Daniel A. McGovern

Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Daniel A. McGovern was a combat photographer who filmed the aftermath of the atomic bomb detonations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. His pictures and color film footage taken over nine months have been used in history books, newspaper articles, television, and movies. In 1943, Dan was stationed in Chelveston, England, from where he flew missions as a cameraman. He survived two plane crashes and shot footage that was used in William Wyler's 1944 wartime documentary, "The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress." In 1998, when the Steven Spielberg World War II film, "Saving Private Ryan," was released, Dan, who was then 88, told the Los Angeles Times: "Combat men don't like to talk about what they did. Airplanes crashing, headless bodies with helmets still on. Limbs here, limbs there... You say, 'There but for the grace of God,' but you don't talk about it. You relive it in your sleep. You go through recollections of pulling bodies out of airplanes, an experience you never forget." But he also said at that time that his children and grandchildren had urged him to speak about what he had witnessed. Dan and several of his colleagues founded the International Combat Cameramen Association to give credit to those who risk their lives to shoot combat footage. Daniel A. McGovern died peacefully at his home in Laguna Woods, CA, December 14, 2005. He is survived by his children: Dan McGovern and wife Nadene, Pat Tyson and husband Bill, Mike McGovern and wife Marlene, Tim McGovern, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.