Perspectives of Awe

Yes, I realize that there is a certain level of repetition with some photographs and quotes, but this was necessary to illustrate a point I have been meaning to make about the power of photographs.

“What is the most badass military picture you have ever seen?”

There have been many… but two (possibly three) stand out:

There is a better picture from the same day which gives a bit more perspective:

From the associated Facebook post I wrote a while back:

My desktop background is a slideshow of American submarines in action during World War Two, and this picture happened to be the one displayed when I sat down to sort out various research projects. Since details fascinate me, I noted the proximity of the boat to the beach and – most importantly – the spray kicked up from the exhaust of the diesels while there were no indications of fore or aft movement of the sub.

Since my collection of photographs typically bear no identification of the date or boat, I had to do an odd Google search to find the thousand words behind the photograph. It turns out that this was one of several photos of the 1Apr44 rescue of Ensign John Galvin by the USS Harder (SS-257). Digging more into the patrol reports available online, I happily lost about an hour reading about how the boat was maneuvered 1500 yards from the beach, scraping the bottom of the hull on the reef and both screws being used to hold position long enough for volunteers to brave sniper fire and rescue the downed pilot.

While there is much more to this story than the brief credit I give here, I will probably never get tired of examples of insane bravery of a generation which is slowly fading away to mere words on a page. The risks undertaken for the rescue of a fellow countryman never met… to delicately position a vital and far from maneuverable craft in shallow, unfamiliar waters… to defy self-preservation and succumb to convenient resignation for the fate one man… Yeah, these stories are extremely interesting glimpses as to how things can be done right.

The second one is one from my own collection:

Ok, here’s why I consider these pictures “badass”:

Neither the crew of the Harder in 1944 nor the crews that flew Medevac birds in 2007 knew the person they were going to save. The former example was the effort of the entire crew of the boat for one American pilot; the latter was the effort of the air crews to pick up everyone in need of assistance – American soldiers, third-country nationals working as contractors, Iraqi police and Army personnel, civilians caught in the fighting, and enemy prisoners of war. It didn’t matter who they were or what their motivations/involvement in the conflict was – the fact that they needed medical attention was all that mattered… and we went… unarmed and fast… into airspace crowded and filled with dangers (some external, some self-induced)… often tired and/or hungry… phone calls home abruptly terminated… everything put on hold…

…For a complete stranger. Someone we would only know for a brief period of our lives. Someone who’s loss would create a void in someone else’s life, or someone who would return to the arms of family and friends. Someone who would more than likely never get to thank us – or anyone in the chain of their care – for our sweat, frustration, and purpose.

“What is the most badass military picture you’ve ever seen?”

Any picture that shows the selfless determination to risk everything for another person.