Wallace Strobel

Common card · No. 468213

Wallace C. Strobel (June 5, 1922 – August 27, 1999) was a United States Army officer who was the subject of a famous photograph during World War II. Strobel, at the time a lieutenant in the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, was photographed with General Dwight D. Eisenhower the night before the regiment's jump into Normandy on June 6, 1944. The picture captured Eisenhower speaking to paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division on the eve of the invasion and remains one of the most compelling and classic images from World War II, as well as one of the most famous of General Eisenhower. Strobel described the photo as follows: "The picture was taken at Greenham Common Airfield in England about 8:30 p.m. on June 5, 1944. My 22nd birthday. It was shortly before we were to leave the tented assembly area to which, for security reasons, we had been confined for about 5 days. We had darkened our faces and hands with burned cork, cocoa and cooking oil to be able to blend into the darkness and prevent...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Unknown U.S. Army photographer, Public domain