The Hero that wasn’t a soldier
Robert Capa has enabled the entire country to live through the American wars. Although all at home, Americans, at times of war, sat glued to the radio to hear any new strategies or news about the fighting. But the news was not able to form a clear picture in people’s minds of the actual fighting that was going on. Capa’s pictures brought the battles to life by taking action shots of American soldiers fighting off the enemy, or of the soldiers hiding. During the Battle of Rio Segre, was when Capa’s famous picture, “the fallen soldier” took place. The picture was able to capture a soldier right after he was shot, falling to his death. There was a controversy over this picture as to whether it was staged or not. But no matter the truth, it revealed to America what life was like during the war. But the most fascinating category of pictures that Capa has taken was his Normandy set. He actually caught on camera the solders making their way off the ships, and running along the beaches, trying to escape the enemy fire above. Capa also photographed the Sino-Japanese War, Spanish Civil War, and the Battle of Rio Segre, D-Day, and the Liberation of Leipzig.
Along side Capa, is his partner, and one time wife, Gerdo Taro. She started her work during the Spanish American War, and continued to photograph wars until her tragic death in 1937, where she was shot at the Battle of Brunette. What is interesting about her work is not only the motion pictures of the soldiers, but the stationary ones as well either of the fallen soldiers waiting at a local hospital to be treated, or the native people wandering around their city on the eve of a battle. She also was interested in photographing women during a battle scene.
When a war was about to happen, one can be certain that Gerdo Taro and Robert Capa would be there soon enough. Their work has allowed many Americans to witness the horrific truth of war, and the hardships that every soldier must face in enemy territory. They both put their lives on the line, and that is why it is so terrible that both Capa and Taro died in battle: Taro as mentioned above, and Capa while taking a picture at Indochina front in Japan.