Assigned to Yank, the weekly magazine written by and for enlisted men, Bushemi specialized in "photography from a rifle's length vantage point," according to his colleague Merle Miller. His work with his ever-present Speed Graphic camera earned Bushemi the distinction of being the "outstanding combat photographer" for the magazine, noted its managing editor Joe McCarthy. That distinction came as no surprise to those who knew Bushemi in Gary Indiana, where he had received numerous awards for his work as a photographer for the Gary Post-Tribune. While working for the newspaper, he had earned the nickname "One Shot" for his uncanny ability to capture even the fastest action with just one click of his camera's shutter. The book examines the life of this son of Sicilian immigrants who worked in Gary's steel mills for a time to earn enough money to buy his first camera. The book features Bushemi's work, from his early days photographing soldiers training at the Field Artillery Replacement Center at Fort Bragg in North Carolina to his frontline assignments among the grizzled American forces who engaged in the bitter fighting against the Japanese. It also tells the story of his friendship with best-selling author Marion Hargrove, whose book See Here, Private Hargrove made Bushemi a well-known figure to the home-front audience and GIs around the world.
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