Photos, videos and docs of Robert Swanson, with the keywords: "army"

Studio Portrait of WW I Soldier with Rifle (Columbus Barracks)

nobody@ipernity.com (Robert Swanson) — Sun, 08 Jan 2023 17:43:43 +0000

Part of my WW I collection, this is a great studio portrait of a soldier. The photo is marked on the back as "Columbus Barracks". That facility was a recruit center in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

He is posing with his rifle (and bayonet), just one of the interesting photo variants that interest me.

Image scanned from original photo, and processed with GIMP.

Spruce Soldiers on Logging Truck, 1918

nobody@ipernity.com (Robert Swanson) — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 14:58:21 +0000

Robert Swanson has posted:

Purchased real-photo picture postcard of some Spruce Soldiers on a logging truck. The huge log being carried is a spruce tree. The wood was used to make airplane wings and parts in 1918 during the First World War.

Note the license place indicates "Signal Corps", the Army department that oversaw airplanes.

Some of the men appear to be civilians, but it turns out that the soldiers often wore logging work clothes, rather than military uniforms.

The spruce stands were very isolated, and part of the Army men's job was to build the roads needed to access the tree stands. This is probably one of their roads. Other soldiers built railroads to gain access to the stands of trees.

See:

swansongrp.com/spruce

Spruce Soldiers and Horses

nobody@ipernity.com (Robert Swanson) — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 22:51:36 +0000

Robert Swanson has posted:

Soldiers in camp with their horses.

One fellow appears to be smoking a cigar.

Taken in or near Raymond, Washington, in 1918.

This is an area of First World War history that is not well-known. There were soldiers working in the Pacific Northwest, helping get the spruce logged and processed to make airplanes, primarily in 1918.

www.swansongrp.com/spruce.html

Image generously lent by a collector and processed with GIMP.