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A HAUNTING PHOTO: THE DEAD AT BUNA BEACH

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BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, FEB. 11, 2016) — When we think of photographs of WWII, the immortal picture shot by AP‘s Joe Rosenthal on Iwo Jima comes to mind. For THE PLANET, however, one sticks out even more. I first saw it as a young boy in a large picture book my father bought after the war. Memory has it as Time-Life’s Photographic History of WWII. I didn’t know it at the time, but time would call this picture:

The Photo That Won World War II: ‘Dead Americans at Buna Beach,’ 1943

Here is a guest article, written by Ben Cosgrove.

——– 000 ——–

The story behind George Strock’s famous WWII photo of three dead American soldiers half-buried in the sand at a place called Buna Beach, New Guinea.

For reasons lost to the decades, countless other pivotal battles in the Pacific have been largely forgotten by most of the world—even as they’re remembered and commemorated by the dwindling number of those still alive who fought in them, and by those who lost husbands, brothers, fathers and friends to the war. The long, long, three-and-half-year New Guinea Campaign, for example, saw scores of battles as bloody and as strategically vital as any others fought during WWII, but the names and places of many of those battles and the places strike no chord with the general public. Guadalcanal. Iwo Jima. Okinawa. Bougainville. Saipan. These names, and the names of other battles and campaigns from the Pacific Theater during World War II, serve as a kind of brutal shorthand for scenes of unspeakable carnage and, at times, unfathomable courage.

Here, LIFE.com recalls one of those pivotal battles, the Battle of Buna-Gona, through pictures made by the master photojournalist George Strock—including one of the most famous and influential photographs ever taken in any war, anywhere: the disquieting image of three dead Americans half-buried in the sand at a place called Buna Beach.

What is ultimately so notable about Strock’s picture, however—beyond its sheer technical excellence, and its quiet power—is that when it was published in LIFE magazine in September 1943, it was the first time that any photograph depicting dead American troops had appeared in any American publication during World War II. The story behind how the photograph came to be published, meanwhile, speaks volumes about LIFE magazine’s national stature during the war, and the strained relationship that always exists (and, in an elemental way, should always exist) between journalists and government officials.

The short version of the story goes like this:

For months after Strock made his now-iconic picture, LIFE’s editors pushed the American government’s military censors to allow the magazine to publish that one photograph. The concern, among some at LIFE and certainly many in the government, was that Americans were growing complacent about a war that was far from over and in which an Allied victory was far from certain. A 25-year-old LIFE correspondent in Washington named Cal Whipple refused to take no for an answer from the censors and—as he put it in a memoir written for his family years later—he “went from Army captain to major to colonel to general, until I wound up in the office of an assistant secretary of the Air Corps, who decided, ‘This has to go to the White House.’”

[Read more about the Buna Beach picture and about Whipple’s long career at LIFE in his New York Times obituary]

In the Sept. 20, 1943, issue of LIFE, in which Strock’s photo first appeared (and in which it was given a full page to itself), the magazine’s editors made the case to LIFE’s readers for publishing the picture—even if it took the better part of a year to bring the censors and President Franklin Roosevelt himself around to their way of thinking:

Here lie three Americans [the editorial began].

What shall we say of them? Shall we say that this is a noble sight? Shall we say that this is a fine thing, that they should give their lives for their country?

Or shall we say that this is too horrible to look at?

Why print this picture, anyway, of three American boys dead upon an alien shore? Is it to hurt people? To be morbid?

Those are not the reasons.

The reason is that words are never enough. The eye sees. The mind knows. The heart feels. But the words do not exist to make us see, or know, or feel what it is like, what actually happens. The words are never right. . . .

The reason we print it now is that, last week, President Roosevelt and [Director of the Office of War Information] Elmer Davis and the War Department decided that the American people ought to be able to see their own boys as they fall in battle; to come directly and without words into the presence of their own dead.

And so here it is. This is the reality that lies behind the names that come to rest at last on monuments in the leafy squares of busy American towns.

There is much, much more in the editorial, including a great deal of soaring rhetoric about America as a symbol of freedom; a paean to an archetypal “stout, gray-haired woman” baking apple pie; and always, the image of “our boys, born of our women, reared in our schools, bred to our horizons. . . . ”

Much of the language feels at-once stirring and oddly stilted today. But the editorial’s earnestness, and the conviction—evident in every line—of having done the right thing in publishing Strock’s picture, reminds us that 70 years ago, men and women still believed that a single photograph could make a difference. And who’s to say, in the end, that Strock’s photograph, and LIFE’s insistence on publishing it, didn’t do exactly that?

Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizabethRonk

——– 000 ——–

That photo haunted me whenever I played “Army” or had wars with my plastic army men. The finality of death’s pose, so serene, gave me my first conscious glimpse of our common fate. Who knows? It might have been the thing that got me to become a “thinker” at a young age, one of the pre-requisites for the literary and journalistic career path I eventually chose.

