Wait for Me, Daddy!

"From what I understood from the photographer, he was trying to get a picture of how many soldiers there were, but then this kid made the getaway." (Jack Bernard)

It's the most famous photo ever to be taken in Canada during World War II.  It appeared in Life, Time and Newsweek.  It hung in every school in British Columbia during the war.  And it was used to sell Canadian war bonds.  It's called "Wait for Me, Daddy!".

On October 1, 1940, a column of Canadian soldiers marched down Vancouver's Columbia Ave. to the train station.  Their uniforms freshly pressed, their hats tilted on their head at just the right angle, their boots freshly shined, the new recruits were ready for battle.  But one little boy wasn't ready for them to leave.  The white-blond haired boy broke away from his mother's grasp and ran after his father who was part of the column, reaching out his little hand as if to say "Wait for me, Daddy!".  His father responded by reaching out his own hand. His elegantly dressed mother reached out for her son's hand, trying to keep up.  

All the while, photographer Claude Dettloff was snapping photographs of the column of soldiers on Columbia Ave.  Unprepared for the scene to follow, he captured a once in a lifetime moment on film.  His photograph would be published in The Province newspaper,  later to be picked up by several magazines including Reader's Digest.  Dettloff would become famous over the heart-grabbing image of the white-blond haired boy chasing his war-bound father down the street.

                                        

nationalpost.com

The little boy, Warren Bernard, returned to his Vancouver home that autumn day with his mother, Bernice.  His father, Jack, along with the rest of the British Columbia Regiment, boarded a train for Nanaimo where he underwent military training.

Later Jack fought on the battlefields of France and Belgium.  On the home front, Bernice and Warren lived out the war on a modest income in a rented apartment.  Since money was scarce, Bernice agreed to let Warren participate in a war bonds tour in 1943.  Dressed in a smart blue blazer and short grey pants, Warren toured the province with war bonds that featured the famous Dettloff photo.  The young boy, who had to take time off from his schooling at General Wolfe Elementary, delivered the same speech every time, ending with the line:  "Help bring my Daddy home!"  The teary-eyed audience usually responded generously to his plea.  When Jack Bernard returned home in October of 1945, Bernice and Warren were there to meet him, as was Claude Dettloff, ready to photograph the happy reunion.  

The white-haired boy grew up, married in 1964 and in the 1980's, became mayor of Tofino, British Columbia.  A sculpture honouring the moment the Bernard family said goodbye, was recently erected at the corner of 8th Street and Columbia Avenue, the spot where the original photo was taken.  Canada Post has issued a two dollar coin with the famous image.

The reunion between father and son courtesy blogspot.com.

I Took the Picture, The Marines Took Iwo Jima

"In honor and in memory of the men of the U.S. Marine Corps who have given their lives to their country since November 10, 1775."

http://xn----7sblzbpcg.xn--p1ai/iwo-jima-memorial-pictures.php

Across the Potomac River from Washington D.C. in Arlington Ridge Park is the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial.  It consists of six men, five Marines and one Navy corpsman, raising the flag on Iwo Jima during the Second World War.  Sculpted by Felix de Weldon, it is based on a famous photograph that ended up on the front page of almost every American newspaper.  Capturing Iwo Jima helped America win the war. Capturing the photograph helped Joe Rosenthal win the Pulitzer Prize.

It was February 23, 1945.  America had been at war for over three years, the world for almost five.  American troops had island hopped across the Pacific in their battle against Japan.  Iwo Jima was the last big territory to conquer.  But it would come at a high price.  Out of the 70,000 Marines who invaded the island, almost 7,000 suffered casualties.  Japan had an even higher casualty rate at 23,000.

The Marines were determined to capture the island and what better way to do that than to take its highest peak, Mount Suribachi.  The Americans fought well that day and a few Marines mounted a small flag on top of the mountain.

Mount Suribachi circa February 1945 courtesy https://bluejacket.com/ww2_images.html.

Down below, photographer Joe Rosenthal heard about the flag planting.  Louis Lowery had already taken a shot of the flag, but Joe thought it was still worth investigating.  He set out to climb the 550-foot volcano, sidestepping mines as he ascended.  Half an hour later he reached the peak.  But he did not find what he expected.  Six servicemen were planting an even bigger Stars and Stripes to replace the smaller one.  At 5 foot 5 inches tall, Joe could not see much.  So he hastily made a pile of rocks and grabbed a sandbag.  He stood on top of the homemade pedestal and snapped the photograph.  Then he slowly made his way down the mountain, his Speed Graphic camera in hand.

