Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Unit:

U.S. Army Air Forces

It was awarded to him as the reconnaissance photographer of his flight crew. In that capacity he was responsible for photographing all areas over which the plane few including ship fleets and compositions as well as land emplacements while under fire. He devised a special hatch for the plane which allowed him to stand and position his cameras outside the body of the plane. allowing him to produce photographs which were not blocked by the wing or any other part of the plane. The images he produced were free and clear of any obstruction. The actual building of the hatch was done by the machinist on board.

When transferred to another ship, he has the machinist do the same thing to the crew's new plane so he could produce the same clarity in his photos. There existed two such planes during the war as far as he knew and both were designed by him and constructed by the machinists on board.