Monday, February 13, 2017
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Military Monday: Lowell’s Army Buddies (Part 5): Trading Addresses
I have saved the
best for last! In this short series presenting my great-Uncle
Lowell’s small collection of pictures from his time in the Army, we
have finally reached the pile of marked photographs. This
sub-collection appears to be Lowell’s buddies, many of them giving
their postal address. I presume that they were exchanged towards the
end of their basic training (or perhaps their tours of duty), as a
way to keep in touch in the future.
Lowell had enlisted
on 10 Nov 1943, started service on 1 Dec 1943, and was released from
service on 18 Apr 1946. For at least part of that time, he served
with the Military Police.
If you find a photograph of your own loved one on this page, you may want to check out the first, second, third, and fourth posts in this series. There may be another, unmarked, photo among those pictures. And if you are able to identify any of those people, please let me know. I would love to find out!
This is one of the
few pictures with names and addresses on it that is set in front of a
building with slatted siding. I love that it shows the men playing
dice and drinking beer. The names are Albert Matkovich, with the
address 1271 E 170 St, Cleveland, Ohio, and B. L. (or B. F.?)
Simpson, with the address P.O. 62, Bells, Tenn.
Albert Matkovich
must have really wanted to keep in touch, because there are two more
signed pictures of him in Lowell’s collection.
This picture, also
signed by Albert Matkovich, appears to have been taken in the same
general area. Some of the buildings in the background have the same
type of siding as the building in the picture above, and several
wooden walkways are visible which are similar to the walkway shown in
the picture above. This time Albert Matkovich is shown hard at work
shoveling. His address is still 1271 E 170 St, Cleveland, Ohio.
Here is Albert
Matkovich yet again, with the same address of 1271 E 170 St,
Cleveland, Ohio. It is set in front of some sort of long building
with windows its entire length, perhaps a barracks? The building
number is “I 94 H,” and if you look carefully you will see that
every photograph posted below (with the possible exception of one)
was taken in front of the same building, as was the picture of Lowell
at the top of this post.
In this picture of
Pvt Desmond Call you can see a gas mask hanging from the shutter of
the window. His address is Soda Springs, Idaho. These were the days
of general delivery, in which one could address a letter with only a
name and city and the letter would still be delivered. I have found a
several cards or letters among my grandparents’ papers which are
addressed so simply.
In this photograph
of Ed Whitten, he does not rely on general delivery, but gives his
full address of 48 Rockvale Circle, Jamaica Plain, Mass. He also
parenthetically explains that he lives in the Boston area. In the
picture, he is showing his rifle.
This photograph is
the one possible exception to the series of photos in front of
building “I 94 H.” It is the only one in which the address is not
visible, and the only one in which the window shutters are closed. It
does, however, appear to be the same building. The man in the picture
is identified as Rocco Robertson of Providence, Rhode Island. On the
back the street address “87 Harold St” is added.
This photograph of
S. J. Marquis is once again taken in front of building “I 94 H,”
but in examining the address it becomes apparent that the image has
been reversed! He gives his address as 637 Prindle St., Chehalis,
Washington. With the relatively short distance of this address from
Lowell’s own in Portland, Oregon, I wonder if they ever got
together again after the war.
This last photo in
front of building “I 94 H,” also showing that gas mask dangling
from the window shutter, is of Wynn Tingey of Tremonton, Utah.
Sources:
National
Archives and Records Administration, "U.S. World War II Army
Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, Ancestry
(www.ancestry.com
: accessed 24 Aug 2015), entry for Lowell A Brosius; citing
Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946 [Archival
Database]; ARC: 1263923. World War II Army Enlistment Records;
Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record
Group 64; National Archives at College Park. College Park, Maryland,
U.S.A.
National
Cemetery Administration, "U.S. Veterans Gravesites,
ca.1775-2006," database, Ancestry
(www.ancestry.com
: accessed 25 Aug 2015), entry for Lowell Brosius, Willamette
National Cemetery; citing National Cemetery Administration.
Nationwide
Gravesite Locator.
U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs, "U.S., Department of Veterans
Affairs BIRLS [Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem]
Death File, 1850-2010," database, Ancestry
(www.ancestry.com
: accessed 25 Aug 2015), entry for Lowell Brosius; citing Beneficiary
Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File.
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Military Monday: Lowell’s Army Buddies (Part 4): In the Field
This may be a
picture of the army camp from a distance, or this may be a picture of
the European countryside.
|
Parts one,
two,
and three
of this short series have already been posted. In this series, I have
been posting my great-uncle Lowell’s small collection of
photographs from his time in the U.S. Army. He had enlisted on 10 Nov
1943, started service on 1 Dec 1943, and was released from service on
18 Apr 1946. For at least part of that time, he served with the
Military Police.
This time, I will
post pictures that appear to have been taken in that vague “somewhere
in Europe” during the war. None of them are marked with names or
locations, and, although I can recognize Lowell himself when he
appears, I have no knowledge of the other people who might show up.
Because of other (marked) photos in the collection, I can make a
guess on a couple of them, though.
In this photo,
Lowell is on the left. The cannon they are posing by appears to be
similar or the same as the one that shows up in the first post
with Lowell and Melvin Chrisman. In fact, I believe that I should
have placed this photo with those other two, despite this cannon
being set up and the other one still on the truck. The man on the
right certainly resembles the man identified as Melvin Chrisman in
the other picture, and the pictures could easily have been taken the
same day.
Once again, Lowell
is on the left in this photograph. I am inclined to think that this
picture was also taken the same day and that the man on the right is
again Melvin Chrisman.
