Timeless History

Men of the 1st Life Hussars, Imperial German Army photographed by Oscar Tellgmann before an Imperial Parade in Langfuhr, Danzig (Wrzeszcz, Gdańsk), in 1910.

The youngest US Serviceman to serve and fight during WWII, Calvin Graham, who was serving in the United States Navy at 12 years old as a gunner on the USS South Dakota.

Graham lied about his age and enlisted in August 1942 and took part in the Battle of Guadalcanal, in which he was hit by shrapnel while taking a hand message to an officer. While wounded himself, Graham aided in rescue efforts, assisting in pulling the wounded aboard the ship and to safety. For his actions, he received the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart, but these were revoked when it was revealed that he had lied about his age, and he was dishonorably discharged from the Navy on the 1 April 1943. All his medals were eventually re-bestowed posthumously in 1994.

French soldiers of the 23rd Infantry Regiment pose for a photograph underneath a makeshift shelter made from pine branches. Photo taken in Vosges, France in April 1915.