Nice collection! I don't know nearly enough about these rifles. My grandpa, pictured 1st row, squatting, to the right, holding the rifle, used one of those types. The Corporal was wearing his issued 1911. Can anyone tell what the rifles are by these old blurry pictures? This was taken in France, 1918. I miss him.
William Harvey Taylor
1895-1971
"The Rolling W"-A.E.F.--3rd Army--89th Division--342nd Field Artillery--Battery B--155mm Howitzers.
WW1-1917-1918
The WW1 Memorial and Museum in Kansas City has been a plethora of information on grandpa's Division and actual combat unit. I live close enough that I was able to take my Mother to the Memorial and spend days looking though the museum and their information center before she passed in 2018. It meant a lot to her. She grew up with her father, not really knowing the extent of what he witnessed and experienced. It was a learning experience for me, as well.
I still have his helmet w/painted-on unit insignia, barracks cap, uniform patches and awards, his personal effects, books about his division history, etc. So much history. Some day I need to pass on a quote from that book that was so true then and still true today. It talked about their time as The Army Of Occupation after the Armistice. They were tasked to clear areas of troublemakers and pick up all the firearms. The author spoke of the German people in general being so cooperative in the relinquishing of their personal firearms that they were "to the point of subservience". I looked that word up in Websters. "willingness to obey others unquestioningly." The author was not saying it as compliment, more as an astonishment at how people can be controlled. And they wonder how Hitler was able to do what he did? This was 1920-1921.
Sorry,
larm, I didn't mean to hijack your thread.
firstchoice
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