This time of year young men and women embark on new adventures as graduating classes all over take part in commencement exercises. In our small neck of the world, the senior class at Hamburg High School’s 2007 graduating class will always be remembered as one that was unfortunately marked by tragedy.
The day before the students were to graduate, two of the seniors were driving home from commencement rehearsal and crashed into a bridge abutment. One of the students was killed instantly in the crash the other was treated at the hospital. An empty chair with a cap and gown draped over it represented the victim, another one represented a boy who passed away during the classes freshman year.
When it came time to award diplomas, cheers went out as the names were read including those of the two missing students. A time of joy and excitement for the future mixed with sorrow.
Good luck to all the graduates and enjoy the photos
On a recent trip to Washington DC I took an interest in a photo hanging in one of the Smithsonian Museums. With the American History Museum closed for renovation, some artifacts were re-located to the Air and Space Museum. There a photo entitled D-Day by Robert Capa hung on the wall. It shows a landing at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. We remember that the landings there were rough to say the least. When the gates came down on the landing crafts many of the men were cut down before they got into the water. Capa was where he wanted to be, close to the action. In fact, one famous quote of Capa was “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.”
Capa was a famous War Photographer. His climb to fame grew out of a controversial photograph of a soldier falling to his death after being shot during the Spanish Civil War.
Unfortunately, Capa’s work centered around war and he led a hard life. He died in 1954 at the age of 41. He had many relationships and after the war he became involved with actress Ingrid Bergman. It is said that their relationship was the model for the one of James Stewart and Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window”.
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