Fun Photo Quiz 2: All In Good Humor

[Rick Research]

No, he's not the ice cream truck man! I shall take pity on you (or not) by clarifying the photographer's imprint:

"Estudio Senior Sto. Domingo."

Don't know WHO he was, but who knows WHAT--and WHEN?

[VerKuilen Ager]

That's a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Militia (known in time of war as the National Naval Volunteers). Massachusetts and New York formed the first Naval Militia in 1890 and 1891, so it can't go back further than that. Don't know if the Santo Domingo is the municipality in Las Villas province of Cuba or the city in the Dominican Republic (most likely) but would guess this was a backwater port call photo during W.W.I.

[Rick Research]

<marquee behavior=alternate>YES!!!</marquee>

[bhholst]

Hello Rick and Histaria.
Learned something here. Good question and great solution straight away. Did they actually man warships? Or more shorebased duty? Were they later called Naval Volunteer Reserve or something similar? That circled star seemed strange to me but then naval affairs are only slightly familiar to me.
Next challenge please .
Bernhard H. Holst

[VerKuilen Ager]

The Naval Militia bore the same relation to the Navy as the National Guard did to the Army. Circa W.W.I they served as "bluejackets and officers in the main or reserve fleets, or whereever else they may be assigned."


The reserves were another entity. The Naval Reserve Force was authorized by the Act of August 29, 1916. It was divided into six classes:
- The Fleet Naval Reserve (ex-service officers and men)
- The Naval Reserve (ex-merchant marine)
- The Naval Auxiliary Reserve (personnel aboard Merchant Marine "desirable auxiliaries")
- The Naval Coast Defense Reserve (citizens involved in local coast defense)
- The Naval Reserve Flying Corps (aviators or those skilled in designing or building aircraft)
- The Volunteer Naval Reserve (everybody else: no pay or uniform in peacetime)

There was also a U.S. Junior Naval Reserve, which trained boys for the Navy and Merchant Marine

[bhholst]

Hello Histaria.
Thank you for the fine summary you gave.
Bernhard H. Holst