Posted on Nov 27, 2013
What is your favorite historical military photo?
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Please post your favorite (historical) military photo in this thread and vote for your favorite. I'll start off with what is one of the greatest moments captured on film, the flag raising on Iwo Jima, plus a few more angles that are rarely seen.<div><br></div><div>Please add your favorite historical photos... they can be as old as the Civil War or as recent as Afghanistan (they don't need to be black and white!).</div>
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Posted 12 y ago
Responses: 79
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I have two and it's hard to pick. Both are special to us Sailors. Both speak for themselves and after looking thru all the pictures posted I didn't see any that changed the world as much as these two. Side note. The Manning the Rail was taken onboard the USS Enterprise.
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A more contemporary photo, LTC Yinon Weiss, but historically significant to me since I know the officer involved. In the words of my good friend, MG(ret) Lee S. Price, "This was in West Chester, PA and was a long, sad day. It was when we had a heat wave and it was a long service, but I had the Old Guard providing the honors. Each service is different. We rode for three miles from the church to the cemetery and every piece of the way the road was completely lined should-to-shoulder with people. This was the deceased soldier's 15 month old and when he rolled his head across this flag, I was consumed by the grief of the moment. The Honor Guard soldier standing behind me was gasping to keep his composure. Tough day. Such an honor but it will be a great day when we don't have any more to do."
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http://www.friendsofanton.org/prints/robert-capa-american-soldiers-landing-on-omaha-beach-d-day-normandy-france-june-6-1944/
Robert Capa's blurred photos from Omaha Beach still captures my fascination. I think the beauty of it is that it isn't perfect. It's rushed, chaotic, and in my opinion illustrates everything that we think about war. You see the Soldier staying low, the craziness going on around and it isn't hard to imagine how the adrenaline is flowing.
v/r,
CPT Butler
Robert Capa's blurred photos from Omaha Beach still captures my fascination. I think the beauty of it is that it isn't perfect. It's rushed, chaotic, and in my opinion illustrates everything that we think about war. You see the Soldier staying low, the craziness going on around and it isn't hard to imagine how the adrenaline is flowing.
v/r,
CPT Butler
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LTC Yinon Weiss, this photo is neither dramatic nor famous as are the other photos. However, I like it because it's of my father, then Ensign Jack Curlee, taken at the Ernie Pyle Memorial on the island of Ie Shima (Iejima) northwest of Okinawa Island. The inscription on the memorial reads simply: "AT THIS SPOT THE 77th INFANTRY DIVISION LOST A BUDDY ERNIE PYLE 18 APRIL 1945." Photo was taken between 7AUG45 and 16AUG45 and my father is pictured on the right.
For those that don't know, Ernie Pyle was a Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist, known for his newspaper columns written as a roving correspondent from 1935 through most of World War II. Pyle was killed by Japanese machine gun fire while imbedded with the 77th ID on 18APR45, and his death was keenly felt by all the U.S. military.
Capt (Join to see) LTC Stephen F.
CPL Doug Hill, here's a piece I did on my father.
For those that don't know, Ernie Pyle was a Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist, known for his newspaper columns written as a roving correspondent from 1935 through most of World War II. Pyle was killed by Japanese machine gun fire while imbedded with the 77th ID on 18APR45, and his death was keenly felt by all the U.S. military.
Capt (Join to see) LTC Stephen F.
CPL Doug Hill, here's a piece I did on my father.
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CPT (Join to see)
LTC Stephen C. - Do you happen to have photos of the Ie Shima airfield and the informal proceedings? I am working on documenting the unofficial surrender, as my Grandfather served in the 77th ID and was stationed there. The only photo I had from him was destroyed in a flood, but showed a G4M3 Betty, not one of the original surrender aircraft....but I have been trying to document these surrender proceedings and the various Green Cross flights. The information on the airfield and where they stopped is limited, but I think I may have found a rare photo of one of the aircraft getting ready to depart the airfield.
v/r,
CPT Butler
v/r,
CPT Butler
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LTC Stephen C.
Sorry, CPT (Join to see), I wish I could help you, but I can't. This is the only photo my father ever identified as taken at Ie Shima. Really, since he was on an LST, most all of his "land" photographs were taken on and around the beaches.
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There's a series of photos from Iraq that I've seen but I don't know the story. It shows a soldier dragging what looks like a medic and someone else comes to help but is shot, the first guy moving to help him and it appears he is then shot. You can tell that it's been raining. Those photos have gripped me for years.
Also, this series by the Rocky Mountain News won a Pulitzer and has stuck with me as well:
http://www.poyi.org/63/11/01.php
Also, this series by the Rocky Mountain News won a Pulitzer and has stuck with me as well:
http://www.poyi.org/63/11/01.php
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