Gebler Robert (1 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Oblong small quarto measuring 11" x 8.5". String-tied wooden boards. Contains 207 sepia toned or black and white gelatin silver photographs measuring between 1" x 1" and 5" x 7" with captions. Good only album lacking the front board with short tears with near fine photographs. A photo album kept by Robert W. Gebler during World War II. The "title" page of the album includes his name, Army identification number, 33791359, and a number of cities he visited during his tour of duty. Following this the album begins in Bonn, Germany in 1945 and shows the ends of the war. Many of the photos show Germans returning home, refugees, and ruined buildings as well as Gebler and his fellow soldiers posed around the city. Much of the first half of the album takes place in Bonn with images of orphans and their nurses, the city square, and German prisoners. By June of 1945 they were headed to Southern France. These photos include men standing around a commander mapping out their trip and posed with their convoy while traveling through German towns. One section from this part of their travel shows a "typical German town" which is in ruins and "three hungry German children watching us eat." Once in France they were greeted by French children who presented them with a bottle of wine. They made a camp area in July 1945 and Gebler photographed camp life which included other soldiers, class lectures, and their "mess hall" which was outside and included a caption reading "our dining room!!!" Another photo from this section reads "we wash our mess gear here after eating note German KP's at the left." Following this is a page of photos from a Bob Hope Camp Show in July of 1945 with photos of Bob Hope, Jerry Colonna, and singer, Gail Robbins. One photo is captioned "Bob Hope wows them!!!;" another reads "BH gets off a fast one." Later in July the group found themselves in Marseille which includes photos of "bomb destruction" and soldiers posed in front of "the arch." Gebler photographs the streets of French streets with images of ruins, French people, and tourist attractions. The next leg of their tour of duty took them to Arles, France and Gebler photographed the Roman ruins of the area. The group boarded a ship bound for the Pacific and had a full ship celebration while "crossing the Equator" which included men dressed in drag and wearing diapers. The troops landed in the Philippine Islands shortly after and stayed in a tented encampment close to a local village. One section included photos taken at Clark Field and shows captured Japanese planes including a "Jap heavy bomber," a "Jap dive-bomber," and a "Jap zero." In Manila Gebler photographed locals including, "Pymies from the mountains come down to our camp to visit." He also photographed "bombed out building" and Pilipino thatched huts. From there they traveled to Sapporo, Japan and Gebler captured images of Japanese locals, barracks, and pagodas. One photo shows Japanese women "shelling beans" and another photo of "Japs doing our K.P." The final pages show the men in Hirosaki Japan in the winter of 1945. Additionally included are 20 photos laid in from his time in Japan. A wonderful collection of well captioned photographs from the end of World War II.