Yeah we have a distorted perspective because of all the black and white movies and photos we have seen. I remember people complaining about colorized movies of WW1 as “unauthentic”. In fact they showed a more authentic view of the war, to the participants, it was a full color experience.
Yes, and not only did they experience it in full color but from their perspective everything was going ultra-modern with new weapons like flame-throwers, poison gas, and tanks. The old-time biplanes looked quite modern to the participants.