What should have been a simple book about radios…
A flyer for U S Army radio stations (Information and Education Section, which spawned the Armed Forces Network) operating in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. This was printed sometime between Summer 1944 when the Rome station was established and June 15, 1945, the final broadcast of the Fifth Army Mobile Station.
This is Photograph 111-SC-282168 U. S. Fifth Army Mobile Unit Programs Can Be Heard over Razor Blade Sets. 1945. Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Record Group 111. National Archives at College Park, College Park, Maryland. It is by far the best known photograph of a soldier with a foxhole radio at Anzio. It was taken for YANK magazine but never ran.
The other photos in series with this one include the names of the subjects. But not this one. The note with the negative only gives the title. So far this soldier remains anonymous. I would prefer to include his name in the book, naturally, so if anyone recognizes him please let me know!
These are two sketches from V-mails sent by T/5 Robert W. Albro while at Anzio in February 1944. Some of the most intense fighting was in February, and no place on the beachhead was out of range of German shells. Corporal Albro apparently had an excellent sense of humor, especially considering the circumstances.
V-Mail letters were written by soldiers, censored and copied to microfilm. The film was then sent to the states, enlarged, and forwarded to the recipient. The process saved much shipping space as compared to paper letters. An example of the reprinted letter is below. They were reprinted at 60% of the original size and measure approximately 4″ by 5 1/2″.
