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Posts from the ‘Editorial’ category

“ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL”

Perhaps at birth, but not always in death especially in the military. When we first saw this photo it appeared to us to be an American Military cemetery likely in Europe. Research indicates otherwise. The grave of a three star general is prominent in the photo. This is the grave of Lt. General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. (10th Army) who was killed by Japanese shell fire on June 18, 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa. The general’s remains were later interred in the family mausoleum at the Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky in 1949. The general was posthumously awarded his fourth star in 1954.

“The General“; Okinawa c.1947.

“MY COUSIN VINNY”

“No, the defense is wrong!!” I have definitely been watching too many movies. The connection just seemed to be so obvious. Just high school graduation revelers in this case having too much fun. So much for my quiet neighborhood.

“My Cousin Vinny“; North Babylon, N. Y. (June 25, 2022).

GAMBLING: IT’S HUMAN NATURE

I entered a 50% card store the other day in order to purchase a greeting card. The greeting cards are actually a front for a gambling den. Virtually everyone who enters buys lottery tickets. A dollar and a dream. More accurately $2.00, inflation and all, for a scratch off. I watched as a patron asked for a scratch off. The proprietor said which one? I interjected, “preferably a winning one”. It was not to be. Perhaps it would be understandable to try your luck for a couple of dollars on occasion, but most of the patrons were asking for multiple tickets and also playing the daily numbers. It was obvious that these were committed gamblers. Would not they have been better off to have invested their money over time in taking a course on computer coding for example? Human nature, I guess.

“Lottery Ticket“; (June 18, 2022) West Babylon, N. Y.

The USS Forrestal (CV-59) docked at Virginia Beach.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

I’m sorry, but when another ship of the line is scrapped for a penny it does not sit well with me and I did not serve in the Navy. Now it is the USS Kitty Hawk to be scrapped in Brownsville, Texas. Assuming this ship still floats are there not many more possible uses for it even if it no longer is viable serving as an aircraft carrier? After all, it’s not like junking your old car. It takes some time to build a ship like this. Perhaps it all boils down to money. Too expensive to maintain. The scrapyards seem to be one of the winners here. Maybe I’m in the wrong business. So where will the scrap steel end up? Will it be in our hands or that of an ally of the United States or an adversary? These deals stink IMO, and it just breaks my heart to see a great ship end up on the cutting room floor.

“Flattop“; Virginia Beach, Virginia (April 17, 1982)

BABY FORMULA

We’re strong. We can take it. Just look at the Ukrainians to understand the meaning of sacrifice.

1:59.40

1:59.40! That was the winning time for Secretariat in the 1973 Kentucky Derby. If and when Rich Strike can equal or beat that time I will take my hat off to him. Still, it was an amazing accomplishment. Secretariat was a very special horse and we salute his career in “Secretariat Redux”; Wyoming (July 19, 1961). Of course Secretariat was not born until 9 years later and the markings don’t match. Maybe this is Stewball !

HELLCATS OF THE PACIFIC

Navy people help us out on this. We believe – we believe that this photo dates from 1945. Hellcat fighters are seen lashed to the deck of an aircraft carrier during a storm. Most probably during a typhoon off the coast of Okinawa during the Battle of Okinawa. That is our assessment with a high degree of probability. The remaining question is to identify the carrier. Thirty-nine carriers took part in the invasion, 35 American and 4 British. We do not conclude that the photo shows the deck of one of the British carriers. Of the 39 total only 19 were assigned Hellcats. Other aircraft included Avengers and Corsairs. We further argue that the photo does not show one of the fleet carriers, the Enterprise, Yorktown or Hornet. that leaves us with 15 possible carriers, the support carriers. On some of these ships the superstructure was toward the bow not amidship, and we eliminated those from consideration. All we can say is that we are looking at the deck of one of the support carriers during a typhoon. If you really want to hazard a guess as to which carrier this is try the USS Santee.

“Hellcats“; in the Pacific off the coast of Okinawa (April 1945)

UKRAINE – RUSSIA WAR !!!

“Glory to Ukraine”. “Glory to the Heroes”. Sean Work traveled throughout Ukraine in the summer of 2014. He contributed his work to DPI in July 2015, and it has been a main feature on our website to include our homepage. Since the war began we have been featuring Sean’s photos on our Twitter page every day and will continue to do so until the conclusion of the conflict. Presented in this blog are 14 selected photos taken from Sean’s essay. They include photos taken in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Sloviansk in the Donbas. View the complete essay at: dispatchpressimages.com/photographers/sean-work/photos.

On the line between Springfield, Colorado through Boise City, Oklahoma to Dalhart, Texas.

DUST BOWL: BLACK SUNDAY

Just another dust bowl photo? Maybe, but previously unpublished ones are getting more difficult to find. This is the latest addition to our collection: “Dust Bowl: Black Sunday” taken on April 14, 1935 of course. Research indicates that the exact location is somewhere on the line that runs through Springfield, Colorado in Baca county thence through Boise City, Oklahoma in the strip and then through Dalhart, Texas in the panhandle.

Reminder: You can now download DPI’s stock images for personal, non-commercial use. EARLY BIRD SPECIAL- $19.95 per image. Offer good until June 30, 2022. Plus 8.63% sales tax for New York State residents. Hi-res w/o watermark. Details: info@dispatchpressimages.com

WHAT’S THE STORY ?

You fill in the blanks. You write this story. Accident? End of a robbery and police chase? Drug deal gone bad. A homicide perhaps? Looks like it could be from a scene in “No Country for Old Men” (2007) or “Hell or High Water” (2016). Maybe none of the above. “Trail’s End“; Texas c.1970.