Grim death on Engebi: The knife in the hands of the dead U.S. Marine in the foreground finished off the dead Japanese in the background in hand-to-hand combat. Then a Japanese sniper felled the Marine before he could take cover. The scene of this bitter battle was Enegebi Island, in the Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshals, February 1944.

Sheet: 8 x 9 3/4

Wire photographs were originally transmitted over phonelines, then later, by satellite. They were first used in the early 1920s. Associated Press became a leader with this. After pigment touch-ups, etc., the print is put into a drum (like a drum scanner). The image gets converted into audio tones that are transmitted. The tones are received and beamed onto photo-sensitive paper. Wire photographs are copies without originals---they are hybrid, transmitted objects. (Britt Salvesen, Curator and Department Head, Photography Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, March 30-31, 2022)

This object has the following keywords:

• Corpses
• Death
• Engebi Island
• Hand to hand combat
• Japan
• Killed in action
• Marines
• Pacific Theater
• Snipers
• Soldiers
• United States Marine Corps
• United States Marine Corps
• World War II

• Image Dimensions: 7 1/2 x 9 9/16 in. (19.05 x 24.29 cm)

This object is a member of the following portfolios: