Note: This item is currently in storage.
This collection of photos follows the 8th Balloon Company from training at Fort Omaha, Neb., to the Front. The 8th Balloon Company was one of 17 balloon companies to see combat in World War I.
The company departed Fort Omaha for overseas duty on Jan. 17, 1918. After their arrival in France, the company moved to the balloon school at Cuperly-sur-Marne, but was forced to abandon the aerodrome in March 1918 due to advancing German forces. The men of the 8th Balloon Company finally headed to the Front in July 1918. Over the course of their service in France, the men of the 8th Balloon Company braved bad weather, an outbreak of scarlet fever, and constant harassment by German aircraft.
The photographs are part of the collection of Capt. Marion L. Witherup, the commanding officer of the 8th Balloon Company.
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