American convoy traveling through France, 1945

Gift in Memory of Jack Hershkowitz
Description: 

Photograph. Military vehicles driving down a dirt road; a field is on the background. Personal caption on reverse: "Somewhere in France - Just outside of Metz / I tried to get a good shot of the city below but I didnt catch it properly." Moselle (department), France. October 1945

Image Information

Accession Number: 
Date: 
1945-10-
Location: 
Hometown: 
Branch: 
Theater of Service: 
Campaign / Event: 
POW / KIA: 
Collection Level: 
Items from the service of Jack Hershkowitz, who was a switchboard operator in the 512th Field Artillery Battalion, Third Army in the European Theater of Operations. Hershkowitz was born on 18 February 1912 in New York, New York. He was working as a public service inspector in Lakewood, New Jersey, when he enlisted in the United States Army on 8 July 1943 and was called to active duty on 29 July. On 2 July 1944, Hershkowitz was shipped out to the European Theater of Operations and assigned to the 512th Field Artillery Battalion. By December, He was in Luxemburg, and in Germany by March 1945. Hershkowitz and his unit celebrated VE-Day in Czechoslovakia [modern-day Czech Republic] and were then assigned the task of overseeing Russian displaced persons and German prisoners of war. The 512th Fld. Arty. Bn. traveled throughout Germany to transport Russian troops and civilians from prisoner of war camps to transit camps. One notable location the unit traveled to was Dachau concentration camp. In September 1945, the unit began to make its way from Germany to Camp Brooklyn near Reims, France. They arrived in the camp in October and began their journey across the Atlantic Ocean on 23 November 1945. Hershkowitz arrived in the United States on 13 December 1945 and was honorably discharged on 20 December in Fort Dix, New Jersey. On 10 July 1982, Jack Hershkowitz passed away. The collection includes a field journal, photograph album, postcards, and over 200 photographs. The photographs feature life in the field, displaced persons camps, prisoners of war, Dachau concentration camp, and interactions with local populations.
Geography: 
Moselle
Latitude: 
49.000
Longitude: 
7.000
Thesaurus for Graphic Materials: 
Military vehicles--American--France
Moselle River--France