Fort Sill School of Fire

Four soldiers stand in a trench surrounded by sandbags and an overhead canopy made of tree limbs and netting. In preparation for trench fighting in Europe, soldiers underwent live artillery training in trenches. James C. Hughes took the photograph on March 7,1918 while stationed at Fort Sill in Oklahoma for artillery training.

Hughes, a Kansan, is among a select number of soldiers who served in a major military expedition as well as two world wars. As a photographer took more than 600 images documenting his time at the Mexican border in 1916 and in Europe during 1919. As a Japanese prisoner of war in World War II, Hughes kept a daily diary and, upon liberation, brought home items from his imprisonment. He and his family donated most of these items to the Kansas Museum of History.

More information at: https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/james-clark-hughes/19881