Someone sent me this photo recently and, although it's a little late for Veterans Day, I thought it was a fascinating bit of American photographic "art" so I want to share it with you.
If you look closely, you'll see 18,000 officers and soldiers on the parade grounds at Camp Dodge (Iowa) in July 1918 posed as Lady Liberty. The intended purpose was to help promote the sale of war bonds but a 1986 story in the Fort Dodge Messenger reports that the photo was actually never used. The news story also reports that many of the soldiers, dressed in wool uniforms, fainted as the temperatures soared to 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
Apparently the photographers responsible for this photograph also traveled to other American military installations and produced a number of similar patriotic images. Here's a sampling I've found:
10,000 men at the U.S. Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, Illinois
25,000 officers and men at Camp Dix, New Jersey
6 comments:
Interesting photos. I've never seen nor heard of these before.
Wow. Those are amazing photos...not the fainting part though.
Joan,
It's never to late to pay tribute to our veterans and these photos are awesome. Too bad the photo was never used to promote the sale of war bonds. I think it would have worked beautifully.
Thanks so much for sharing. I really enjoyed my visit today.
Blessings,
Mary
I've seen some of those before and they're awesome. Too bad that some of "our boys" had to suffer for this art.
I wonder where I might get a copy of one of those for DH?
I just got an email the other day with these photos in them and they are quite amazing. And like Mary said, it's never too late to pay tribute to our veterans!
I've never seen these photos. My grandpa took his basic training at Great Lakes, but if these photos are all the same vintage, it would have been a few years before he was there.
xo
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