American troops in an English park
A small town in England in the spring of 1944
Passing time on the Thames, Spring 1944
View of the ruins of the Palais de Justice in the town of St. Lo, France, summer 1944. The red metal frame in the foreground is what
GIs search ruined homes in western France after D-Day
An American Army chaplain kneels next to a wounded soldier in order to administer the Eucharist and Last Rites
Coast of France, June 1944
Captured German Soldiers, France, 1944
Life amid the ruins, France, June 1944
The scene that greeted Allied troops throughout France in the weeks and months after Normandy
An abandoned German machine gun, France, June 1944
A P-38 fighter plane sits in the background as the pilot arrives in a captured German vehicle
Maintenance work on an American P-47 Thunderbolt in a makeshift airfield in the French countryside, 1944
Frenchmen transport painted British and American flags for use in a parade, summer 1944
Holding services in dappled sunlight, France, 1944
All images by Frank Scherschel for Life Magazine
![Atop Empire State- in construction; Chrysler Bldg & [Daily] News in middle foreground. (1931)](../../../img/Atop-Empire-State-in-construction-Chrysler-Bldg-Daily-News-in-middle-foreground.-1931--199x123.jpg "Balancing on the Empire State, 1920s")
View of the ruins of the Palais de Justice in the town of St. Lo, France, summer 1944. The red metal frame in the foreground is what
I don’t know exactly, but it’s written “pompes Guinard”, for pump – Guinard is a family name in France. There is always a corporation with this name “pompes guinard” which sells water pumps.
I guess it was a mobile system (there are forms for wheels on the right and the left). Maybe for flooding of the cellars…
I have made a mistake, it wasn’t a question (^o^). The complete text is in life magazine : “fire engine”.
hold the mouse over the pic and it shows the complete text
Nice Capsule btw! Still loving this site..
Didn’t expect to see a photo of where I live and a village nearby , great photos
How sad, in the last picture the priest has his “back turned” to the soldiers, how can they get anything out of the mass like that. :>)
better dressed congregation then most parishes today, not a short or flipflop in sight and they are kneeling to boot
The “abandoned German machine gun” is a French Hotchkiss. Try abandoned German gun position.
“How sad, in the last picture the priest has his “back turned” to the soldiers, how can they get anything out of the mass like that. :>)”
Easily. The object of the Mass is the Eucharist, and the priest and the congregation are both facing it.
The soldier receiving the last rites has really quite affected me.
Wow, incredible pictures from an incredible time in history! Thanks for posting these.
For all of you other WWII buffs like yours truly, I heard about a new book coming out about General Omar Bradley that sounds pretty interesting. Here’s a link if you’re interested- http://www.regnery.com/books/omarbradley.html
Just look at those German soldiers. So young! They should be at home and in school!