The interesting thing is that the jerrycans on the White half-track are US ones but the ones at the dump are NOT AMERICAN .... they are British, the same design as the Germans....
The interesting thing is that the jerrycans on the White half-track are US ones but the ones at the dump are NOT AMERICAN .... they are British, the same design as the Germans....
" I'm putting off procrastination until next week "
Yes the jerry cans look to be British or warbooty ones taken from the Germans ,interesting as you would think they would be American jerry cans
Guys sorry for being pedantic but just for historical correctness , which can be altered over time by the continued posting of information / names etc that perpetuate that misinformation there is no actual evidence that this man is called Hans Tragarsky.
Only four posts out of the blue on AHF by someone who has been unable to provide any proof at all to back up their statements !! This iconic photo is of someone who remains unidentified !!
The gates of hell were opened and we accepted the invitation to enter" 26/880 Lance Sgt, Edward Dyke. 26th Bn Northumberland Fusiliers , ( 3rd Tyneside Irish )
1st July 1916
Thought shall be the harder , heart the keener,
Courage the greater as our strength faileth.
Here lies our leader ,in the dust of his greatness.
Who leaves him now , be damned forever.
We who are old now shall not leave this Battle,
But lie at his feet , in the dust with our leader
House Carles at the Battle of Hastings
Yes, this great photo was discussed in considerable depth a few years back on the WWII Forums and several people then thought the 'mystery man' had been identified beyond any doubt as one 'Walter Armbrust'. And then a published author on the Bulge came on with absolute confirmation that it was not !
IMPO one of the above posts hits the nail on the head ; it's just such an iconic image of a late-war German soldier and maybe best left unidentified. For me, he is 'everyman' of the Germans who attacked in the Bulge.
You would think that if he survived the war there would be other photos of him,most people dont go through 67 without having at least one snapshot of them. Also this is a very famous photo its in every second ww2 book, surely if this is Hans Tragarsky,one of his friends,family,fellow veterans would have seen it and said this looks a bit like you Hans.
the other possibility is that the soldier is not even German
Thank you all - this thread has generated some good opinions. Please recall my subject was posed as a question and concluded with "Should it be case closed or do we ponder some more? .... Should he always remain the unidentified the face of the bulge? .....Does it even matter?"
An iconic photo among a series of iconic images is all we can consider as a definite conclusion to the matter - what his name was (or any of them ) is and always will be speculation. It doesn't REALLY matter who he was - he existed, he may have survived, he may not have but he was a loved son,brother and possibly husband, whoever he was..........
Dan
" I'm putting off procrastination until next week "
I was looking for information on this man! And I learned a lot here. Some people say his name was Hans Tragarsky but who knows if that's true, there must be some records out there where they can find out his real name. It's a shame he passed away I would of loved to of talked to him. He's the toughest looking soldier I have ever seen
A fine rendition of a superb photograph:
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