———————————————————————————————-

“War is what happens when words fail.”Margaret Atwood

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

The views expressed in the comment section or opinions published within the text other than those of PLANET VALENTI are not those of PLANET VALENTI or endorsed in any way by PLANET VALENTI; this website reserves the right to remove any comment which violates its Rules of Conduct, and it is not liable for the consequences of any posted comment as provided in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and PLANET VALENTI’s terms of service.

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Beezerdo
Beezerdo
8 years ago

Millions of Native Americans and Children have been killed also, by Americans.

Jonathan Melle
Jonathan Melle
8 years ago

Off topic, but maybe A&F Director Matt Kerwood should sign up for this course. But he will probably predictably raise municipal taxes in Pittsfield by about 5% for fiscal year 2017, which begins on July 1, 2016.

If I still lived in Pittsfield, I would take this course!

– Jonathan Melle

NEWS Article:

Pittsfield: “Financial planning workshop offered”
The Berkshire Eagle, 2/10/2016

The Berkshire Athenaeum, in partnership with Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity, is offering a free workshop series on financial planning.

The series will run from 10 a.m. to noon Thursdays, Feb. 18 through March 31, in the Athenaeum Computer Lab.

The series will utilize “You Need a Budget” software.

Habitat’s Financial Empowerment Director Lin Schreiber will help participants to achieve financial stability, save money and break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.

At the end of the series, participants will gain a customized budget that meets their needs.

As space is limited, registration is required and can be made through the Athenaeum website at pittsfieldlibrary.org, the Reference Department at pittsref@cwmars.org, or by calling 413-499-9480, ext. 202, during regular library hours.

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/community/ci_29500645/pittsfield-financial-planning-workshop-offered

Jonathan Melle
Jonathan Melle
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
8 years ago

“Executive ignores GE’s sordid Pittsfield history”
The Berkshire Eagle, Letters, 2/11/2016

To the editor:

I read with interest the Feb. 2 letter from Deirdre Latour, vice president and chief communications officer of GE (“GE in Massachusetts is good corporate citizen”). Instantly, two thoughts came to mind: “Climbing the corporate ladder,” and “sugarcoating.”

My grandfather graduated from GE’s first apprentice program in toolmaking in 1907. He told me that after church on summer Sundays he and his family took a trolley to Silver Lake to enjoy a picnic and swim from a beach employees made or fish from a rowboat. GE then filled in a big portion of the lake and it became polluted with more than PCBs. It did not freeze in winter. Of all things, it caught fire and posed a threat to the neighborhood. This made national headlines.

I also recall people catching bait fish in Silver Lake. GE was required to fence off the lake out of fear of contamination.

None of this was brought out by the vice president. Neither was the pollution of the Housatonic River, which was so pristine that anglers from everywhere, including President Herbert Hoover, came to fish in it.

It was once said that the hypothetical neutron bomb struck GE. It eliminated the people (workers) and left the polluted buildings standing. Then GE gave Pittsfield a million dollars for 10 years in lieu of taxes. We were to be thankful.

GE’s role in communities, values and the rest sounds so nice. Hogwash!

Ed Stevens, Pittsfield

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/letters/ci_29505289/letter-executive-ignores-ges-sordid-pittsfield-history

Irvin Corey
Irvin Corey
Reply to  Jonathan Melle
8 years ago

PCBs do not easily burn, that’s why they used them in transformers… nor do they float, If the surface of the water was on fire some other substance must have been burning. PCB’s finding their way to the bottom of the lake would have very little effect on the lake not freezing. I believe GE discharged waste hot water into the lake……

Let us not forget that there were other businesses other than GE that polluted the lake

Paul
Paul
8 years ago

Lots of Native Americans fought and died in WW 2. I am not sure what your point is Beezerdo.

full circle
full circle
8 years ago

Freedom is not free.

The second amendment to the United States Constitution has absolutely nothing to do with hunting or personal self defense.

Whenever a people become enslaved, eventually they rise up and strive to gain their freedom at the ultimate cost. If only the people would cherish and defend the freedom they have BEFORE they lose it.

In every single country where the people have lost their right to bear arms, the people have deeply regretted it. Even Putin has admonished the American people to never surrender their arms.

The Democratic Liberal party is hell bent on doing away with your second amendment rights. Vote for Donald Trump and keep the one thing that truly makes this nation free.

SOL
SOL
Reply to  full circle
8 years ago

I may very well end up voting for Trump, but your statement about the Dems taking away 2nd amendment rights is completely untrue. Only a complete idiot believes anything the NRA says.

Benigno Fiasconi
Benigno Fiasconi
Reply to  SOL
8 years ago

As an expert on the NRA please tell us what they say SOL.I have been following left wing democrats since the 1960’s and indeed they do want to ed private ownership of firearms in ths country. You can find them saying this on youtube and countless quotes,

bbb
bbb
Reply to  SOL
8 years ago

SOL have you been hiding under a rock? The democrat liberal agenda can easily be proven. Wow.

