NORTH MANCHESTER – American GIs who participated in invasions during World War II could always depend on their efforts being documented for their fellow soldiers and folks back home by photographer John A. Bushemi from Gary, Ind. Experience reproductions of the photographs in the exhibit, “One Shot: The World War II Photography of John A. Bushemi”, which opened Tuesday at the Center For History, 124 E. Main St., North Manchester. Assigned to “Yank”, the weekly magazine written by and for enlisted men, Bushemi specialized in “photography from a rifle’s length vantage point,” according to his colleague Merle Miller. Visitors to the exhibition will be immersed in Bushemi’s views through numerous magazine covers and personal photographs including those of the soldiers he was traveling with. One series of photographs show soldiers training at Ft. Bragg … what Bushemi’s friend and colleague Marion Hargrove calls the “Hardening Process.” Another series includes close-up portraits of soldiers who were featured in a “Yank” article about the battle for New Georgia. Another image features soldiers on the beach of Eniwetok Island in the Marshalls. The soldiers had just been landed and were awaiting the order to attack when they were photographed by Bushemi. Bushemi died Feb. 19, 1944, when he and other correspondents became the target for a series of Japanese knee-mortar shells during the invasion of Eniwetok. Shrapnel from the shells hit and mortally wounded the photographer. As Navy surgeons frantically attempted to save Bushemi’s life, the photographer gave his epitaph, telling Miller “Be sure to get those pictures back to the office.” Images of both his battleship funeral service and his funeral service back home in Gary are included in the exhibit. Since 1970, the North Manchester Historical Society has been North Manchester’s storyteller, connecting people to the past by collecting, preserving, interpreting and disseminating the town’s history. A nonprofit membership organization, the NMHS maintains the town’s archives on the history of North Manchester and the surrounding area. The NMHS also provides support and assistance to the Center For History and provides youth, adult and family programming. Visit the NMHS at nmanchesterhistory.org or on Facebook.
