Bidspirit auction | Poignant Photograph of American Soldiers

Poignant Photograph of American Soldiers Wounded in Combat Reading a Newspaper Announcing Nazi Germany's Surrender and Victory in Europe Day - Press photograph depicting seven American soldiers wounded in combat - some of them amputees - at Lawson General Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, gathered together as they excitedly read a special edition of the local newspaper, The Atlanta Journal, bearing the dramatic headline ”NAZIS SURRENDER.” Photographed on May 7, 1945, the day on which Nazi Germany's surrender was announced. The caption beneath the photograph identifies the seven soldiers (from left to right): Sergeant J. B. Coursey, Private DeWitt Pope, Private Carl E. Cauley, Private Charles De Angelis (seated in a wheelchair), Corporal Douglas Melloan, Private James McLemore, and Private Ernest Tolbert. While the world celebrated V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day). For this group of soldiers in the hospital, the newspaper headline symbolized not only the end of the fighting but also the closing of a deeply personal chapter following the severe wounds they had sustained in service. 27×21 cm. Very good condition.