Daily History Picture: Liberation German Prison June 29, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Historical Pictures , trackback
Hamelburg Prison, American Marines
Louis K writes in late June: After reading your caption for the picture, I was mistified. According to my knowledge there was no (major) US Marines presence in the ETO (European Theater of Operations). And looking on the internet more or less confirmed that:
So I wonder where the caption came from, and who wrote it….
However, as there was a US Navy presence in the ETO , they might be from one of those…. I’m not knowledgeable enough, and the picture is not big enough, to see any differences in equipment that could point to Marines instead of GIs.
Ralph writes, 31 Jul 2017: There was no Marine ground combat presence in the ETO and they are not Navy as someone suggested. The uniforms are army M-1943 clothing ensemble and the boots are the M-1943 with the high top cuff that did away with leggings. I’ve never seen any indication that these were issued to USMC. Also, though it is hard to see, the soldier to the far right (nearest the center of the gate) has rank insignia on his sleeve: Army Private First Class. R.J.B.
Nathaniel, 31 Jul 2017: According to this site, the picture is a colorized version of an earlier photo. Rather than depicting U.S. Marines, it shows members of the U.S. Army 14th Armored Division. Per Wikipedia, that was the unit responsible for liberating Stalag XIII-C, the POW camp at Hammelburg, Germany.