Joe was surprised to see his photograph on the front page of almost every newspaper the next day.  The picture went a long way in building America's moral.  As author Hal Buell explained:  "It said victory more than it said anything."  

Joe Rosenthal poised with his camera on Iwo Jima courtesy
http://alchetron.com/Joe-Rosenthal-1369464-W.

Later that year, Joe Rosenthal won the Pulitzer Prize for his efforts.  However, he was reluctant to take the credit, saying:  "I took the picture, the Marines took Iwo Jima."  He would go on to work for the San Francisco Chronicle as a general assignment photographer for 35 years.  But his most famous photo remains the Iwo Jima image.  

Out of the six servicemen who raised the flag on Iwo Jima, three died in battle later in that campaign.  However, the surviving three went on to sell war bonds featuring the famous photograph.  Assets from the war bonds totalled 23.6 million dollars.

Advertisement for war bonds courtesy www.awesomestories.com.

Source:  www.washingtonpost.com

For more information:

1.  Read Hal Buell's book Uncommon Valor, Uncommon Virtue.

2.  Watch the movie "Flags of our Fathers" (Clint Eastwood).

Canada's Most Famous War Photo Graces Stamp

It's the most famous and most recognized photo ever to be taken in Canada during World War II.  It appeared in Life, Time and Newsweek.  It hung in every school in British Columbia during the war.  And it was used to sell Canadian war bonds.  It is called "Wait for Me, Daddy!".

On October 1, 1940, a column of Canadian soldiers walked down Vancouver's Columbia Ave. to the train station.  Their uniforms freshly pressed, their hats tilted on their head at just the right angle, their boots freshly shined, their bodies trained for battle.  But one little boy wasn't ready for them to leave.  The white-blond haired boy broke away from his mother's grasp and ran after his father who was part of the column, reaching out his little hand as if to say "Wait for me, Daddy!".  His father responded by reaching out his own hand. His elegantly dressed mother reached out for her son's hand, trying to keep up.  

All the while, photographer Claude Dettloff was snapping photographs of the column of soldiers on Columbia Ave.  Unprepared for the scene to follow, he captured a once in a lifetime moment on film. His photograph would be published in The Province newspaper,  later to be picked up by several magazines including Reader's Digest.  Dettloff would become famous over the heart-grabbing image of the white-haired boy chasing his war-bound father down the street.

The little boy, Warren "Whitey" Bernard, later sold war bonds for his country, holding up the famous photo and pleading with his audience to help "bring his Daddy home".  Warren's Daddy was one of the lucky ones who returned five years later, in October 1945, for a happy reunion with his son.

"Wait for Me, Daddy!" stamp issued by Canada Post in 2014 courtesy https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/blogs/collecting/details.page?article=2014/10/04/wait_for_me_daddy&cattype=collecting&cat=stamps.

Wait for Me, Daddy!

"From what I understood from the photographer, he was trying to get a picture of how many soldiers there were, but then this kid made the getaway." (Jack Bernard)

It's the most famous photo ever to be taken in Canada during World War II.  It appeared in Life, Time and Newsweek.  It hung in every school in British Columbia during the war.  And it was used to sell Canadian war bonds.  It's called "Wait for Me, Daddy!".

On October 1, 1940, a column of Canadian soldiers marched down Vancouver's Columbia Ave. to the train station.  Their uniforms freshly pressed, their hats tilted on their head at just the right angle, their boots freshly shined, the new recruits were ready for battle.  But one little boy wasn't ready for them to leave.  The white-blond haired boy broke away from his mother's grasp and ran after his father who was part of the column, reaching out his little hand as if to say "Wait for me, Daddy!".  His father responded by reaching out his own hand. His elegantly dressed mother reached out for her son's hand, trying to keep up.  

All the while, photographer Claude Dettloff was snapping photographs of the column of soldiers on Columbia Ave.  Unprepared for the scene to follow, he captured a once in a lifetime moment on film.  His photograph would be published in The Province newspaper,  later to be picked up by several magazines including Reader's Digest.  Dettloff would become famous over the heart-grabbing image of the white-blond haired boy chasing his war-bound father down the street.

