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

Mass on Tarawa: After the smoke of the bloody battle that preceded the American invasion of Tarawa cleared, this photo was taken. Marines kneel in tribute to their fallen comrades. Father C. C. Riedel, USMC, of Chicago, says mass. Father Henry Jolivelm, kneeling, is a French priest who escaped from the Japanese on Tarawa. Father Jolivelm acts as an altar boy. The altar is made up of a gun carriage.

The Battle of Tarawa took place at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. It was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio, in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll. The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical Central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the Pacific War that the United States had faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing. Previous landings met little or no initial resistance, but on Tarawa, the 4,500 Japanese defenders were well supplied and well prepared. The Japanese fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps. The losses on Tarawa were incurred within 76 hours.

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, "MASS ON TARAWA / After the smoke of the bloody battle that preceeded[sic] the American invasion of Tarawa cleared, this / photo was taken. Marines kneel in tribute to their fallen comrades. Father C.C. Riedel, USMC, of / Chicago, says mass. Father Henry Jolivelm, (kneeling) a French priest who escaped from the Japs on / Tarawa, acts as an altar boy. The altar is made up of a gun carriage. Produced Exclusively by Dispatch Photo News Service, New York City". Handwritten in graphite in top left corner, "DP-WW2-024".

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:

• Catholicism
• Chicago
• Death
• Father C. C. Riedel
• Father C. C. Riedel
• Father Henry Jolivelm
• Father Henry Jolivelm
• Invasion of the Gilbert Islands
• Invasions
• Invasions
• Killed in action
• Marines
• Masses
• Mourning
• Tarawa Island
• United States Marine Corps
• World War II

This object is a member of the following portfolios: