I thought I would ask here, since some are pretty knowledgable concerning units and equipment type. Someone posted this on a family photo site, and I was trying to find out something about these men.
There are some unusual things about these men.
They all see to have their mess kits hanging from their belts.
Some appear to have paratrooper style chin straps.
Some appear to have leggings.
It appears that they don’t have WWII paratrooper uniforms, but perhaps jumpsuits?
Several have what appears to be white tape name tags or branch of service.
I haven’t seen any units insignia, so any guess as to who they are (Rangers, pathfinders, etc.) will be appreciated.
Well… no unit insignia of any sort to be seen. A few guys have the white name tape on their shirts over the chest pockets. No airborne chin straps, a few guys are wearing their standard chin strap between their chin and lower lip, that’s something of a look From that era. Most have shoes and standard leggings, but one, front row seated second from left has just the shoes, no jump boots. All look to be wearing the two piece HBT fatigues and most also have a gas mask bag and some have their mess kit.
So unless they are from a glider unit, they’re not airborne- definitely not qualified paratroopers. They’re not Rangers, as Rangers used to cut down their leggings to a shorter height. Is there any info,as to where and when the photo was taken?
No. The Marine Utility shirt had a single chest pocket with the EGA emblem stencil. Any names are stenciled on the back across the shoulder blades. No white name tapes.
No info. It was found among some family photos (not mine). Interesting thing about the chinstraps. I draw your attention to the inverted star on the building behind them.
As far as the chin strap wear style goes, it’s something of a parade ground type look. Here’s some GIs in Germany in the early 60’s. See how a few have their helmet chin straps worn in the same manner.
It may be me, but I don’t see a star in the photo.
I was thinking… it is possible that those guys were wearing whatever helmets and gear they happened to be issued, supply was notorius for having a collection of things that were left over freom someone or somewhere and you just made do. We had the same thing with our equipment, some variations, and in some cases we didn’t have certain things and ended up buying them from the locals. Some ended up with equipment lweft over from WWII or Korea.
The star is just the the right of the head of the rear last row soldier in the photo. As for anything else, who knows. It’s not one of the formal posed photos such as those taken with a unit guidon. It’s more like an impromptu group photo.
The star might be on a flag on the wall. The location seems to be a dirty building, but one interesting thing is that the photo doesn’t seem impromptu; no weapons in sight.
The gas mask cases and mess kits are the odd thing. The earliest parts of basic are done without weapons. Basic drill and ceremony marching, and other such things.
The soldiers without leggings look a tad bit older/more experienced and theoretically could be training cadre. Just a SWAG but maybe it’s before gas house training.
But the mess kits worn in that manner are truly an oddity. The old Haversack had a pouch specifically for the mess kit. When the Musette Bag and Field Packs came along, the mess kit was usually carried in those.
The guy second from the left in thje back row looks like he’s a black man. If so, this puts the photo 1948 or later since units were not integrated before then.
Maybe, but then again he could be of Italian or Latin descent as well. The leggings & shoes, as opposed to combat boots, put the photo as 1945 or earlier. The M1 steel pots came along in 1942, so that narrows it down to 1942-1945. But with millions serving in the US Army during that time span, that really isn’t overly helpful.
No weapons to be seen, no cartridge belts or field packs, or other typical combat arms troops equipment such as suspenders, bayonets, entrenching tools, etc. . Only helmets, leggings, pistol belts, mess kits, and gas mask carriers.
Thats one reason I wonder if its a training photo. The military never throws anything away. For training they would dip into whatever old stock they had in storage so that the new stuff could go to fighting units.
When I was processed into the Air Force during UPT in 1983, my flight boots were from 1963. During survival school were were issued K ration manufactured in the mid-late '40s. The meat can was removed as it had LONG since expired. The None meat food was “inspected” by a flight surgeon and deemed “edible”.
They don’t throw old stuff away, but they do sell it. But yes, certain combat units get the newest stuff first. Others don’t exchange their old for new until much later on, even after the new equipment has been introduced into training units. But yes, I agree that it is a photo taken in a basic or advanced training type situation. And most likely from a support unit rather than a combat arms unit. The lack of even magazine pouches for a pistol or carbine on the few visible pistol belts indicates that these guys have nothing to do with individual weapons aside from mandatory time at the range.
Just an update on the photo. They are Army Air Force taken in early 1943. The person in question joined up at Fort McClellan, Alabama. Where he took his basic training is unknown.
