Introduction: In this article, to help celebrate Veterans Day, Melissa Davenport Berry provides photos and stories of veterans from America’s past. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.

To celebrate Veterans Day, some photos of those who served through the years.

Photo credit: https://depositphotos.com/home.html

Civil War: A Soldier of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry

Here is Milton Robinson (1840-1930) in his Grand Army of the Republic uniform with his two sons William (left) and Frederick Douglas (right).

Robinson was born a slave in Kentucky in 1840. During the Civil War he escaped slavery and enlisted in the Union Army on 13 May 1863. He served in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. After the war he was a resident of Indianapolis.

1922: Veteran Tramps 614 Miles to See His Old Comrades

Civil War veteran George W. Sherman was still in great shape at 83 years old.

The photo caption reads:

The photo shows George W. Sherman, 83 years old, who hiked to Richmond from Georgia, 614 miles, to attend the reunion to meet his old comrades in arms. The picture was snapped as the veteran passed Centralia, Va., a few miles outside of Richmond. The trip required 31 days.

Not long ago this sturdy veteran issued a challenge to all comers for a walking match over any route.

Sherman entered the Civil War as a member of the First Georgia Volunteers and was transferred to the Fifty-third Regiment of Virginia Volunteers. His pension is filed in Lamar County, Georgia.

1923: Veterans of Four Wars Seated with Pershing

Veterans of four wars attended a speech by General John J. Pershing in Texas in 1923, covered by the Dallas Morning News.

The photo caption reads:

Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Aug. 5. – Upon the occasion of the address of Gen. John J. Pershing to the students of the Citizens’ Military Training Camp held at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, veterans of four wars were seated on the platform with Gen. Pershing.

Those in the picture are, from left to right: Top row – Maj. Ralph Durkee, commander [of] San Antonio post of American Legion; Miss Josephine Sims, Confederate War nurse; Miss Sophie Burns, World War nurse. Middle row – W. W. Herring, commander of Spanish War veterans; Charles R. Sickles, commander of Grand Army of [the] Republic; Gen. John J. Pershing, United States Army; Godfrey Peterson, commander of Confederate veterans; Amassa Clark, Mexican War veteran. Bottom row – Drury Wood, Alpine, Citizens Military Camp.

1924: Boston Mayor Curley with Civil War Vets in Annual Encampment

In 1924 Lodge No. 556 organized a special 50-piece musical unit – which included a 16-piece fife and drum corps and an 8-piece jazz band – to travel across the country to Boston, Massachusetts.

The photo caption reads:

The Grand Army of the Republic are in their annual encampment this year at Boston, Mass. This photo shows Mayor Curley (bare-headed) with the Pasadena Fife and Drum corps. The white-bearded veteran on the steps is George C. Campbell, the original “Uncle Sam,” who lives at the Soldiers’ home in Washington, D.C.

1935: Hardy Civil War Veteran George W. Sherman Still at It

George W. Sherman is shown with fellow comrades in this 1935 Atlanta Journal newsclip.

The photo caption reads:

Confederate Veterans at the Soldiers’ Home, getting ready for the big Memorial Day parade of Friday afternoon. Left to right: J. R. Jordan, J. H. Morris, George W. Sherman, and George W. Russell. All the South marched with them in spirit, in tribute to the memory of the Confederate cause and the men who fought for it.

According to this article, “Only 500 now left of proud Georgia force of 130,000 men.”

1942: American Boys Win the Hearts of the British People

In 1942 the American soldiers won over the Brits.

The photo captions read:

(Upper right): There’s plenty of work in doughboy’s life in England. Above is Corp. Francis River[s] of Cambridge, using a motorcycle as a shield during maneuvers. [Francis Rivers served with the 167th General Hospital Detachment of the U.S. Army in the European theater, including Normandy, from 1943 until his honorable discharge as a staff sergeant in 1946.]

(Lower right): 26 years in the Navy, Chief Yeoman Louis Kendall of Boston (left) is a frequent visitor at the U.S. Red Cross Washington Club in London. Eating with him is Chief Yeoman Robert McLaughlin of Elizabeth, N. J. Our boys overseas are eating well.

(Left): And sitting amongst the leaves and turning his thoughts from war to the old days at home, Pvt. Paul Desjardins of Worcester relaxes in meditation in a London park.

Here are two more photos from this same collection.

The photo captions read:

(Right): Hospitality shown by British to American service men is returned in many ways by the appreciative Yankees. Above, Pvt. Robert Collins of Quincy entertains two English war orphans in a game of soldiers. The Stars and Stripes War Orphan Fund in London sponsors such recreation for more than 500 orphaned children.

(Left): Getting ready for maneuvers in Britain, Sergt. Lester C. McLaney of Hartford, Conn., Army paratrooper, does a neat job of packing his parachute. Many American troops in Britain took part in [the] African invasion.

I found a photo of Sergeant McLaney, who was one of the original members of the Airborne Test Platoon in 1940, helping lay the foundation for U.S. Army parachute units. He is in the front row, fourth from the right.

Their training at Fort Benning was grueling: seven weeks of parachute drills and relentless physical conditioning that pushed the men to their limits. After a week of tower training in New Jersey, the platoon returned to Fort Benning to make six jumps and proved the airborne concept could work.

McLaney wrote in a 1968 autobiography:

“I was 23 and single, and it promised to be something different, so I volunteered. It was quite strenuous, but we had a lot of fun.”

Sgt. Maj. McLaney went on to serve with distinction in the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, making combat jumps in North Africa, Italy, and Southern France, and then serving through the Battle of the Bulge. His awards include a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Stay tuned for more!

Note: some of the graphics in this article have been AI enhanced.

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Note on the header image: Veterans Day. Credit: https://depositphotos.com/home.html