Photograph of World War II soldiers from Company D, 8th Battalion, Ft. Belvoir
date: label: Date
content: February 1943
name: label: Photograph by
content: Schutz Photo, American, founded 1918
label: Subject of
content: Alphonso C. Coles Jr., American, 1920 - 2019
label: Subject of
content: 8th Engineer Battalion, American, founded 1916
notes: label: Description
content: This black and white panoramic photograph of World War II soldiers from Company D, 8th Battalion, Ft. Belvoir depicts the training class of 1943. The class photograph takes up the top half of the photograph and is made up of a posed group of soldiers in uniform standing and sitting on bleachers five deep. The front row holds a flag with a dark background and light colored letters that read [RTC / 8D]. Between the RTC and the 8D is a castle. The flag is mounted on a pole which is held horizontally by soldiers in the front row. The bottom half of the photograph is divided into seven sections; six smaller inset images and an empty space with the company name and engineering insignia [CO. D, 8th BATTALION / Engineer Replacement Training Center / Fort Belvoir, VA. February 1943]. The furthest right image shows a line of troops. The second right image depicts a group of troops in front of a cluster of buildings. The third right image shown another grouping of soldiers posed three deep. The three left hand images show clusters of soldiers in different groupings. There is a handwritten inscription at bottom center with the company motto: [Motto / Always Finish / If a task is once begun / Never leave it till its done. / be the labor great or small, / Do it well or not at all.].
label: Description
content: The lyrics to four songs are handwritten in blue ink across the back of the photograph.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Fort Belvoir, Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Men
label: Topic
content: Military
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: World War II
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Alphonso C. Coles, II
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2014.253.4
objectType: label: Type
content: panoramas
label: Type
content: portraits
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public Domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink and photographic gelatin
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 10 x 34 in. (25.4 x 86.4 cm)