The above is a famous Life Magazine photo taken by famed photographer Larry Burrows. The black man is Marine Gunnery Sgt Jeremiah Purdie and the Marine lying on the ground is my brother, Gene Webb. I have tried several times to get an official identification through Life, even talking to the editor, Linda Nardi. She would only do it if we paid for a complete photo forensic study of photos of him at the time in comparison to this one-quite an expensive process. Gene met Purdie at a Life exposition and Purdie did not recognize him as the Marine based on his recollections and the sketchy military records of the time (many lost in a file fire in Texas) that cannot pinpoint his position on this date. All of that aside, I and my family know my brother and this is Gene.
No comments:
Post a Comment