Then and Now: Lion-devant-Dun

February 5, 2016 by Randy
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                                                              Caption:  German troops pose outside the Chateau of Lion-devant-Dun, which served as a hospital at the time the then photo was taken circa 1916.  Lion-devant-Dun is just north of the Côte Saint-German and Murvaux, very close to Frank Luke, Jr.’s crash flight. Note that the path of the road in front of the Chateau Continue reading →

Then and Now: Stenay

January 18, 2016 by Randy
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    Caption:  “89th Division Infantry in Stenay Two Minutes Before the Armistice Took Effect.” Location:  The building is at the corner of Rue Pasteur and Place Eugène Martinot in the center of Stenay. Source of Then Photo:  American Armies and Battlefields in Europe, page 305. Source of Now Photo:  The Webmaster.

Then and Now: American Cemetery & Camp Romagne, Part 2

October 31, 2015 by Randy
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Following publication of American Cemetery & Camp Romagne, Meuse-Argonne.com Facebook Group member Therry Schwartz provided these additional photos and details regarding the construction of the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery.  Thanks very much Therry!     Here is the evolution of the cemetery at Romagne. It might be somewhat simplistic but only a full length book would do it the justice it deserves.  The first photo is a typical battlefield cemetery.  The men are buried where they fell.  In this Signal Corps photo members of the GRS are Continue reading →

Then and Now: American Cemetery and Camp Romagne

October 11, 2015 by Randy
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  Caption:  General view of the cemetery and camp Romagne Location:  Today’s Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne, France Source of Then Photo:  French post-war postcard   When the webmaster found this postcard he was immediately reminded of an excerpt from Richard Rubin’s “The Last of the Doughboys:  The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War.”  Richard tells the story of Corporal Howard Ramsey, who was assigned as a driver to the 302nd Water Tank Train.  After the war, his unit was involved in driving American bodies Continue reading →

Then and Now: Exermont

September 20, 2015 by Randy
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    Caption:  “A Man Who Goes Through Battle Does Not Get Over It.”  A moment after the preceding picture had been taken, the screech of a high explosive shell was heard and the men who had been loitering in the street of Exermont, which they had just captured, scrambled for cover. Location:  On the D142, right by the church. Source of Then Photo:  “Forward March!  Section 2.  The Photographic Record of American in the World War and the Post War Social upheaval.”  Disabled American Continue reading →

Then and Now: Sivry-sur-Meuse

September 13, 2015 by Randy
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    Caption:  The German postcard above shows the D964 in Sivry renamed Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße (Street), with the building on the right turned into a field hospital.  Today, that building is the Mairie (town hall); and it most likely was the town hall before the German occupation.   Location:  In the center of town on the D964, the main street running through town.   Source of Then Photo:  War-time German postcard in the webmaster’s collection.   Source of Now Photo:  Webmaster.

Then and Now: German Narrow Gauge Railroad Station at Varennes–Part of the Argonnenbahn

May 31, 2015 by Randy
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  Caption:  The German narrow gauge railroad station at Varennes-en-Argonne; part of the “Argonnenbahn.”  That is, the narrow gauge network that the Germans operated throughout the Argonne Forest and vicinity.   Location:  On the D38a northwest of Varennes-en-Argonne.  Note:  The reason for the numerous now pictures is to show that the remains are well hidden by brush.  It is the remains of Varennes in the circle that identifies the building.  The station is NOT the similar looking building in good condition several meters to the Continue reading →

Then and Now: Neuvilly-en-Argonne and the Salvation Army

January 1, 2015 by Randy
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        Caption:  Neuvilly-en-Argonne, Church where Salvation Army Lassies held a service and house that was used as a Salvation Army Canteen Location:  Church is on the D946 in the center of Neuvilly-en-Argonne; Canteen building is behind the church and across the street. Source of Then Photos:  “The War Romance of the Salvation Army” by Evangeline Booth and Grace Livingston Hill, 1919. Source of Now Photos:  The Webmaster Excerpts from “The War Romance of the Salvation Army,” pages 245-250: “The house that had been Continue reading →