Kilroy Was There

According to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. "The Second World War was documented on a huge scale by thousands of photographers and artists who created millions of pictures." Photographic companies, designated as the Signal Corps, with their squads dispersed to different battles, had the daunting task of supplying photo documentation of the war. It's not an exaggeration to say the Signal Corps' cameramen risked their lives to record the battles and other activities during WWII. The first photographs of the D-day landing were taken by Signal Corps photographers (already on the beach) and delivered by carrier pigeons to command headquarters in England. One such Army Signal Corps photographer was Frank Kessler. whose photographs presented here in Kilroy Was There follow the U.S. Army's progress from the invasion of France on D-day to the surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945. Included are combat scenes, the capture of German snipers and other troops, casualties on both sides, the liberation of Paris, the execution of spies, public humiliation of collaborators, the liberation of allied POWs and concentration camps, joyful French civilians and dejected German civilians, and everyday life for the Gls. Kessler's photographs are of high quality and remarkable in their drama, pathos, and immediacy. Some have been previously published, but most have not. Many of the photographs are accompanied by brief cutlines written by the photographer himself. Author Tony Hillerman's essays put these powerful photographs into historical context and contribute tremendously to the annals of war. Military historians, combat veterans, and those interested in photography will value this book.