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WWII death photo of Ernie Pyle recovered 62 years after he died
Posted: Feb 07, 2008 in Culture
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This photo provided by Richard Strasser, perhaps never before published, shows famed World War II war correspondent Ernie Pyle shortly after he was killed by a Japanese machine gun bullet on the island of Ie Shima on April 18, 1945. Pyle, 44, had just arrived in the Pacific after four years of writing his popular column from European battlefronts. The Army photographer who crawled forward under fire to make this picture later said it was withheld by military officials. An AP survey of history museums and archives found only a few copies in existence, and no trace of the original negative. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Richard Strasser)
wow!
Since Ernie Pyle's sudden death on the island of Ie Shima, people around the country have only been able to imagine the sacrifices Pyle made to the people of America as a correspondent reporter of World War II.
Sixty-two years after his death, a recovered photograph depicting Pyle lying on the ground after being shot shows the horrific but historical significance of Pyle and his cause.
The Associated Press reported that the photo was taken by an Army photographer who crawled forward under fire to snap the picture. The photograph was later withheld by military officials.
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One of the few known existing prints of this photograph has been in the collections of the Indiana Historical Society since 1999. For more information on this and other Indiana-related historical treasures, visit the IHS Web site at www.indianahistory.org.
You can also access the majority of items in the IHS Collections in person through a visit to the William Henry Smith Memorial Library at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center--the reference staff would be happy to help you research the collections and bring items down to the Sally Reahard Reading Room for a viewing.