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196th Signal Photo Company Still Photo Gallery
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Donald Wiedenmayer
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Rare
photo of General George S. Patton with glasses
Don Wiedenmayer photographed Gen. Patton in Tunisia in 1943. The general was always careful how his photograph was taken. Wiedenmayer recalled the general as quite upset with him that he had been photographed with his glasses in hand.
The photograph was submitted to the Army's Patton Museum for their collection. Turns out Wiedenmayer's photograph was one that the museum didn't have.
"Thank you for the photograph of General Patton. It is one we didn't have. It is interesting to see that Patton used glasses. It is a rare shot that reveals that." Candace Fuller, librarian, General George S. Patton Museum.
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3131st Signal Service Battalion jeep with photographers (Florence 1944) DON WIEDENMAYER describes how the three man photo teams worked in the field. The jeep seen in the photograph (right), bears the bumper number of the 3131st. The photographers are unidentified. “We traveled, the three of us, in a jeep and trailer. The trailer was packed with all our equipment, cameras, clothing, blankets and any spare food we might pick up at ration dumps,” Wiedenmayer said. O’Connell’s second field partner lived in the field in North Africa when he was attached to units of the 1st Armored Division in Algeria and Tunisia. He made the invasion of Oran with 1st Armored Division’s Combat Command “B”. Wiedenmayer had used the Bell and Howell 35mm Eyemo camera but switched to still photographer after the Tunisian campaign and upon his assignment to Italy. |
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Don Wiedenmayer in sunglasses stands in front of an Allied Piper Cub Algiers 1944
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Army still photographer Donald Wiedenmayer stands by the Italian-Swiss Border, Nauders, Switzerland - 1945 |
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Selected color wartime and personal photos taken by Army still photographer T/3 Donald Wiedenmayer while a member of the 3131st Signal Service Company and the 196th Signal Photo Company (SPC) during the Italian Campaign of World War II.
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Italian women wade across the Reno River - 1944 |
Bicyclists cross the Reno River - 1944 |
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"I remember reaching out from the jeep to retrieve my camera case as it had started to float downstream. That’s when my 35 mm camera around my neck it became water soaked," Wiedenmayer recalled. "I felt certain that the film was ruined."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The film wasn't lost, and Don Wiedenmayer later printed several of these water-damaged prints for his own collection from his original slide film The 1944 incident was in which Edmund Burke O'Connell's jeep unexpectedly sank in deep water while crossing the Reno River is recalled in "The Last Farewell - A Journey of the Heart."
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Florence, Italy - Three color prints by Don Wiedenmayer show the aftermath of German occupation and the city's liberation by the Allies during the summer of 1944. (Wiedenmayer photo) |
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Ponte Vecchio Bridge - 1945 Edmund Burke O'Connell and his partner John Mason crossed the Arno River by jeep during the summer of 1944 while under sporadic German sniper fire. Their jeep was the first Allied vehicle they claimed into the liberated city. (Wiedenmayer photo) |
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Don Wiedenmayer identified fellow still photographer David Kurland in the background and O'Connell's first still partner John Mason in the foreground. The location is unknown. (Wiedenmayer photo) |
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Official Portraits Thanks to Don Wiedenmayer for providing these official photos taken during his service in North Africa and Italy. Captions are from Don's notes. |
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15th Army Group Headquarters, Florence, Italy, Early 1945
Front row, (left to right) Maj. Gen. Alfred M. Gruether, Chief of Staff, Fifth Army; Maj. Jen. Geoffrey Keyes, C/G II Corps; Lt. Gen. Mark Clark, C/G 15th Army Group; Lt. Gen. Lucien K. Truscott, C/G 5th Army; Maj. Gen. Willis D. Crittenberger, C/G IV Corps; Maj. Gen. Vernon E. Prichard, C/G 1st Armored Division. BACK ROW: Maj. Gen Edward H. Almond, C/G 92nd Division, Maj. Gen William G. Livesay, C/G 91st Division; Maj. Gen. John B. Coulter, C/G 85th Division; Maj. Gen. Charles L. Bolte, C/G 34th Division; and Maj. Gen, Paul W. Kendall, C/G 88th Division. (Wiedenmayer photo)
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LT. GEN. MARK W. CLARK Official Army 8 x 10 portrait of Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark, Commanding General of 5th Army (Autographed to Don Wiedenmayer, 196th Signal Photo Company) |
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THREE-STAR ARRIVAL
Not all of the generals sported such large flags but General George S. Patton used a rigid metal flag so it would always stand out. (Wiedenmayer photo)
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15th Army Group Headquarters, Florence, Italy, Feb. 13, 1945
George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff; Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark, Commanding General, 15th Army Group and Lt. General Joseph T. McNarney, Commanding General, Mediterranean Theater of Operations. (Wiedenmayer photo)
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DECORATED BY PRINCE UMBERTO Florence, Italy - Early 1945 - His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Umberto, Lieutenant General of the Realm and Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Army has just decorated Lt. General Mark W. Clark, Commanding General of 5th Army. There was a question as to whether General Mark Clark should have accepted the decoration from Prince Umberto as Italy was not an ally but a co-belligerent. (Wiedenmayer photo) |
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196th Signal Photo Company Photographers - Selected Photos
These special tribute pages features some of the significant still photography of five Army Signal Corps photographers who served in the 196th Signal Photo Company. They include:
/ Cecil "Max"Campbell / John Mason / Donald Wiedenmayer / Jerry KosseffIndex to 196th Signal Photo Company - Still Photo Gallery
Known Army Signal Corps photographs attributed by Signal Corps serial number to individual members of the 3131st Signal Service Company and the 196th Signal Photo Company, Italian Campaign, 1944-1945. These photos were obtained from the National Archives and the public domain.
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Home / About the Co-Authors / About the Book / The Latest - Author Events / Edmund Burke O'Connell / Media Inquiries / Screenplay / Villa Calamai / Donald Wiedenmayer / Contact the Authors / Buy the Book
Historical Resources
O'Connell's Equipment: Bell & Howell 35mm Eyemo Camera
Captain Melvin Gillette / Architect of the Army Pictorial Service
Selected Reference Materials (Orders and Official Documents) / Army Pictorial Service - North Africa
196th SPC - Awards and Decorations
/ 196th SPC Roll of Honor / 196th SPC - Unit History/ 196th SPC - Campaign for Sicily / 196th SPC - Motion Picture Coverage / 196th - Still Photo Coverage
Bibliography / Veteran's History Project / Nauders Crossroads - 1945
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© The Last Farewell - A journey of the heart
By Edmund Burke O'Connell and co-authors Julie Whitman Jones and Thomas J. Sullivan, Jr.
email the authors: info@thelastfarewell.net
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