Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
July 1942. "Decatur, Alabama. Ingalls Shipbuilding Company. Construction of ocean-going barges for the U.S. Army. Welder's helper shading his eyes from the welder's torch." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size.
It seems impossible that a ship constructed in Alabama would move downstream to the Ohio River -- the same Ohio River that flowed past my house near Pittsburgh. But it's true.
Like so many during those war years -- he looks like a kid but is suddenly in a seriously responsible situation. He's got a great look of determination.
These ocean-going barges constructed in Alabama must be floated down the Tennessee River to the Ohio River, near Paducah, Kentucky; thence down the Ohio to the Mississippi; thence down the Mississippi to the Gulf. Long-distance solutions like this are some of the necessities of wartime.
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5