“#MemorialDay, a solemn American holiday, commemorates those who have died while on active military duty. The central figure of this photograph, taken on board the naval hospital ship USS Solace by Portland’s own Victor Jorgensen during WWII, later succumbed to his battle wounds: According to Jorgensen, ‘Pfc. A. Check of London, Kentucky, caught machine gun slugs in the left shoulder and upper arm during the Okinawa assault, resulting in a compound fracture of the upper arm. Lieutenant Commander Wayne S. Hanson (back to camera) puts a cast on the shoulder and arm with the help of Steve Koreff, Pharmacist Mate Second Class (left). A year after this photograph was made, the boy’s mother wrote me a letter, reporting that young Check had died in a Guam hospital from the effects of the wound, though it hardly seemed dangerous at the time.’ “
—Julia Dolan, The Minor White Curator of Photography
Victor Jorgensen (American, 1914–1994). Untitled (Lt. Commander Wayne S. Hanson puts a cast on the shoulder and arm of patient), 1945. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Victoria Jorgensen Carman and Lee Jorgensen, 2019.79.46
