Kenneth Whitcomb

On 9/29/2016 at 04:03, bob lembke said:

I await, with bated breath, any feedback stating if I have breached any standards of propriety, or if such standards exist. Other tales come to mind. I don't know how many of the forum's participants are sons or daughters of Great War combat veterans, and can pass along direct "hand me down" anecdotes of life in the Great War. Most of my father's candid anecdotes about social life in his youth (at war) were at his own expense, the perplexities and even terror of interactions with much more experienced women. And after the war, with so many men dead or seriously disabled, sometimes the social scene was bizarre. I really have to finally write my father's military biography. 

Thanks for all of your posts. Very interesting and well written.

I appreciate your efforts and time. Are the sources you recommended translated into English? 

1 hour ago, Bayern said:

for carol i  yesterday i posted the promised photos  and text sadly i was not able to post the capture of my opapa bescheininigung certification and of his title  too heavy both within the margins of bites .i will procure to reduce the weight and post both documents . a herzlich gruss 

Thank you for all of your efforts.

Hello Bob, please PM me with any stories you wish to share. As you can tell from our Presidential election postings the USA has dropped all standards of decency. LOL

4 hours ago, bob lembke said:

Kenneth;

How to put this delicately? One aspect of my father's recollections of his WW I medical experiences, which he told me when I was a young lad, might be filed under "Sex in the Hospital". Should I go further? I have been active on a few military fora for over 10 years (on another forum I have over 4000 posts), and can't ever recall anyone mentioning the topic of sex.

Bob

 

I, too, have heard tales told. It would be interesting to read any soldier letters who write of such things. 

44 minutes ago, padro said:

Interesting thread, here is an award doc from my collection, to an X-Ray operative (Rontgenmechaniker) in the Bavarian Medical Service, that I thought might be of interest to you.

He was quite a distinguished photographer prior to the War, presumably why he ended up operating an X-Ray Machine.

Regards

Pete

Thanks for posting. I have added this to my collection.

Thank you again for these posts. That is a shocking story about the colonial. This is going into my medical file.

Thank you for posting this. I would be interested in your postings about his medical care. I am very interested in WW1 medical care.

On July 14, 2016 at 02:10, paul wood said:

Ken

I would imagine so presumably there are some works on military issue during the Wars but I am afraid that is outside my knowledge, QM obviously stands for Quartermaster but how the number were allocated is another matter.

Paul

Thanks again for your information. I was tardy in thanking you because i have been away for awhile. I heard that Rohan has a book about military binoculars but when i looked it up it was about $495. Oh well, the search continues.

Thank you, Paul. No wonder I could not fine the ship! Do the numbers printed on these binoculars give any clue as to the age of them?

Thank you for posting this. I will try the sites you mentioned to see the x-rays of ww1.

I just  bought a pair of binoculars marked: Baldur Military, P 8 X 94, 18106 QM, HMS Dover. 

I can not find any information on the HMS Dover. I have only used Google. I have found a list of Bitish ships listed for WW1 and WW2 and the Dover is not among them.

Can anyone tell me what I have? If this ship actually existed can you guide me to it's history?

Thank you for any help you can offer. Ken

You have a wonderful collection. Thanks for sharing.

Mobile X-ray equipment exhibited in the Italian War Museum in Rovereto.

Great photo. Thanks for posting.

Hello Kenneth. Pictures are indeed available for viewing. However I am unable to link anything ( have not yet "mastered" that science).

But here is an address to use in which the album can be seen which I mentioned:

http://www.ingolstadt.de/dmm/ or here http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/roentgenbilder-aus-dem-ersten-weltkrieg-fotostrecke-117881.html

Bernhard H. Holst

Thank you soooo much for this information. This has been added to my archives for further research. This is really appreciated.

Have these 1916 x-rays ever been published for our viewing? Thanks for this information.

Sorry to say that I still do not know how to post photos. i can adjust the size, etc but when i try to post all I get is a photo number but no photo. This is maddening. I'll stop pouting and try again. Thanks, Ken

[An interesting read: "Paris 1919"( Six months that changed the world ) by Margaret Macmillan. Discusses the peace conference and it's successes and failures. New insights into the personalities of the major leaders.

I believe that this is a posed Hollywood photo but i do not believe it is of Victor McLaglin (McLaughlin). These guys both have the rough look but the McLaglin of John Wayne movies has a distinctive appearance. Also, this guy is wearing a colonel's insignia and I do not ever remember McLaglin in the role of an officer in a cavalry movie. He is usually an NCO.

Thanks for the tip. I'm on my over there now. Didn't know they even existed.

I have an original Japanese helmet with the long helmet ties. Does anyone have a detailed description how the soldiers tied these helmets to their heads? I certainly don't want to tie a square knot with a cute bow! Thanks for any help you can give to me.

Just got back from a short trip. I will follow your suggestion about ethanol, etc. Thanks once again. Ken

UPDATE: As suggested I used mineral spirits to remove the cosmoline. Surprisingly I only had to place the spirits on a rag and wipe off the cosmoline. Super easy! So, next question: what do you suggest I use to remove the smell of the spirits from the blades? Once again, these are machine made blades. Thanks for your suggestions. Ken

For a good tooth brush for cleaning almost anything I suggest that you go to the pharmacy or chemist or drug store (whatever you call it in your area of the world) and purchase a tooth brush used for cleaning dentures (false teeth)these are too hard for your own teeth but ideal for dentures (or so I am told). I found out about them when I collected fossils. The more they wear down the "stiffer" the bristles become and the better they work.

Here's a photo of the one I use as you can see 40 years of cleaning fossils, minerals and military items has taken its tole.

Regards

Brian

OK, mineral spirits it is. My quest is to find a long open top plastic type of container such as might be used by dry wall installers. It must be long enough so that I can lay the blade inside for a good soak. I can use this tray for other metal parts as well. Thanks for all the tips.

Thank you for the information Brian. Mineral spirits seem safe. It was also suggested that I heat the blades with a hair dryer and just wipe the cosmoline away. Would there be enough heat generated to discolor the blades? I notice that the handles are held with a screw so if I can remove the screw without scratch marks I will do so. I will have to do some homework to figure out how to post a photo. I would like to show the blades before and after. I am going to sell one of the swords and keep the other. It has been an education for me to look up the various armory marks and inspection marks present. Setting a price is always a hassle for me. Using ebay is useless because of the junk being offered. Thank you again for your time and knowledge.