By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 30, 2012
Ken George ©Stars and Stripes
Bosnia and Herzgovina, January, 1996: A nation's enemy one year may be its ally the next, but to soldiers over the centuries there's been one unrelenting foe that will never sign a treaty: Mud. Here, soldiers from the 1st Brigade attempt to dig their armored vehicle out of the knee-deep muck while setting up camp 45 kilometers north of Tuzla.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 29, 2012
Andrew Headland Jr. ©Stars and Stripes
Taipei, Taiwan, March 21, 1970: Apollo 12 astronauts (from left) Alan Bean, Charles "Pete" Conrad and Richard Gordon pose with Vice Admiral Yu Po-sheng, vice chief of the Taiwanese General Staff, during a visit to the Martyrs' Shrine on the 19th nation stop of the crew's 20-nation goodwill tour. The Apollo 12 moon mission got of to a scary start with a lightning strike at launch, but Conrad and Bean became the third and fourth men to walk on the lunar surface.
RELATED MATERIAL:
Stars and Stripes' 1970 story about the Apollo 12 astronauts' Taiwan visit.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 28, 2012
Red Grandy ©Stars and Stripes
Leeheim, Germany, October, 1981: With clouds gathering in the evening sky, shepherd Siegfried Hessler leads his flock along the banks of the Rhein River. Hessler, who stayed with the flock night and day, was looking for a place to settle down for the night.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 27, 2012
Bob Wickley ©Stars and Stripes
Pacific Ocean, July, 1974: Sailors on the USS Oklahoma City holystone the 7th Fleet flagship's teak deck. In the fairly unpopular shipboard chore, a discolored deck is cleaned with blocks of pumice at the end of broomsticks.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 26, 2012
Red Grandy ©Stars and Stripes
Berlin, June 6, 1954: Two servicemen pause at the Brandenburg Gate, which is festooned with large banners for a communist youth rally taking place on the other side. The gate still bears the scars of World War II; missing is the Quadriga statue, badly damaged in the allied assault and being recast from the original mold. It was put back atop the gate in 1958.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 25, 2012
Gus Schuettler ©Stars and Stripes
Pamplona, Spain, July 18, 1960: Revelers at the annual Pamplona festival pass an illuminated fountain, but it's unlikely that one of them — the one getting a little help from his friends — will remember the picturesque scene when morning rolls around.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 24, 2012
Henry Toluzzi ©Stars and Stripes
Vaihingen, Germany, January, 1952: Eleven-year-old Darrell Nutter is caught up in the action in the ring during the western regional boxing finals at Vaihingen, near Stuttgart. With him is his dad, Lt. Col. Roger W. Nutter, the 27th TT Bn. commanding officer and a former New England Golden Gloves fighter.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 23, 2012
Bob Cutts ©Stars and Stripes
South Vietnam, April, 1968: Thirteen-year-old Ta Thai Manh holds the AK-47 rifle he took from a Viet Cong soldier who had taken him prisoner and tried to recruit him. After convincing the VC that he had joined the cause, Ta escaped by seizing the rifle, shooting the soldier and hurling a grenade at two other pursuers. He was awarded the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Bronze Star.
RELATED MATERIAL:
Stars and Stripes' 1968 story about 13-year-old soldier Ta Thai Manh.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 22, 2012
Timothy Baker ©Stars and Stripes
Near Srebrenic, Bosnia, December, 1998: A farmer is loaded down with corn stalks as he walks on Bosnia's main north-south road. The stalks will be used for animal feed during the remaining winter months.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 21, 2012
C.M. Houswerth Jr. ©Stars and Stripes
Tokyo, July, 1965: Guitar legend Les Paul performs at the Grant Heights NCO Club during a tour of military clubs in Japan, the Philippines and Okinawa.
