[C19fan]

Back in 1914 the average height of a male was 5'6". If I went back in time I would be attractive to a much larger pool of women, hee hee.

[Migraine]

I am so impressed with this man and his ilk. Dear Lord, we could use even a soupcon of such courage and honor in our day.

Also I enjoyed seeing handwriting that’s at least as illegible as my own (in inkwell-dip pen cursive, mind you, and under less-than-ideal penmanship conditions) At least he had a good excuse.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Could have recruited on the set of the Wizard of Oz.

[FreedomPoster]

This was brought home for me when visiting Les Invalides, the French military museum (also where Napoleon’s and Marshall Foch’s crypts are at) several years ago.

I was looking at a French Old Guard Grenadier uniform on a mannequin. These guys were the premier heavy infantry of the European continent, the baddest of the bad.

I realized that I am considerably larger than the person who would have worn that uniform, or any of the uniforms there. Heck, my neighbor’s high school freshman (at the time) son was considerably larger. Now, he was on the HS football team, but still.

Modern nutrition matters.

[real saxophonist]

bump

[katana]

Between 4’10” and 5’3”? So many possible jokes come to mind. Picture the Tommy’s in this unit singing “Hi Ho, Hi Ho” as they march. Didn’t have to dig the trenches quite as deep. The Germans they fought weren’t just merely dead. They were really most sincerely dead. Put them in WWII Japanese units and they’d line up just fine with the rest of the regiment. Moral: Never pick a fight with someone whose jab is at the same altitude as your tender bits.

[oh8eleven]

who served in a special unit for short soldiers
My great-great grandfather, who immigrated here from Ireland, was only 5 foot 4 inches tall. He enlisted during the Civil War and was assigned to an artillery unit, where his nickname just had to be "short round."
One hundred years later I enlisted during VN and was assigned to an artillery unit.

[Tired of Taxes]

Amazing story.

It is now being sold by his descendants at auction with his medals and mementos including his cigarette case.

That's sad, but perhaps the family wanted to be sure someone would take care of those mementos for many years to come.

A relative was KIA, and his distraught parents copied his letters home and shared them with family. But his writings were never to be shared with the public. Yet, many years later, long after his parents were gone, somehow his writings were released to the public. Who knows who did it. I just hope family (not someone else) made that decision.

[goldstategop]

I’m 5’7 taller than my mom who was 5’5. My dad was 5’6. Nothing wrong with being short.

Yes, the definition of a tall guy has changed through the ages.