Krag Collectors Association Forum

From my military marksmanship collection. With all the talk about GITMO these days I though I would share this image of US Sailors firing prone on the rifle range at Guantanamo Cuba in 1910. Lots of interesting details.

The photo is one of several views of a large rifle range all identified as Guantanamo.

Cat Man

I'll try again. The leggings look much different from those I remember. And there are no rating badges. When did those appear? And (gasp!) no hearing or eye protection, although they might have cotton balls stuffed in their ears.

Rating badges typically are on the left shoulder, which can't be seen on the sailors closest to us. Now, prior to the 1940s, certain badges were worn on the right shoulder (hull ratings, I think)... however, those ratings would not be seen on a shore duty sailor such as these.

It is difficult to tell for sure, but are these African American sailors? The closest could be and the next closest appears to be. Could be shadows. I ask because I thought that African Americans were limited to non combat roles. Just to be clear, I believe that was wrong no matter the time in history. I'm just trying to put the photograph in historical perspective. Would non combat sailors be trained to shoot a rifle?