Meet WWII Photographer Tony Vaccaro

Hear from Tony Vaccaro in his studio in Long Island City, N.Y., about his moving experience as a World War II photographer. This video was created as part of the Eyes of War project, featuring three giants in the field of combat photography, whose work from the beaches of Normandy to the mountains of Kandahar has been seen by millions.
Michelantonio Celestino Onofrio “Tony” Vaccaro was born in December 1922 in Greensburg, Pa., and raised in Italy by his paternal grandmother after both his parents died during his childhood. He returned to the U.S. at the outbreak of WWII to avoid military service and graduated from high school in New York before he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944. Following training, he came ashore at Normandy and fought his way through Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, taking pictures as he went. After the war, he became an in-demand fashion photographer shooting extensively for magazines like Look and Flair. In 1994, the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor, among many other awards and recognitions. The documentary film Underfire: The Untold Story of Pfc. Tony Vaccaro premiered at the Boston Film Festival in 2016 and was distributed by HBO. At 97, he continues to work in his studio, daily identifying pictures, and preparing for exhibitions of his work around the world.

[@AmericanBattlefieldTrust]

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[@TheHistoryUnderground]

Outstanding! Thank you for this. You don’t typically hear from guys that filled this role during WWII.

[@thessop9439]

This man is fantastic

[@WayneBriggs]

Watch him on this show, and then end is so profound and beautiful what he says: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoWToJVpmK2Do6c

[@vickidrakopoulou1591]

Tony is a remarkable person, not only for his magnificent photography, but also for his philosophy. Our world would be so much better if there were more people like him. Thank you for this film, this is what the world should be viewing to learn from people like Tony how to live a life in harmony.

[@plymouth491]

I just discovered him and his work and I have immense respect for him. The fact that he's from my neck of the woods is also of note.

[@marioroth2987]

Rest in Peace.... Tony I'm German... Thank you for your service and the great pictures at the WW2 in my homeland Hurtgen Forest Germany! In my heart.... you are my brother! ❤️

[@berry.styles]

Incredible video. Thank you for interviewing him when you did

[@nobodyknows3180]

Tony Vaccaro passed away today, December 30, 2022, at age 100. RIP, Tony.

[@blazethealaskanmalamute4633]

Thank you!!!

[@donatovaccaro6205]

Brilliant work, Tony! Thank you for immortalizing the "insanity of war", as you say. Your dedication to preserving your work is inspiring.

[@charliesparta7947]

Met him in NYC while visiting the building I worked at and he worked at.

[@charliesparta7947]

RIP Tony.

[@phillipjones8099]

Dear Battlefield Trust, and I just saw the documentary about PFC. Vaccaro again. The comments which Mr Vaccaro made in your brief trailer about seeing the german soldier burning to death isn't in the full documentary but should be, when he said that he realized that the human race was headed in a direction which was unfavorable for its survival. My father and his brother both fought in that war alongside their generation, and my generation and those following have been headed in the same direction more quickly and even more unfavorably for our own survival and those who will follow us, if any. - phillip jones

[@themanonmars]

The man in my photo was a ww2 photographer and took this pic

[@MarkMark-bl5qc]

why there is nothing about the german camera man that photograph the ww2

[@phillipjones8099]

PS: The compromises and concessions which the noncombatants made behind closed doors in a boardroom rendered meaningless the sacrifices in blood, sweat, tears and toil which the true combatants made openly in broad daylight on the battlefield and we've been suffering the consequences ever since. My heart goes out to them all and to their families, children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. You will never find or meet the real enemies of mankind on the battlefield, or anywhere else out in the open. They dwell in the dark bringing darkness to us all. - Phillip Jones

[@lucaff2codabo585]

😯😢

[@whiskey4o4]

2:10

[@phillipjones8099]

PS: Tragically and unfortunately, we we won neither the war nor the peace. Statesmen and diplomats had already given away both before the official end of the war to an enemy even more dangerous by far than national socialism, international communism which is also a direction not favorable to human survival. - Phillip Jones