Intro -- Greetings and admiration.

Discussion in 'User Introductions' started by Heydon, Aug 24, 2016.

  1. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Member

    Frank, just had a look at the pictures on your website. A great mix of period pieces and current views. A nice way to spend some time.
     
  2. Heydon

    Heydon Member

    Charley,

    Those 4 photos are pretty sharp. Those must have been taken with a military camera (i.e., a camera with a good lens) considering that the prints are 3.75" x 4.75". Then, I scanned those prints, and the scan still presents such detail.

    I have more cassino photos. They're mixed in with a lot of other photos so I'll have to locate and isolate them. In war photos alone, I have hundreds and hundreds. They are a mix of sizes, origin, and quality of prints. Some are the smaller prints taken with a personal camera. My father didn't have a camera but was able to borrow one in some cases. Getting film was also very difficult since the military had priority on film. In one letter home, Dad mentioned the enclosed photos were taken with film they had gotten from a German post they'd overrun. The expiration date on that film was well past, but the photos came out fine anyway.

    My photos are of all different sizes. Some are just 35mm contact prints; those are on a page which he titled "35mm at its worst." From that size, others are incrementally larger to a max of 8.5"x11". Aside from the personal shots, most are official photos from the American and British armies. There are a lot of aerial photos since my father worked in that branch of intelligence. Further, my father said, "The [U.S.] army photographer was a friend of mine and often gave me a copy of photos." Those were of people--military and world leaders who visited the area.

    One of the photos is of Indian soldiers (Sikhs) being visited by the Maharajah. I'll have to find that one for you.

    Do you know what size limitations there are for attachments sent to this site? When I tried to send those 4 photos of Cassino, I received an error message about the size.

    Heydon
     
  3. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    I hope that these pictures are stored in a fire-proof subterranean vault - you've thoroughly whet my appetite.

    Since the message board upgrade the individual file-size limit is comparatively modest: 1 or 2mb, I think, which probably accounts for your error message.

    I tend to upload all of the pictures I wish to post to an picture-storage site (I use photobucket, but there are others) and then post links from there to here. If you're tech-savy you'll figure it out in a couple of minutes; if not, I could easily sort it out for you.

    Thanks for all you've contributed so far.
     
  4. ritsonvaljos

    ritsonvaljos Senior Member

    Welcome to the forum, Heydon and congratulations on the excellent 'pdf' article you posted. It is very interesting.
     
  5. Heydon

    Heydon Member

    Yes, I probably should have them in a vault somewhere. Thanks for the offer of aid in online picture storage. I plan to do that at some point. Not only the photos but all of the documents and periodicals at the time the WWII events occurred (e.g., the London newspapers as well as the Stars and Stripes). But for now, I have to return my principal focus to the writing. I've been off it for six weeks now as I take a break from the death and destruction en masse. I'm still involved with the topic and areas daily, whether reviewing materials or searching more online, but not so concentrated as in the process of writing. I'm about 80% done on my draft, and that takes me to the first major battle at Cassino. Sometimes I get a feeling of being on the fringe of the chaos at Cassino though certainly not in the combat and daily suffering that so many soldiers went through. I imagine you and the others here feel that as well. When you study something so long, especially a time and place as intense as these battlefields, it just becomes a part of one, takes on the spark of life.

    I'm attaching a couple of items which I believe you'll enjoy. I think the other members would as well. They could be moved to a different section of the site if you feel that's better. One item is a "full-size" postcard I made for my niece, using a scan of this Cassino photo as background and relevant info on the card itself. I used the caption my father wrote at the time. The second attachment is a scan I found of the Indian soldiers which I mentioned earlier. There is identifying info on the back of the photo so I'll have to find that and forward that to you. I don't believe the Indian photo is from Cassino. Speaking of how fragile these photos can be, I've noticed that info on the back of these official photos is written/stamped in that old purple mimeograph which we had on some printed matter in elementary school in the 1950s. It is a disappearing ink so I have to get that info copied and saved.

    Heydon

    Looks like I can only add one attachment so I'll put the other scan in a second note.
     

    Attached Files:

    minden1759 and Charley Fortnum like this.
  6. Heydon

    Heydon Member

     

    Attached Files:

    Owen likes this.
  7. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  8. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    Lou.

    Yes, I am a big of a Cassino, Anzio and Salerno addict with Rimini a close fourth.

    As Heydon describes, it just takes over.

    Regards

    Frank
     
  9. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Member

    Do you have anything further on the 900th? Evidently, the unit he was in at the invasion of Salerno was relatively short-lived. I'm coming up empty trying to get information. He identified most with the 473rd, although I've come across reunion material that also mentions the 505th CA. Any material you can supply would be greatly appreciated.
     
  10. Heydon

    Heydon Member

    Thanks, ritsonvaljos.
     
  11. Heydon

    Heydon Member


    Good ID, Owen. I see a couple of those unit patches in the photo.

    After I submitted the Indian scan to the site yesterday, I looked for the original photo to get the ID info on the back. I found it, and it reads:

    "The Maharaja of Patiala on a visit in the Vicchio area, Italy, reviews 8th Army Indian troops. 12 Oct. 44.”

    The 8.5x11 photo is one of the U.S. Army official photographs, and they skimped with details on this. I believe it would read more fully as "8th Indian Infantry Division of the British Eighth Army." Date and location are relevant in positioning the unit then. That is, Vicchio is about 15 miles northeast of Florence so that would make it part of the Gothic Line fight. The date of 12 Oct. 44 would make that during the battle of Livergnano or thereabouts.

    Heydon
     

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