                                        

nationalpost.com

The little boy, Warren Bernard, returned to his Vancouver home that autumn day with his mother, Bernice.  His father, Jack, along with the rest of the British Columbia Regiment, boarded a train for Nanaimo where he underwent military training.

Later Jack fought on the battlefields of France and Belgium.  On the home front, Bernice and Warren lived out the war on a modest income in a rented apartment.  Since money was scarce, Bernice agreed to let Warren participate in a war bonds tour in 1943.  Dressed in a smart blue blazer and short grey pants, Warren toured the province with war bonds that featured the famous Dettloff photo.  The young boy, who had to take time off from his schooling at General Wolfe Elementary, delivered the same speech every time, ending with the line:  "Help bring my Daddy home!"  The teary-eyed audience usually responded generously to his plea.  When Jack Bernard returned home in October of 1945, Bernice and Warren were there to meet him, as was Claude Dettloff, ready to photograph the happy reunion.  

The white-haired boy grew up, married in 1964 and in the 1980's, became mayor of Tofino, British Columbia.  A sculpture honouring the moment the Bernard family said goodbye, was recently erected at the corner of 8th Street and Columbia Avenue, the spot where the original photo was taken.  Canada Post has issued a two dollar coin with the famous image.

The reunion between father and son courtesy blogspot.com.

I Took the Picture, The Marines Took Iwo Jima

"In honor and in memory of the men of the U.S. Marine Corps who have given their lives to their country since November 10, 1775."

http://xn----7sblzbpcg.xn--p1ai/iwo-jima-memorial-pictures.php

Across the Potomac River from Washington D.C. in Arlington Ridge Park is the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial.  It consists of six men, five Marines and one Navy corpsman, raising the flag on Iwo Jima during the Second World War.  Sculpted by Felix de Weldon, it is based on a famous photograph that ended up on the front page of almost every American newspaper.  Capturing Iwo Jima helped America win the war. Capturing the photograph helped Joe Rosenthal win the Pulitzer Prize.

It was February 23, 1945.  America had been at war for over three years, the world for almost five.  American troops had island hopped across the Pacific in their battle against Japan.  Iwo Jima was the last big territory to conquer.  But it would come at a high price.  Out of the 70,000 Marines who invaded the island, almost 7,000 suffered casualties.  Japan had an even higher casualty rate at 23,000.

The Marines were determined to capture the island and what better way to do that than to take its highest peak, Mount Suribachi.  The Americans fought well that day and a few Marines mounted a small flag on top of the mountain.

Mount Suribachi circa February 1945 courtesy https://bluejacket.com/ww2_images.html.

Down below, photographer Joe Rosenthal heard about the flag planting.  Louis Lowery had already taken a shot of the flag, but Joe thought it was still worth investigating.  He set out to climb the 550-foot volcano, sidestepping mines as he ascended.  Half an hour later he reached the peak.  But he did not find what he expected.  Six servicemen were planting an even bigger Stars and Stripes to replace the smaller one.  At 5 foot 5 inches tall, Joe could not see much.  So he hastily made a pile of rocks and grabbed a sandbag.  He stood on top of the homemade pedestal and snapped the photograph.  Then he slowly made his way down the mountain, his Speed Graphic camera in hand.

Joe was surprised to see his photograph on the front page of almost every newspaper the next day.  The picture went a long way in building America's moral.  As author Hal Buell explained:  "It said victory more than it said anything."  

Joe Rosenthal poised with his camera on Iwo Jima courtesy
http://alchetron.com/Joe-Rosenthal-1369464-W.

Later that year, Joe Rosenthal won the Pulitzer Prize for his efforts.  However, he was reluctant to take the credit, saying:  "I took the picture, the Marines took Iwo Jima."  He would go on to work for the San Francisco Chronicle as a general assignment photographer for 35 years.  But his most famous photo remains the Iwo Jima image.  

Out of the six servicemen who raised the flag on Iwo Jima, three died in battle later in that campaign.  However, the surviving three went on to sell war bonds featuring the famous photograph.  Assets from the war bonds totalled 23.6 million dollars.

Advertisement for war bonds courtesy www.awesomestories.com.

Source:  www.washingtonpost.com

For more information:

1.  Read Hal Buell's book Uncommon Valor, Uncommon Virtue.

2.  Watch the movie "Flags of our Fathers" (Clint Eastwood).