Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

Graflex Sees the War contains a series of 19 mounted gelatin silver prints taken by Allied military photographers in the European and Pacific theaters during World War II.

Graflex Sees the War contains a series of 19 mounted gelatin silver prints taken by Allied military photographers in the European and Pacific theaters during World War II. This collection consists of 19 gelatin silver prints from the fourth edition of the series in their original shipping container (43 x 53.5 cm). The mailing label on the reinforced cardboard container is addressed to the manager of the Rio Theater in Hammond, Indiana. The majority of the photographs depict scenes from the Pacific theater, yet there are images from France as well. All photographs appear to have been taken in 1944. Credit for most photographs is limited to the service branch that provided them, but three items credit individual photographers by name: Cpl. Angus Robertson, Sgt. Ferman H. Dixon, and Sgt. R. B. Opper. Every credit line also includes the phrase "Graflex-made."

Titles, photo credits, and descriptions of images in order of appearance are as follows: "Two Down, Beachhead to Go, Saipan" (U.S. Coast Guard) -- soldiers under fire advancing along a beach; "Shells Away--Guam" (U.S. Navy) -- battleship firing toward shore; "Plane to Pack Train--Burma" (U.S. Army Signal Corps) -- soldiers walking with mule train, transport planes on runway in background; "U.S.-equipped Free French Troops" (U.S. Army Signal Corps) -- soldiers firing from rocky ridge; "Mam'selle 'Welcomes' Nazi Prisoner" (U.S. Navy) -- woman kicking man in city street as crowd looks on; "Hide and Seek with Death, Saipan" (U.S. Marine Corps by Cpl. Angus Robertson) -- soldiers crouching behind tank; "Biak Bound" (U.S. Coast Guard) -- deck of transport ship with convoy in background; "Victory Symbols--Past and Present" (U.S. Army Signal Corps) -- French village square showing World War I monument and advancing American tank; "105mm Howitzers In Action, Guam" (U.S. Marine Corps) -- soldiers and artillery in tropical landscape; "Channel Transfer of Invasion Wounded" (U.S. Coast Guard) -- wounded soldiers (likely injured during the invasion of Saipan) on stretchers on boat deck; "Flame, Camera, Action--Guam" (U.S. Marine Corps) -- soldiers patrolling in battle-scarred jungle; "Alligators Attacking Peleliu" (U.S. Navy) -- fleet of amphibious landing craft; "House to House Fighting--St. Malo" (U.S. Army Signal Corps) -- American soldiers under fire in French village street; "Earmarked for Guam" (U.S. Navy) - ship deck lined with large artillery shells; "Beachhead Altar, Saipan (U.S. Marine Corps by Sgt. Ferman H. Dixon) -- priest in front of makeshift altar on hood of wrecked tank; "Pause for Prayer" (U.S. Army Signal Corps) -- soldiers with rifles sitting in cathedral; civilians praying at altar; "War is H---" (U.S. Coast Guard) -- four sailors showing haircuts that spell out "H-E-L-L"; "Thar She Blows, Saipan" (U.S. Marine Corps by Sgt. R. B. Opper) -- artillery shell exploding close behind two soldiers on battlefield.