Photograph of World War II soldiers from Company D, 8th Battalion, Ft. Belvoir

Schutz Photo, American, founded 1918 · February 1943

This black and white panoramic photograph of World War II soldiers from Company D, 8th Battalion, Ft. Belvoir depicts the training class of 1943. The class photograph takes up the top half of the photograph and is made up of a posed group of soldiers in uniform standing and sitting on bleachers five deep. The front row holds a flag with a dark background and light colored letters that read [RTC / 8D]. Between the RTC and the 8D is a castle. The flag is mounted on a pole which is held horizontally by soldiers in the front row. The bottom half of the photograph is divided into seven sections; six smaller inset images and an empty space with the company name and engineering insignia [CO. D, 8th BATTALION / Engineer Replacement Training Center / Fort Belvoir, VA. February 1943]. The furthest right image shows a line of troops. The second right image depicts a group of troops in front of a cluster of buildings. The third right image shown another grouping of soldiers posed three deep. The three left hand images show clusters of soldiers in different groupings. There is a handwritten inscription at bottom center with the company motto: [Motto / Always Finish / If a task is once begun / Never leave it till its done. / be the labor great or small, / Do it well or not at all.].