SOL
SOL
Reply to  bbb
8 years ago

BBB and BF – 2 prime examples of the dumbing down of America.

Still Wondering
Still Wondering
8 years ago

Lunatics don’t need a point. They just rave at whatever is close by.

MrG1188
MrG1188
8 years ago

My grandfather-in-law was a captain in the navy and an original Seabee; one of the first. The courage, determination and utter disregard for their own safety and well being in performance of their duty was truly astounding. They would land on those tiny, now forgotten islands in advance of or along with the invading marines, and build airstrips and etc. clandestinely and usually under withering enemy fire, as those islands were usually far from secured at that point. Talk about sacrificing for a cause and working for the greater good!

SOL
SOL
Reply to  MrG1188
8 years ago

I am always in total awe of the tremendous bravery our soldiers display.

SOL
SOL
8 years ago

It is often forgotten that the immortal picture shot by AP‘s Joe Rosenthal on Iwo Jima was a re-enactment. They wanted a bigger US Flag in the photo so redid it.
The US suffered alot of casualties but the Soviet Union suffered the most. They lost more lives during the seige on Leningrad alone, than the US and Britain combined for the entire war.
It was a horrible, horrible war with over 50 millions lives lost. Some of mankind learned the lessons of what happened during WW2, but as we are seeing far too often there are still way too many power hungry factions out there with very little regard for human life.

Dilly Dally
Dilly Dally
8 years ago

The murders and Wars in the Streets in our own Country, is an unacceptable picture.

mi
mi
8 years ago

War is horrible.

AlaskanBushClowns
AlaskanBushClowns
8 years ago

sO follow Liz Ronk?

Gene
Gene
8 years ago

I have seen this picture. It is both at once a great photo and a terrible photo. All war is futile.

Steve
Steve
8 years ago

With the Old Breed – a highly recommended memoir by E.B. Sledge of the fierce Pacific Theater during WWII

Dilly Dally
Dilly Dally
8 years ago

@ Jonathan Off Topic; Yes, heard that also about Silver Lake catching fire. Nothing like a Barbecue at the Lake.

Shelly Liver
Shelly Liver
8 years ago

Way-way off topic. Questionable votes concerning the Albany School. Wasn’t this already defeated? Well, at least taxpayer had an opportunity.

Barack Kelley
Barack Kelley
8 years ago

Going to war is the is the single greatest tragedy that only a small
fraction of the US population has to endure. Generally the nations
youngest adults are asked to bare this responsibility. THE poor
shoulder the greatest brunt of having to go to war. In the US, every
single individual should shoulder the responsibility in providing some
kind of service to America. We have reached a point that politicians
have no qualms going to war at the drop of a pin because their
children won’t be asked to sacrifice. If these politicians knew that
they’re children might have to serve in a war they may think
differently- than they do today about war. We owe our military past,
present and future the greatest respect- for shouldering the
responsibilities of this nation and making us the best country in the
world. As veterans are such a small percentage of the general
population, it is a good bet that there are none who post here who are
veterans. I know that one individual who ran for mayor was a decorated
Viet -Nam Vet– Mr. G. I do know him slightly, having called him
after one of his tv shows. He is Pro vet and pro taxpayer and talks
with compassoin about both. I streamed his tv show that will air
friday. This show should be viewed by every citizen in this city and
every city in America. The main theme of the show is common sense. The
city taxpayer has a real sincere friend in him. If he ever runs for
office again, he should shun Pittsfield and run for President. Me and
my family and friends would definitely vote for him. He has tremendous
common sense not normally seen in politicians at every level of the
american government

Mr. G. is also the co-founder of Viet-Vets chapter 65 of Berkshire
county with his two friends Roland Nichols and former Health
inspector- Larry Caprari The wiz also set up the Sister City of Cava
de Terrieni. He connected his employee -Mayor Abro of Cava de Terrieni
and the Late former Mayor, Charles L. Smith. He headed the first
contingency of Pittsfield residents to visit the Italian city. The
Wizard has many surprises. and was a very engaged city resident in his
younger days

apple
apple
Reply to  Barack Kelley
8 years ago

It looks like now instead of the caps lock key you are having a turrets wth the Enter key Mr.G.

Shakes His Head
Shakes His Head
Reply to  apple
8 years ago

No, that’s cutting and pasting.

Discreet Cat
Discreet Cat
8 years ago

Been saying all along, Wiz is Great!

CosbiesLadies
CosbiesLadies
8 years ago

Off Topic a little bit.
How many times is PCTV going to show the Herberg School student faculty floor hockey game. This event happened in December for crying out loud. It is getting to be tiresome when looking for programming. It almost as bad as the…..

Barack Kelley
Barack Kelley
Reply to  CosbiesLadies
8 years ago

I was thinking that myself

Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone
Reply to  CosbiesLadies
8 years ago

I would rather see the school committee lying

Nota
Nota
8 years ago

I like the l@@k Planet!

harlan Rinkelnutts
harlan Rinkelnutts
8 years ago

I used to look as good as the Planet.