Lowell is again on
the left, but this time I am not convinced that the man on the right
is Melvin Chrisman or that this photo was taken the same day as the
other two. It appears to have been taken somewhere in a city, whereas
the other pictures look more rural, and the men are wearing different
uniforms. The man on the right is armed and also seems to be carrying
a canteen and some other unidentified objects.
This picture has me
completely at a loss. It appears to have been taken in a city
somewhere, and the two men in the picture are unidentified. I could
find no one in the marked pictures who in my opinion resembled either
of these men. I notice that they are standing under a “one way”
sign, which is made out of cardboard and apparently tacked on to the
brickwork.
Sources:
National
Archives and Records Administration, "U.S. World War II Army
Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, Ancestry
(www.ancestry.com
: accessed 24 Aug 2015), entry for Lowell A Brosius; citing
Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946 [Archival
Database]; ARC: 1263923. World War II Army Enlistment Records;
Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record
Group 64; National Archives at College Park. College Park, Maryland,
U.S.A.
National
Cemetery Administration, "U.S. Veterans Gravesites,
ca.1775-2006," database, Ancestry
(www.ancestry.com
: accessed 25 Aug 2015), entry for Lowell Brosius, Willamette
National Cemetery; citing National Cemetery Administration.
Nationwide
Gravesite Locator.
U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs, "U.S., Department of Veterans
Affairs BIRLS [Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem]
Death File, 1850-2010," database, Ancestry
(www.ancestry.com
: accessed 25 Aug 2015), entry for Lowell Brosius; citing
Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death
File. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Military Monday: Lowell’s Army Buddies (Part 3): Around Camp
As I have already
written in the first
and second
installments of this short series on my great-Uncle Lowell’s army
photos, Lowell Brosius enlisted on 10 Nov 1943, started service on 1
Dec 1943, and was released from service 18 Apr 1946. He served with
the Military Police for at least a portion of that time.
This time around I
am posting some pictures that appear to have been taken around camp.
Whether it is basic training camp, a camp where he served somewhere
in Europe, some combination of both, or something else, I have no
idea. Perhaps research will eventually answer some of those
questions.
I can generally
recognize Lowell when he appears in a photo, but most if not all of
the pictures this week are unmarked, and I do not know who the other
people are. Once again, I will do my best to guess at identities
based upon the few marked pictures in Lowell’s collection, but
many in this group of pictures are particularly poorly focused and I
don’t foresee my success rate as being very good this week.
In this picture, for
instance, I wouldn’t dare try to guess the identities of the men. I
imagine that if I had been there and known them personally the
figures in this photograph would be sufficient for identification,
but that is not the case. The buildings are reasonably clear, though,
and it is interesting to imagine what life was like in those
wooden-skeletoned tents.
The only identified
person in any of Lowell’s pictures who remotely resembles this man
is Wynn Tingey, but I am not convinced that this is he. Whoever he
is, note that he is displaying something in his hands. I think it may
be a pistol, but it was evidently moved during the shutter exposure.
I also enjoy the fact that he is photographed against a background of
clean laundry.
Here are two more
men against the same background of clean laundry. Note that the man
on the left is holding a pistol. I could not find anyone in Lowell’s
marked pictures who resembled either of these men enough to merit
hazarding a guess at their identities.
I rather like this
one. It is set against the same backdrop of clean laundry, but in
this picture the subject is also photographing the photographer. I
think the man may be the same one who was holding the pistol above,
but that picture is too blurry to make a very good comparison.
There certainly
seems to have been a lot of posing going on in front of that clean
laundry that day. I would say that the man pictured on the left is
the same one who was aiming a camera at the photographer in the
picture just above, and the man on the right is the same one who I
thought somewhat resembled Wynn Tingey.
I would guess that
this photo was taken within seconds of the one above. The man on the
left is almost certainly the same man in the photograph above (as
well as the photograph above that), but the man on the right appears
to be a different person than in the picture above. I would guess him
to be Melvin Chrisman, although he also somewhat resembles Albert
Matkovich and S. J. Marquis.
Whew! It is
exhausting examining every face and comparing it to every face in
every other photograph. I think that at this point I am ready to turn
down the level of ambition just a bit. We appear to remain in the
laundry day photo session, but only for a short time longer.
And now we shall
move toward a different area of the camp (if, indeed, it is the same
camp), away from the living area toward what appears to be (judging
from my experiences watching old movies—I claim absolutely no
firsthand knowledge of army camps) the motor pool.
This is perhaps one
of my favorite pictures in this series, and not only because there is
a puppy in it. It is also one of my favorites because you can see
Lowell’s reaction to the puppy. He was a dog-lover, too, and you
can see it in his face. In case you haven’t figured it out yet,
Lowell is the man on the right. While the other man is posing for the
picture and trying to show the puppy to the camera, Lowell’s focus
is on the puppy.
Here is one last
picture, which appears to have been taken in the same general area:
Sources:
National
Archives and Records Administration, "U.S. World War II Army
Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, Ancestry
(www.ancestry.com
: accessed 24 Aug 2015), entry for Lowell A Brosius; citing
Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946 [Archival
Database]; ARC: 1263923. World War II Army Enlistment Records;
Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record
Group 64; National Archives at College Park. College Park, Maryland,
U.S.A.
National
Cemetery Administration, "U.S. Veterans Gravesites,
ca.1775-2006," database, Ancestry
(www.ancestry.com
: accessed 25 Aug 2015), entry for Lowell Brosius, Willamette
National Cemetery; citing National Cemetery Administration.
Nationwide
Gravesite Locator.
U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs, "U.S., Department of Veterans
Affairs BIRLS [Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem]
Death File, 1850-2010," database, Ancestry
(www.ancestry.com
: accessed 25 Aug 2015), entry for Lowell Brosius; citing
Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death
File. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
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