Inside an LST on the way to France 9/44

Convoy of ships headed for France 9/44

French shore in the distance 9/9/44

Gulf of St. Tropez, Southern France 9/9/44

Liberty ship in the convoy to France 9/44

Landings in Southern France 9/9/44

Commander of the 7th Army Alexander Patch

Commander of the Engineers in Southern France Garrison Davidson

German commander in Southern France Friedrich Wiese

A city of tents

Cpl. Mel O'Barr

Tommy Ammons at the Medical tent

Russell Kent

Banjo Harris

Tommy Ammons and his truck "Texan"

Mel O'Barr at the CP

Milt O'Barr, Tommy Ammons, Mel O'Barr

Kavanagh, Hopkins and friends

Harry "Pete" Peterson, Bill "Little Man" Gentry, Sam "Hoppy" Hopkins, Woodrow Carter, and Waldo Scott in France 8 miles from Lyon, at Camp Val De Bonne. Sharing a little veno.

Tommy Ammons on Kent's motorcycle

Bridge train

Bathing in the field

Double pontons loaded

Generator

John J. O'Rourke from Brooklyn

Blair and O'Barr hard at work

Milt and Tommy at Dole, France

Milt and Tommy at the camp barber

Muddy living conditions

Bill Gentry with a muzzle loader found in a French farm house.

A "flying ferry" at the Rhone

Gar Davidson order

Storm boat operated by Bill Gentry

Sam Hopkins and Woodrow Carter near the Swiss border

Mel O'Barr at rest camp Lyon, France

Twins Milt and Mel O'Barr at Lyon, France

Tommy Ammons at Lyon

Mel wearing his steel pot at Lyon

Rhone bridge work

Bridging the Rhone River

Infantry Support raft on the Rhone

36th, 40th, and 540th Engineers trained on bridge construction 9/29,30/1944

Approach to the Rhone bridge 9/30/44

Training French Soldiers 10/9/44

25 ton Heavy Ponton bridge over the Rhone 10/9/44

25 ton ponton raft 9/44

Outboard motors power the rafts

More Crossing School training

69th and 78th Chemical Smoke Generator Companies train

Swift currents of the Rhone would claim 2 lives from the 85th

Officers of the 85th at Luneville 11/14/44

Arriving at Luneville at the Lorraine Dietrich plant

Joseph Catalano and Tommy Ammons at Luneville

Bridge depot at Luneville

Inside the Lorraine Dietrich plant at Luneville

Soldiers Medal ceremony 12/6/44

Recipients of the Soldiers Medal

Luneville

Henry Gregorio in Luneville

French girl and Gregorio in Luneville

Mel O'Barr at Luniville

Mel O'Barr at Luneville in rubber boots and M65 jacket

William Troglin, youngest member of the 85th at Luneville

Mel O'Barr at a French lumber mill

Milt O'Barr's license issued while at Luneville

Hauling lumber

Officers Hunt and Brand at the Meurthe River bridge 3/12/45

German officer from the captured photo album

German action photo from the captured album

German album photo

German soldiers in the captured album

The 85th in France
For best viewing click full screen above and play
Pause on any photo as desired
Or double click on a photo below to scroll through the album
The initial photos are a collection representing daily existence in France
Engineers are identified where possible
The remaining photos are locations and events in chronological order

Latest comments

23.10 | 01:21

Glad you enjoy the site. Your grandfather was a worthy commander.

15.10 | 21:32

LTC Perdue was my grandfather. I love reading about where he served and what he did during WWII. Thank you for your work on gathering all of this information.

22.09 | 01:45

I do know there are remnants of where the 85th crossed the Rhine at Worms, Germany.

22.09 | 01:43

Sounds like you have an interesting trip planned. I hope to trace the 85th’s path some day. I do not know if there are any remnants of where the 85th crossed