[Photo Album]: US Army Motorcycle in the "Hell on Wheels" 2nd Armored Division

HOLLYDAY, Oren

Published by France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, 1943

About this Item

Oblong quarto. Measuring 11½" x 8½". Spiral bound black leather over stiff paper boards. Contains 144 sepia-toned or black and white silver gelatin photograph measuring between 2½" x 2½" and 3½" x 6", with captions on the verso. Very good album with about near fine photographs. A photo album compiled by Oren Hollyday while serving with the Army in World War II. Hollyday was part of the U.S. motorcycle unit with the 2nd Armored Division dubbed the "Hell on Wheels." The album opens with Oren posed with a "Polack" girl in Hachum, Germany. One of these photos shows her in a helmet on Oren s motorcycle. Over thirty photos show men on motorcycles, including many during the war. Various images show the servicemen posed on a specific motorcycle named "Thelma." One photo reads, "Rest Center of 2nd Sittard" which suggests a stop in 1944 at the Netherlands border of Germany. Other images show soldiers posed by other military vehicles such as tanks, trucks, and planes as well as heavy artillery guns. They are also shown at encampments and on battlefields. The ruins of the cities they passed through are featured throughout the album as well as the local people. After the war Hollyday married a woman from Luxemburg and moved to Georgia where he became an aircraft mechanic for Eastern Airlines. Once home after the war, Hollyday continued his interest in motorcycles and some photos included here show him on Harley Davidsons. The 2nd armored division was a well decorated unit active in Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa. At one point it was under the command of General Patton. According to historian John L. La Monte, "the division played an important role during World War II in the invasions of North Africa and Sicily and the liberation of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands and the invasion of Germany." An interesting collection of images depicting a heavy armored division during World War II with an emphasis on motorcycles.

Seller Inventory # 437127

Bibliographic Details

• Title: [Photo Album]: US Army Motorcycle in the "Hell on Wheels" 2nd Armored Division
• Publisher: France, Belgium, and the Netherlands
• Publication Date: 1943
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Photography
  • Ephemera