Returning Home From War
Although I have no letters written after the war, my great grandfather Victor did have a series of pictures that he evidently took as he returned from France to New York City that are in the back of his photo album. I just think they are neat to look at even if there is no words I can add to go with them.
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| I think that is the Statue of Liberty off in the distance |
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| Statue of Liberty a bit closer |
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| Welcoming committee |
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| Entering the harbor |
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| Getting closer to the end of the voyage |
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| The end in sight |
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| Almost there |
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| Home at last! |
It must have been a wonderful view and feeling.
ReplyDeleteWhen writing about my ancestral family, I normally try to put myself into their shoes to see how I might feel in a particular situation. But in this case, never having been in the military or even been away from my home for that long, I can't begin to imagine how my great grandfather felt. Judging by the number of pictures, probably four or five times as many as I posted on this blog post, he was happy to be back on this side of the ocean. To my knowledge, he never left the country again.
DeleteI love seeing these photos. I can imagine his emotions from these. And seeing the greeters, I never pictured that in my mind.
ReplyDeleteIt hadn't occurred to me either. The unshown pictures seem to indicate there might have been upwards of a half dozen boats of "greeters" upon his return but the one I shared was the closest picture of one.
DeleteI'm sure there was excitement at getting off the boat (rickety looking one, I'm seasick even looking at it) with some trepidation about what they were in store for back home. Huge changes, even when they're positive, can be stressful.
ReplyDeleteSince I recently discovered he knew my great grandmother before leaving and to the point, she spent time with his parents while he was overseas, I except she was on his mind as he returned and got married a few months later.
DeleteGreat old pictures! I am now going through photos and pictures from magazines, newspapers, etc that mean something to me and pasting them in a sketchbook that will be drawings, notes, collages, doodles, photos, magazine clippings etc. This is due to the passing of my 104 year old friend and teacher who would sketch or draw or create in a sketchbook every day and left over a 100 sketchbooks on her bookshelf. I have been given the honor of going through them to segregate them into archival for museum, auction off at an upcoming celebration, or disburse to family. Her sketchbooks are amazing, with each turn of each page.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a neat project! I have kept journals for over 25 years and do occasionally clip out newspaper articles or print pictures of my genealogy discoveries and paste them among the pages. Maybe someday one of my kids or further descendants might discover them.
DeleteThis is an excellent group of photos! They do speak for themselves.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't resist adding them to the newspaper story series. I thought they made a fine bookend to what would have felt like a incomplete story.
DeleteI have never tuned in to this time period, even though it's relatively close to us in terms of time, and even though it's a popular time period for drama and action entertainment. I reckon I will one of these days! Those photos do so much to create a sense of finishing a story, more so because they share a first-hand point of view.
ReplyDeleteI haven't either. I have read lots of stories on World War II and Vietnam but never the Great War.
DeleteWhat a homecoming that must have been:) I appreciate you sharing the old photos:)
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome.
DeleteWonderful photos. So often these old family photos get lost or destroyed with time. What an incredible voyage it must have been!
ReplyDeleteI’ve pondered how many cameras were taken to that war and pictures that existed in the years following. I’m guessing not many, which makes them even more special.
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