Early military aviation photos - USMC

[Old Hunter]

My great uncle Jesse Moye ran away from home (a farm outside Farmville NC) in the mid-late 1920's and joined the USMC. He trained as an aviation mechanic but ended up being a very early Official Photographer. I have his albums and have begun to scan some of the pictures - outside of my family no one has seen his pictures since he took them. The first two pictures are of my Uncles address in 30-31 and my Aunt Eloise address, from their correspondence - he married her upon his discharge. Jesse was in from approximately 1928 to 1932 and served in Quantico, Pensacola, Nicaragua, and Egypt. OH

[Old Hunter]

This group of Marines were a class of aviation mechanics, MAYBE taken in Quantico or Pensacola (probably ca. 1928). Uncle Jesse is third from left, see roster of Marine's last name from back of photo. OH

[Old Hunter]

My Uncle Jesse is shown (on right) with his lifetime best friend, Bill Arndt in 1931; looks like a liberty day as they are clad in swimsuits of the day. Bill became my Uncle Bill later in life, as he also married my Aunt Eloise, several decades after Uncle Jesse had passed. Jesse became a large farmer (my Dad always described him as a Gentleman Farmer) he owned a lot of land that to this day is operated as L A Moye Family Farms in western Pitt and northern Greene Counties NC. Bill stayed in, served in WWII, and retired as a Major. The photo of the two of them in uniform (Jesse on left, Bill on right) with their M1903 Springfield rifles most likely was taken in Nicaragua, as they were involved in a war with the Sandinistas at that time - the only caption is "Hunting" but they don't say what for. Another possibility is Egypt based on the background, which is very hard to discern. The final photo is identified as a crocodile they shot with what appears to be a Remington or Savage pump-action rifle. Uncle Jesse always had his 'War Face' on in these pictures. OH

[Old Hunter]

Bill and Jesse in uniform in Nicaragua. OH

[Old Hunter]

Couple of aircraft photos, on line at the airfield and in the air flying over land. Check out the USMC E-G-A on the fuselage - looks hand painted and quite detailed. OH

[Old Hunter]

Three unidentified Marines (EM top, and Officer middle & bottom) from the era, as taken in Nicaragua. Unfortunately Uncle Jesse did not identify the men in many of the pictures and their names are lost to time. OH

[Old Hunter]

Airfield scene, appears to be in the USA as most of his Nicaraguan airfield shots are very rustic, while this scene is quite developed. A USMC pilot and a US Army pilot at what appears to be an airshow of some type, note the PILOT armbands they are wearing on their uniform sleeves. OH

[Old Hunter]

Liberty in Nicaragua, Uncle Jesse kneeling in top photo and putting in bottom photo. I never knew miniature golf was introduced before the 1950's! OH
Ps This is all I have scanned so far, I've had these albums for about 40 years, need to get the pictures out there so they don't get forgotten. I have two albums full of pictures, to include a terrific earthquake in Managua. OH

[btrwtr]

Wow, some awesome pictures and stories to go with them!

[jerryd6818]

Ahh, the Old Corps. Love it. Thank you. Looking forward to the next batch of pictures.

Note the difference in the EGA then and now.

[1967redrider]

Very cool, OH! I need to take my time and read through these again.

[Old Hunter]

The old E-G-A is so detailed on the plane that it looks handpainted to me - I have no idea what kind of silk-screening they had back then, but the attention to each detail on the plane is very noticeable. OH
Ps glad you guys enjoy Uncle Jesse's pictures. I have been scanning thousands of family photo's and slides for the past year (that is partly where I have been) - if I don't go ahead and get it done it will never get done, and all will go to waste. I have put this off for years.

[royal0014]

Incredible time capsule, Colonel. Thank You for sharing.

[Old Hunter]

Trying something new, in lieu of removing the old pictures from the crumbling albums and using a scanner, I am trying a (free) Google APP that allows you to take five pictures of a picture and it puts them together for you minus any glare. I just did these five - it will be MUCH faster for me to copy this way, quality seems equal to the other way. All captions are PFC Jesse Moye's as he inked them in his albums. OH

Two crash sites in Nicaragua, the top photo is Lt. Palmer's Crash, the bottom photo is Gy.Sgt. Geer's Crash. I had to do a little adjustment on the bottom photo, but it seems clear enough now.

[Old Hunter]

Who knew the US Marines flew Fokker's in the 1920's and 1930"s? I didn't, but here we see a USMC Fokker over Lake Managua. Two remote landing fields, Corinto in the center picture and Ocotal in the bottom picture. OH

[Old Hunter]

USMC Vought Corsair in Nicaragua, ca.1930.

[zzyzzogeton]

I looked it up and the EGA "droopy wings" came into use in the early 1920s. In 1925, the "SEMPER FIDELIS" banner clutched in the eagle's beak was added to the logo. The plane insignias have an unreadable banner at the egale's head, so presumably, it reads "SEMPER FIDELIS".

Thr "droopy wings" straightened out in 1936.