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

Killed Over Truk -- Buried at Sea: The flag-draped body of a machine-gunner of a Navy carrier-based plane is shown here, poised at the edge of the carrier's flight deck, just before burial at sea. The man was killed by flak while his plane was bombing Truk in the Carolines. Shipmates stand at attention; riflemen are poised for salute, and the band stands ready for the traditional roll of drums.

Operation Hailstone was a massive United States Navy air and surface attack on Truk Lagoon, conducted as part of the American offensive drive against the Imperial Japanese Navy through the Central Pacific Ocean. Between the air attacks and surface ship attacks over the two days of Operation Hailstone, the worst blow against the Japanese was about 250 warplanes destroyed, with the concurrent irreplaceable loss of experienced pilots. Also, about forty ships — two light cruisers, four destroyers, nine auxiliary ships, and about two dozen cargo vessels — were sunk.

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, "KILLED OVER TRUK - BURIED AT SEA / The flag-draped body of a machine-gunner of a Navy carrier-based plane, is shown here, poised at the / edge of the carrier's flight deck, just before the burial at sea. The man was killed by flak while on a / plane bombing Truk in the Carolines. Shipmates stand at attention; riflemen are poised for salute and / the band stands ready for the traditional roll of drums. Produced Exclusively by Dispatch Photo News Service, New York City". Handwritten in graphite in top left corner, "DP-WW2-066".

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:

• Aircraft carriers
• Burials at sea
• Corpses
• Death
• Gunners
• Killed in action
• Pacific Theater
• Sailors
• Truk
• United States Navy
• United States Navy
• World War II

This object is a member of the following portfolios: