WWII Black Americana ID'd Segregated Unit with Rifles 847th Aviation Engineers

Identified Albumen English Made Photograph of a Segregated African-American Unit Posing With Rifles. Rare subject matter; especially so to be identified and posing with rifles. Manuscript notation on verso reads, Taken July 30 - Somewhere in England. Company Headquarters, 847th Battalion - Av[iato]n Eng[ine]ers. The 847th was formed at McDill Field, Florida and staged at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. (1) Members of the unit were tasked with the building of new aerodromes under command of US Strategic Air Forces as the 8th Air Force battled its way into Europe.

Interestingly, the unit seems to have taken to choir and musical endeavors. Several issues is the NAACP publication, The Crisis note the activities of the choir while overseas.

The January 1950 issue notes that a scholarship was established by officers and men of the 847th Engineer Aviation Battalion as a memorial to Nelson W. Bryan, one of their members and a former musician who was killed(2). Subjects clear and defined, with good contrast. 1 and 1 1/2 splits at upper edge. Loss of upper right corner; does not compromise soldiers. African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC Clio, 2004.

Accessed online courtesy: This Crisis Publishing Co, Inc: 11/8/18. The item "WWII Black Americana ID'd Segregated Unit with Rifles 847th Aviation Engineers" is in sale since Wednesday, August 14, 2019. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Militaria\WW II (1939-45)\Original Period Items\United States\Photographs". The seller is "documentdave" and is located in Lawrence, Kansas.

This item can be shipped worldwide.

• Modified Item: No
• Country/Region of Manufacture: United States