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World War I Soldier Formations
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During World War I, photographers Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas traveled from one military camp to another taking photos of soldiers forming patriotic symbols as a part of planned promotional campaign to sell war bonds.
Thousands soldiers would form gigantic patriotic symbols such as Statue of Liberty, president Woodrow Wilson, American Eagle or Liberty Bell which were photographed from above.
Mole and Thomas spent days preparing formations which were photographed from a 70 to 80 foot tower with an 11 by 14 inch camera.
Photos by Mole and Thomas are now part of the Chicago Historical Society, the Museum of Modern Art and the Library of Congress.

1. Human Statue of Liberty
18,000 officers and men at Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Ia

Human Statue of Liberty

2. Human U.S. Shield
30,000 officers and men, Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Mich

Human US Shield

3. Human Liberty Bell
25,000 officers and men at Camp Dix, New Jersey

Human Liberty Bell

4. Human American Eagle
12,500 officers, nurses and men; Camp Gordon, Atlanta

Human American Eagle

5. Sincerely yours, Woodrow Wilson
21,000 officers and men, Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio

Woodrow Wilson

6. Living Emblem of the United States Marines
100 officers and 9,000 enlisted men, Marine Barracks, Paris Islands, S.C.

US Marines Emblem

7. Living Uncle Sam
19,000 officers and men, Camp Lee, VA.

Living Uncle Sam

8. Machine Gun Insignia
22,500 officers and men, 600 machine guns at Machine Gun Training Center, Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga.

Machine Gun Insignia

9. Living Insignia of the 27th Division "New York's Own"
10,000 officers and enlisted men, Breakers of the Hinderburg Line

27th Division living insignia


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  Comments (19)
 1 Written by I.Remon, on 08-01-2008 21:38
Most amazing photographs EVER!! And no Photoshop!
 2 Written by Creter, on 09-01-2008 08:35
Wow. I thought I had too much time on my hands.
 3 Written by Haffaa, on 13-01-2008 03:56
:eek
 4 Written by wow, on 13-01-2008 08:25
:upset :x amazing....
 5 Written by me, on 13-01-2008 08:45
:cry war is bad
 6 Written by You, on 13-01-2008 09:32
It's a fake! It's all done in PS!
 7 Written by anonym, on 13-01-2008 11:04
boar geil sowas .. top^^ :zzz
 8 Written by Dave, on 14-01-2008 15:03
Stunning
 9 Written by Curt Clay, on 18-01-2008 11:29
INCREDIBLE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WILLING TO KILL OR BE KILLED - CANON FODDER FOR THE WEALTHY ELITE! :sigh
 10 Written by marvel45, on 28-01-2008 17:01
:p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :? :? :? :? :? :? :grin :grin :grin I love it but how did they do it!?! man! they really have too much time! aren't they supposed to be in the war or something?!?
 11 Written by davida, on 05-02-2008 22:54
Amazing photos requiring lots of set up and work. For Curt Clay, please notice that these were in 1918, AFTER the war, so your comments about Canon fodder (the proper spelling is cannon)were not only misspelled but inappropriate. And Clay, where were these pictures taken from. A plane, a helicopter? :) :)
 12 Written by forever strong, on 21-02-2008 13:26
Careful Curt Clay, your ignorance is showing
 13 Written by roshan, on 03-03-2008 08:56
REALLY GREAT PHOTOS .THEY MUST HAVE TAKEN A LOT OF PAIN IN DOING IT. I REALLY WONDER HOW DID THEY TAKE THESE PHOTOS.GREAT MAN!!!!!! :) :) :) :) :) :)
 14 Written by your mom, on 28-03-2008 02:10
theyre pretty legittt. 
:zzz
 15 Written by Chris, on 25-04-2008 01:43
Totally legit actually. Two guys were behind this and the most famous one (statue of liberty) was done to sell war bonds (to support the war) and never got used according to snopes.com. FYI they also explain that the pictures were taken from an 80 foot tall wooden tower constructed for this purpose.
 16 Written by Ruth, on 27-04-2008 22:10
My father left his sister a copy of the "Liberty Bell" photo. Her son sent it to us. A copy of this photo can also be found in the June-July 2007 Reminisce magazine. A fantastic photo!
 17 Written by morgan, on 03-05-2008 14:14
This was magnificent and very creative. It was just beautiful.
 18 Written by marvel45, on 24-06-2008 01:51
:p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p  
WOO! GO USA SOLDIERS!!
 19 Written by terence granger, on 06-07-2008 18:17
Divisions were never like this in the royal navy

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