This photo is terribly faded but on enlargement you can see that it consists of a group of men milling around in front of a couple buildings. There is a wagon in front of the building to the right. On looking closely the men appear to be in uniform, leading me to wonder if they are a group of World War 1 soldiers. What do you think?
Who Were They? 
Yes, I also think they may be WW1 soldiers. Some appear to be wearing boots and Jodphur type trousers – didn’t some American troops wear such uniforms?
It must be warm as they are nearly all in shirt sleaves Wherever it is there are no obvious signs of warfare. Is the building on the right, with wagon in front, a church or chapel, and is the guy in black a priest of somekind.
Therefore, could it be the aftermath of a church parade?
Shame about the condition, and a shame about all that foreground of grass
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Most likely a WWI photo. I say that because they all seem to be dressed similarily..it was a group of soldiers gathering for some reason. Just prior to shipping out..often they took photos at the train stations:)
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I think the buildings actually look French – some of the architectural details… I wouldn’t be all that surprised if this was WWI and “over there”.
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If you enlarge the photo you can see that the vehicle is a truck , not a wagon. and deffinatly WWI period truck. they are Americans, and there is a French Officer in the middle of the truck , with his back turned. the men are not in service dress uniforms, and no campaingn hats or helmets are visible, there are no rifles, packs ammo belts, or holsters on any with the soldiers so I doubt there coming from, or going to anywhere. and must be safe from the combat area. With the obvious priest at the front of the truck, this could have been a chaplan service on a sunday morning. the men seemed relaxed and informal, doubt if it’s for a formal parade or funeral service either. The barns are typical french rural design, and I doulbt if the one in the back is a church, most building were designed with this triangle stepped profile, for the thatched roofs, there is no crusifix on the top, as was common in france for the small villiage chapels. . It’s design is older than the warehouse style to the left though. I think this is behind the lines, a rest area of sorts , as was common in that war. side note: nearly 1/3 of American troops never entered the combat area in WWI, but they were part of the million plus who as intense guy says “Over There”.
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Thank you your insight and input on the possible history here. It is through community input that we can try to keep these photos alive.
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