F Company, 342nd Infantry Regiment
86th Infantry "Blackhawk" Division
Europe & USA 1945
(Featuring 156 slides from Pfc. Robert E. Young's Album)

About These Photographs

(Revisions: 6 May 2018; 5 February 2023)

This photo presentation chronicles the travels of F Company, 342nd Infantry Regiment, 86th Infantry Division from approximately 18 April 1945 to 8 August 1945. The photos begin with a few images of the Bavarian Campaign and includes the march toward and Occupation of Austria. This is followed by the train journey out of Germany and back into France, and time at Camp Old Gold on the Normandy coast. There is a short sequence depicting the Regiment's trip across the Atlantic and return to New York Harbor, and then concludes with the train journey from Camp Gruber, Oklahoma to Camp Stoneman, California where the 86th would eventually be sent for duty in the Philippines. Notably, the 86th Infantry Division was one of the few units to earn campaign ribbons in both the European Theater of Operations and the Pacific Theater of Operations.

This particular group of photos came from the album of Private First Class Robert E. Young who is identified in slides 145, 146 and 154. On 14 November 2018, I was contacted by Robert T. Holmes who upon viewing this presentation online identified himself in slides 146 and 154. Mr. Holmes most kindly provided additional information on times, places, and some background on himself and Mr. Young whom he knew. Both men were living in California when they enlisted in 1943. Mr. Young was from the San Diego area and Mr. Holmes from the Long Beach area. According to Mr. Holmes, both he and Mr. Young were recruited into the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) and were sent to Fort Benning, Georgia to the Infantry Headquarters and Officer Candidate School (OCS). After finishing basic training, the ASTP program was suddenly cancelled and both men were transferred to the 86th Division at Camp Livingston, Louisiana. At the time of their transfer, the 86th was a training division that sent replacements to active divisions. By January 1945, Mr. Young and Mr. Holmes completed several training exercises with the division including amphibious training on the West Coast when orders came sending the Division to Europe. Both Mr. Young and Mr. Holmes saw action with F Company, 342nd Infantry Regiment, 86th Division in Europe earning the Combat Infantryman Badge. Upon returning to the US, the men participated in the unit parade down 5th Avenue in New York after which they were granted a one month leave. The unit reformed at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma for retaining and refitting before departing for Camp Stoneman, California and the eventual journey to the Philippines. It was during the trip from Camp Gruber to Camp Stoneman that the train made a scheduled stop at Coffeyville, Kansas for fuel and water and Mr. Young and Mr. Holmes were photographed together. After returning from the Philippines, both men were honorably discharged at Camp Beale, California.

In researching this presentation, many of the photos in Mr. Young's album were found elsewhere on the internet. However, there is usually never more than a couple of these photos appearing in any one place and though they are typically associated with the 86th Division, they are sometimes misidentified as to time and location. The largest group located consisted of 40 images and were attributed to a Lieutenant Milo Williams who was believed to have commanded Second Platoon, F Company, 342nd IR. For the most part, these 40 images appeared to be correctly identified as to time and place and were therefore used to help organize this presentation. In corresponding with Mr. Robert T. Holmes, who appears in slides 146 and 154, it was mentioned that both he and Mr. Young had cameras and that photos were traded among the men of the unit throughout their service. This would help explain the diverse topics covered by the images and the number of photos in the album that were evidently shot with a different camera. It also helps explain why some of these photos are attributed to other people and appear in collections elsewhere.

It was a real challenge trying to organize the photographs for this presentation in the correct chronological order. As found in Mr. Young's album, the photos were arranged in a haphazard manner and very few were marked with dates or locations. At first, a simple attempt was made to organize them based on a comparison of subject matter and available unit histories. Despite this attempt, there were too many pictures that could not be identified and therefore a complete reorganization of the photos was not possible. Ultimately, after following the unit histories and doing some intensive searching to identify some of the places in the photos, it became apparent that the roll and picture sequence numbers on the prints offered the best guideline to base an arrangement. Keeping in mind the photos in Mr. Young's album were reprints, for the most part, the roll and sequence numbers seemed to correlate well with unit histories that were available. As a result, this was the primary method used to arrange this presentation. Additionally, the 40 identified photos attributed to Lt. Williams also helped greatly in the overall arrangement. Undoubtably though, there are still some photos that remain unidentified, mislabeled, or are out of order. If you have any additional information regarding Lt. Milo Williams, Pfc. Robert Young, any other individual appearing in the slides, or the time or location of any the photos, please contact this website so that this presentation may be updated. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

A number of themes recur throughout the content of these photographs. These include religious people, places and events; the devastation of war; local scenery and people; recreation and mess time; and traveling. In viewing these photos, one senses the constant movement of modern warfare as the 86th advanced through Bavaria and Austria, then traveled back through France, across the Atlantic, and finally across the USA to the west coast where it would depart on yet another journey to the Philippines. Additionally, they capture the juxtaposition of humanity, nature, and the destruction of war. Though some of these images may be considered mundane or repetitive, it was a conscious decision to include all of them in this presentation because, as a whole, Pfc. Young's photos offer a valuable insight into the experiences of an infantry soldier in Europe during the closing days of World War Two, as well as the experiences of his company and regiment in general. But, perhaps most importantly, as a group, the images reflect what those who experienced the events felt was important to capture and thus provides some insight into who they were as a people and a generation.

Regarding clothing and equipment, these photographs reveal that when the 86th division entered the Bavarian Campaign in the spring of 1945 it had been well equipped with many of the new garments and field gear developed in 1943. This includes M-1943 field jackets and hoods, cotton field caps, double buckle boots, and M-43 combat field packs, all of which can be seen throughout these photos. Note also that the vast majority of herringbone twill uniforms, field jackets, and canvas equipment are colored in the dark olive‐drab shade 7 first introduced in 1943.

For convenient reference, a chronology of the 86th Division during WWII is listed below. Please note that the listing of locations during the European Campaign is where division headquarters was located and not necessarily where a particular regiment or company was at the time.