One more picture before the day is over. These American soldiers, arriving in France, probably in 1917, in their chapeaux de Cowboy, look young, tough and generally badass. All of them are gone now — gone but not forgotten. Thank you, gentlemen. God bless America.
(Click through to get the large version of the picture. You can see their faces and equipment much better.)
Wonderful photo. Damn they do look badass.
Those are campaign Hats. A tad Western. Real Western would be a Stetson – Still authorized for wear today by Cavalry. Which is not a Branch but various units, also described as a State of Mind; often by those who consider Cav to be eccentric.
They also had different tactics – fighting Indian Style in small groups rushing from cover to cover – which we were taught availed them better against trenches with machine guns.
My aunt’s second husband was a WWI vet. Uncle John never talked about the war, and I was too young to realize that he was a vet unti I was one myself, and by that time he had alzheimers. He took me to my 1st professional baseball game .. Comiskey Park I think.
Here’s to you, Uncle John Jagdfeld.
tom
With a last name like that, you’d think his fellow soldiers would have razzed him a lot.