RELATED MATERIAL:
Two related 1965 "On the Town" columns by Stripes' Al Ricketts:
Les Paul in Tokyo (with more photos)
"Sunny Joe" Wolverton, Les Paul's guitar-playing mentor
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 20, 2012
Gene Bane ©Stars and Stripes
Geneva, Switzerland, July, 1955: Four Swiss soldiers cross a street during the Big Four summit conference in Geneva. Reverse the direction of travel, then add a crosswalk, a Volkswagen and a few clues that one of the soldiers has met an untimely demise, and Beatles fans might find the scene somewhat familiar.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 19, 2012
Gary Cooper ©Stars and Stripes
Vung Tau, South Vietnam, August 15, 1966: A soldier is given a flower by a Vietnamese girl as the 196th Light Infantry Brigade comes ashore near the end of a long journey from Fort Devens, Mass. The 196th — which still had 70 miles to go (by C-130 transport) before reaching its new home at Tay Ninh — was to join the 25th Infantry Division, which would then become the largest U.S. combat force in Vietnam.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 18, 2012
Kim Ki Sam ©Stars and Stripes
South Vietnam, December, 1968: Children at an orphans' village near Bear Cat Base hold their hands together in prayer as they welcome visitors. The village, which housed about 850 orphans, was run by Buddhist monks.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 17, 2012
Bob Wickley ©Stars and Stripes
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, June, 1974: Stateside rodeo riders Lance Cpl. Marty Rhode of Colome, S.D. and Sgt. Marvin Ratliff of Ruidoso, N.M., had trouble finding opportunities to ride bulls in Japan, so they came up with an alternative. The barrel was attached to four posts by ropes, which were shaken by helpers to achieve the desired effect.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 16, 2012
Red Grandy ©Stars and Stripes
Babenhausen, Germany, October, 1963: An American armored vehicle shares the German countryside with a flock of unfazed sheep during Reforger exercise "Big Lift."
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 15, 2012
Red Grandy ©Stars and Stripes
Cannes, France, May 5, 1957: Henry Fonda is looking toward his passenger as he waits in traffic on the streets of Cannes, but when he turns his attention back to the road the actor is going to get a bright surprise from a photographer whose powerful flash is poised inches from his face. Fonda was attending the annual Cannes Film Festival.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 14, 2012
Masahiko Nakamura ©Stars and Stripes
Tokyo, March, 1966: Author Walter Lord poses for a photo at the Imperial Hotel during a visit to Tokyo to do research on a book about the World War II Battle of Midway. Although that book, Incredible Victory, and a Pearl Harbor book, Day of Infamy, were well-regarded works, he's best known today as the chronicler of an event that took place 100 years ago this weekend. A Night to Remember, a 1955 book about the sinking of the Titanic, helped rekindle a public interest in the disaster that's still going strong.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 13, 2012
Tae Won Chung ©Stars and Stripes
Seoul, South Korea, June 29, 1976: Using a large battering ram, South Korean and American officials team up to ring what was billed as the world's largest bell in celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial. The "Friendship Bell," which was to be put on display in Los Angeles later in the summer, weighed over 17 tons, was eight inches thick and measured 12 feet high by 7½ feet in diameter. The men doing the ringing were U.S. Ambassador Richard L. Sneider; Korean-American Friendship Association president Tae Won Son; South Korean culture preservation bureau chief Kim Suk Young; and Minister of of Culture and Public Information Kim Seoung Jin.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 12, 2012
Don Towles ©Stars and Stripes
Tokyo, February, 1954: Mr. and Mrs. Joe DiMaggio arrive at Tokyo International Airport on a one-day stopover before heading home to San Francisco. Retired New York Yankees star DiMaggio had been on a baseball tour of southern Japan while his wife, actress Marilyn Monroe, was entertaining U.S. troops in Korea.
RELATED MATERIAL:
Stars and Stripes' story about the arrival of Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe in Tokyo.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 11, 2012
Bob Cutts ©Stars and Stripes
Saigon, South Vietnam, December 4, 1965: An MP stands guard on the devastated second floor of Saigon's Metropole Hotel as rescue efforts continue five hours after a truck bomb exploded outside the building, which served as a bachelor enlisted men's quarters for the U.S. military. Eight Vietnamese, one U.S. Marine and a soldier from New Zealand were killed in the early-morning blast that also injured more than 175 people, including 72 Americans.
