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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • Service History Note: The veteran was a photographer in Korea in 1951.
  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 834th Anti-aircraft Artillery (AAA) Battalion, 516th AAA Battery
  • Location of Service: Korea; Pacific Theater; Camp Haan, California; Camp Irwin, California; Hawaii
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant

View full service history

"We flew at tree top level to our target, and made one quick circle of the area taking about 50 pictures with the Aerial camera, then back down to tree top level to return to base." (Untitled memoir, page 3)

A veteran of two wars, Ralph Pyle’s talent for photography was nurtured during World War II. Off-duty weekends would find him snapping celebrities at the Hollywood Canteen. Called back to duty for the Korean War, Pyle was assigned to the Signal Corps as Chief Photographer and soon found himself dodging enemy fire while taking aerial photographs of Chinese positions. He still kept an eye out for VIPs, both in uniform (General Matthew Ridgway) and in celebrity sunglasses (Jack Benny), but also took time to document war’s toll on the children of the Korean peninsula. After taking pictures of the first round of peace talks to end the war, Pyle was released from his duties and allowed to return home to his new bride.

Ralph Reeves Pyle, Jr. Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

More Resources

View 66 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter and citation for award of the Bronze Star medal ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ General Orders No. 178 [11/3/1951] ]
View 4 images in sequence.
[ Untitled memoir of Ralph Pyle ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Memoir, "Combat Photographer RalphPyle" ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Memoir, "Focus on Ralph Pyle: WWII and Korean Combat Photographer" ]

Show more resources (1)

View Enlarged Image
[ Biography for induction into Indiana Photography Hall of Fame. Pyle was inducted into the Hall of Fame in February 2001. ]

About this Item

Title

  • Ralph Reeves Pyle, Jr. Collection

Names

  • McClain, Patricia
  • Pyle Jr., Ralph Reeves
  • Connie J. Parchman
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
  • Lugar, Richard
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)

State of Birth

  • IN

Home State

  • IN

Headings

  • -  Pyle Jr., Ralph Reeves
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 834th Anti-aircraft Artillery (AAA) Battalion, 516th AAA Battery
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; Camp Haan, California; Camp Irwin, California; Hawaii
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1946
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Korean War, 1950-1953

    • Service History Note: The veteran was a photographer in Korea in 1951.
    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Location of Service: Korea
    • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
    • Dates of Service: 1951-1952
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [22 items] -- Photograph (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [40 items] -- Photograph (collected 1951)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 06/25/2000)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected unknown)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [2 items] -- Reference copy (collected unknown)
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected unknown)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/414

Cite as

  • Ralph Reeves Pyle, Jr. Collection (AFC/2001/001/414), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Mcclain, Patricia, Ralph Reeves Pyle Jr, Connie J. Parchman, U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Richard Lugar, and National Court Reporters Association. Ralph Reeves Pyle, Jr. Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00414/.

APA citation style:

McClain, P., Pyle Jr, R. R., Connie J. Parchman, U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Lugar, R. & National Court Reporters Association. (1943) Ralph Reeves Pyle, Jr. Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00414/.

MLA citation style:

Mcclain, Patricia, et al. Ralph Reeves Pyle, Jr. Collection. 1943. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00414/>.