Purchased by the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College on August 12, 2020 from Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York.

Four Minutes After He Was Injured: There was a tough struggle for the Japanese outpost at Lae, New Guinea before it fell into Allied hands. It was not won without cost. The soldier on the stretcher was hit by a Japanese bomb fragment. This picture was made as he was rushed to a first aid station just four minutes later. The stretcher bearers constantly risked their lives to save the lives of others.

Australian and United States forces sought to capture two major Japanese bases, one in the town of Lae, and another one at Salamaua. After an amphibious landing at Nassau Bay, the Australians were reinforced by a U.S. regimental combat team in January of 1943. The Allies kept up the pressure on the Japanese around Salamaua. In early September they launched an airborne assault on Nadzab and a seaborne landing near Lae, subsequently taking the town with simultaneous drives from the east and north-west. As the situation around Lae grew more desperate, the Salamaua garrison withdrew. It was captured on September 11, 1943, while Lae fell shortly afterwards on 16 September, bringing the campaign to an end.

Ferrotyped prints are processed in such a way that they are shiny. The print has a sensitive surface, usually thinner, because it was put through a press while still wet.

On recto: Label in bottom right corner, "DISPATCH / PHOTO NEWS / SERVICE / INC. / NEW YORK".

On verso: Typewritten label attached in center, "FOUR MINUTES AFTER HE WAS INJURED / There was a tough struggle for the Jap outpost at Lae, New Guinea, before it fell into Allied hands. It / was not won without cost. The soldier on the stretcher was hit by a Jap bomb fragment. This picture / was made as he was rushed to a first aid station just four minutes later. The stretcher bearers constantly / risked their lives to save the lives of others. Produced Exclusively by Dispatch Photo News Service, New York City". Handwritten in graphite in top left corner, "DP-WW2-087".

Ferrotyped prints have a sensitive surface, usually shiny and thinner, because they are put through a press while still wet. Ferrotyping makes the surface of the photograph smoother. Light does not scatter as much on a smoother surface, so this increases contrast. That makes ferrotyped images better for press photography.

This object has the following keywords:

• Australia
• Casualties
• First aid stations
• Japan
• Lae
• Pacific Theater
• Salamaua Lae Campaign
• Shells
• Stretchers
• United States Army
• United States Army
• World War II

This object is a member of the following portfolios: