Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
New York or New Jersey circa 1919. "Soldiers' bags astray." View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress.
This is worse than baggage claim at the Denver airport!
I remember seeing a picture of piled luggage left behind from GIs returning from Nam, I think in both cases the GIs just wanted to get on with their lives and forget the past.
The owners of the bags did return to the US because the bags are at the port in NY or NJ. These are the bags actually carried by the soldiers while aboard ship; the rest of their personal gear and uniforms would be in another bag in stowage. In 1919 I suspect a number of returning Doughboys did not care if they ever saw these bags again.
My sympathy is with the poor captain who is assigned duty as Officer-in-Charge, Stray Baggage.
Wouldn't you like to sit down with one of these bags and explore the contents. I know that I would!
1918 flu?? Simply horrible. Hey Shorpy guy, my husband and I love this site. It is one of my faves.
That is a lot of bags. One can't help but wonder about the solders they belong too. Did they have to go without? Or did the solders even ever come home?
What I would give to be able to learn more about the individuals that the bags belonged to and what was inside. Guess that is why I love Shorpy so much.
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5