RELATED MATERIAL:
Two Stars and Stripes stories from 1965 about the Metropole bombing:
GIs comb billet wreckage
Survivors describe attack on Saigon hotel
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 10, 2012
Hideyuki Mihashi ©Stars and Stripes
Tokyo, October, 1965: Actress Ann-Margret has the undivided attention of the Japanese media during an Imperial Hotel press conference to promote her new movie, "The Cincinnati Kid," also starring Steve McQueen.
RELATED MATERIAL:
Stars and Stripes' story about Ann-Margret's Tokyo press conference.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 9, 2012
Ken George ©Stars and Stripes
Bratunac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, September, 1997: American stabilization force (SFOR) soldiers scurry from a C-47 Chinook helicopter upon arrival at a landing zone near the Bratunac Airfield, approximately 60 miles southeast of Tuzla, during a joint training exercise with Turkish soldiers.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 9, 2012
Gerald Waller ©Stars and Stripes
Ansbach, Germany, January 9, 1948: Staff Sgt. John Sternka, teletype operator at the EUCOM signal school, explains his approach to, left to right, Maj. Gen. James A. Van Fleet, the new EUCOM director of operations, plans, organization and training; Brig. Gen. J.V. Matejka, chief EUCOM signal officer; and Lt. Col. Reuben Abramowitz, school commandant. In 1951, Van Fleet replaced Gen. Matthew Ridgway as commander of the U.S. Eighth Army and U.N. forces in Korea. Before his death in 1992 at age 100, he was the oldest living U.S. flag officer.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 8, 2012
Howard Lavick ©Stars and Stripes
Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, February, 1971: Helmets are removed but placed nearby for quick retrieval as Chaplain (Capt.) Albert Hartlage leads services for soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry, of the 5th Infantry Division (Mech.). The troops were taking part in Operation Dewey Canyon II.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 7, 2012
Red Grandy ©Stars and Stripes
Mannheim, Germany, April 10, 1977: Michigan prep standout Earvin "Magic" Johnson moves toward the basket during the U.S. team's 118-65 win over Spain in the first round of the annual Albert Schweitzer basketball tournament. The future NBA great averaged a team-high 20 points per game as the Americans swept to their third straight tourney title.
RELATED MATERIAL:
Stars and Stripes' story about the 1977 Schweitzer tournament championship game.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 6, 2012
Gus Schuettler ©Stars and Stripes
Berlin, September, 1962: The situation on Bernauerstrasse at the border between Berlin's eastern and western sectors is summed up by a graffiti artist with a single word on a bricked-up building — "murder." Between the time the Berlin Wall was built — just over a year before the photo was taken — and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in 1989, scores of people were killed trying to escape from East Berlin.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 5, 2012
Dennis Steele ©Stars and Stripes
Korea, March, 1982: A visitor places flowers at the Harry S Truman Memorial, near the Demilitarized Zone in Korea.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 4, 2012
Dave Preston ©Stars and Stripes
Off the coast of Vietnam, September, 1968: Two USS New Jersey crewmembers watch as the ship's big guns open fire on a Communist supply area near Vietnam's demilitarized zone. The New Jersey was the first U.S. battleship to see action since the Korean War.
RELATED MATERIAL:
Stars and Stripes' 1968 story about the USS New Jersey's shelling of targets in Vietnam.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 3, 2012
Gus Schuettler ©Stars and Stripes
Grafenwöhr, Germany, 1987: The skies over the Grafenwöhr training area are filled with planes and parachutes during an airdrop.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 2, 2012
Erik Gudmundson ©Stars and Stripes
Eagle Base, Bosnia & Herzegovina, March, 1998: Pfc. Joseph See of Hanau, Germany-based Company D, 1st Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment rides his bike past some of the faster but much less fuel-efficient means of transportation on the flight line at Eagle Base.
By Joe Gromelski
Published: April 1, 2012
Gus Schuettler ©Stars and Stripes
Haarlem, Netherlands, July, 1961: While photographing a wall plaque for a story about the Pilgrims in Holland, Stars and Stripes photographer Gus Schuettler heard barking behind him. He turned and quickly shot this study in canine and mechanical motion.
