always missed having his uniforms, though he did keep an amazing photo collection/

The slouch hat was standard issue to British soldiers and RAF personnel in the Levies. They were what we'd probably call "military advisors", training local troops to assist in the event of invasion. Iraq was still under British mandate at the time, that didn't end until the 1950s.

 

[superstarmegami05]

Figured I'd slip this in here since I love sharing old photos. XD
This is my paternal grandfather. He was in the US Army Air Force from 1943 to 1945 as a B-17 waist gunner. I actually don't know a lot about his time in the military except for one story that my Mom told me that he'd shared with her one time.

 

[Widebrim]

^^Wonderful photo, Athena.

 

[AmateisGal]

Question. Were servicemen allowed to bring cameras with them overseas?

 

[Taz-man]

They weren't supposed to but many of them did.

 

[AmateisGal]

They weren't supposed to but many of them did.

Ok, that's what I thought. Just wanted to make sure.

 

[Widebrim]

Question. Were servicemen allowed to bring cameras with them overseas?

When they took photographs, the latter had to be passed and stamped "Cleared in the field" on the back by the censors. I've got a few examples from my father.

 

[Terry292]

My Family, WWII



1st photo: My father and his brothers in WWII. Upper left: my uncle, HH. US Army, Europe and Iceland. Upper right: my dad. He was in the amphibious Navy, aboard LCT-970. Participated in the invasion of Pelileiu, one of the bloodiest battles of the war. His boat ferried equipment and supplies into the beach and evacuated wounded to the hospital and other capital ships off-shore. Lower left: my uncle, Reece. He was a driver attached to HQ, 5th Army in Italy. He evacuated Mussolini's daughter and family from northern Italy to Rome after Benito Mussolini and his mistress were executed by partisans. Lower right: my uncle, Wayne. Served in the 1st Marine Division at Pelileiu and Okinawa. He and my dad met up at Pelileiu. I'm pretty sure this photo of Wayne is printed backwards. His qualification badges should be on the other side.

2nd photo: my uncle, Gale, my mother's older brother (kneeling center) and his B-25 crew, 498th Bomber Squadron, 345th Bombardment Group, V Bomber Command, 5th AF. He died in action on 6 Apr 1945, off the coast of Swatow, China, during a 345th attack on Japanese warships.

3rd photo: members of the 498th Bomber Squadron on leave in Melbourne, AU, August 1944. These were some of my uncle's friends from the squadron.

 

[kampkatz]

Thanks for the photos Terry 292. Such mementos are priceless.

 

[Widebrim]

^^Yes, great WWII photos, Terry 292.

 

[Stearmen]

November 1941

This is a photo of my Dad in November 1941. He was working at one of the airplane factories, I believe, in San Diego. He was drafted in 1942, and served in the 9th Air Force as a crew chief.

 

[Widebrim]

^^He looks very young. Do you know what that insignia is on his coat?

 

[Old Rogue]

Hope you guys don't mind one slightly past the WWII era. This is from the Korean war era. My dad is in the center of the three guys sitting on the tailgate of the truck.

 

[Widebrim]

^^That's okay, Old Rogue. What's that in Woodard's hand, a hammer?

 

[Old Rogue]

^^That's okay, Old Rogue. What's that in Woodard's hand, a hammer?

Yes, I believe it is. I think most of these guys are actually from our home town. Listening to my dad talk about his time in the Army (he's 80 and still fairly spry), it sounds like it was a fairly common practice to place draftees from the same area all in one unit. I can't remember exactly where he told me this picture was taken, but most of his time in the Army was spent at Ft. Campbell, KY and in Germany (not sure where). Even though he was in during the Korean conflict his unit never actually went to Korea.

 

[Stearmen]

^^He looks very young. Do you know what that insignia is on his coat?

He was 18, just out of high school. The insignia looks like an L, but Lockheed was in Burbanks. Consolidated was down there, not sure who else was producing aircraft there. My dads time in the aircraft business may have saved his life, most of his friends in Iowa went to North Africa, and quite a few never made it back!

 

[fl&wvmike]

For a while, I was buying original WWII photos at Gun Shows, etc. I have sets from the liberation of Concentration Camps, a set from a photographer in the Philipenes, a lot of German photos and a lot of misc. I have some Official photos of the dead bodies of the Nazi criminals, still with the rope around their necks.
FL&WVMIKE

 

[Widebrim]

For a while, I was buying original WWII photos at Gun Shows, etc. I have sets from the liberation of Concentration Camps, a set from a photographer in the Philipenes, a lot of German photos and a lot of misc. I have some Official photos of the dead bodies of the Nazi criminals, still with the rope around their necks.
FL&WVMIKE

The liberation photos must be incredible.