Bill Exactly
William Homer "Bill" Exactly (born October 12, 1906 in Minneapolis , United States , † March 4, 1945 in Iwojima , Japan ) was an American marine and cameraman during World War II . He was best known for a short film recording in connection with the inclusion of the photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima .
Life
Exactly he was drafted into the Marine Corps in February 1943 and after his basic training cameraman within war reporting . Together with the 4th Marine Division he took part in the battle of Saipan as a sergeant in the summer of 1944 . Despite his duties as a cameraman, he did so in a firefight with the Japanese in combat that he was proposed for the Bronze Star and the Navy Cross . He was badly wounded in the legs during the fighting.
On February 19, 1945 Genaust landed with the 4th Marine Division on the island of Iwo Jima , the Battle of Iwo Jima to join. On February 23rd, he was on the Suribachi volcano with war photographer Joe Rosenthal when a squad of Marines from the 5th Marine Division was hoisting a new American flag. He filmed the process with his 16 mm camera as a short color film sequence. The photograph Rosenthal took of the Marines quickly became popular in the United States as Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima and is probably the most published photo of all time.
Bill Genaust was killed on March 4th by enemy machine gun fire while storming a cave on Hill 362A - he had previously volunteered for this mission. His body was never found. The Bronze Star for his services on Saipan was awarded posthumously.
Awards
- Bronze star
- Purple heart
- Presidential Unit Citation
- Navy Unit Commendation
- Combat Action Ribbon
- American Campaign Medal
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
The US Marine Corps also praises the "The Sergeant William Genaust Award". It is awarded for the successful cinematic representation of the Marines.
Web links
- Bill Exactly at Combat Camera
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bill Exactly: Marine Cameraman filmed Flag Rising on Iowa Jima at ww2awartobewon.com (English)
- ↑ Team Find Two Possible Sites in Search for Remains of Marine From Iwo Jima Flag-Raising at foxnews.com (English)
- ↑ The fate of war: We want them all at spiegel.de
- ↑ The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation entry "Sergeant William Genaust Award" at marineheritage.org (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Exactly, Bill |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Exactly, William Homer |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American marine and cameraman in World War II |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 12, 1906 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Minneapolis , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 4, 1945 |
| Place of death | on Iwojima , Japan |