Visitors to the National Museum of the Marine Corps’ Leatherneck Gallery in Quantico, Virginia, are met with an iconic World War II photo: an extreme close-up of a young Marine’s thousand-yard stare, taken in the Pacific by war photographer Ray Platnick.
The face is that of Pvt. Theodore James Miller, and the famous image’s uncropped version (above) evokes a broader story. Miller, a Minnesota native, was part of the 22nd Marine Independent Regiment charged with invading Engebi, on the Marshall Islands’ Eniwetok Atoll, on Feb. 17, 1944. Within a week, all 736 of Engebi’s Japanese defenders were dead or captured — at the cost of 251 American casualties. Here, after two days of intense fighting, Miller is helped aboard the attack transport USS Arthur Middleton, the toll of battle evident in his shellshocked expression.
Only a month later, on March 24, 1944, Miller — who had just turned 19 years old — was killed during the invasion of Ebon Atoll. Miller’s photo, one of the few publicly released images to depict the emotional impact of the war, resonated with anxious families across America.
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