This is the story of a single photo taken by photographer Todd Heisler. He captured the following images of fallen U.S. Marine 2nd Lt. James Cathey and his wife Katherine.
Fallen James Cathey’s final “Angel Flight” ends at the Reno, NV airport.
Above is Katherine being held by Major Steve Beck. Mr. Beck’s actions along with his team of Marines will be an integral part of the story behind the Pulitzer Prize winning photo.
At the airport, she was given a letter that her husband wrote a few days before he passed, it reads:
“there are no words to describe how much I love you, and will miss you. I will also promise you one thing: I will be home. I have a wife and a new baby to take care of, and you guys are my world.”
Katherine was only 23 years old when she learned of her husband’s death.
The IED explosion was so devastating that James body was wrapped in a shroud. Major Beck simply placed Katherine’s hand on the body and said the following:
“He’s here. Feel right here”.
The night before James’ burial, Katherine refused to leave the casket.
She simply wanted to sleep with her husband one last time.
Two Marines made a make-shift bed for her.
Above is a cropped image of the gallery’s first photo. This is the photo that would earn Todd Heisler the Pulitzer Prize.
What you don’t see is the man standing to the left of the photo.
One of the Marines, who had never met James in his whole life, asked if he could stand watch over Katherine through the night.
Katherine replied with the following:
“I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it,” she said. “I think that’s what he would have wanted.”
Before falling to sleep, she opened her laptop and began playing songs with memories of the times she spent with James.
For three days in a row…all day and all night…a group of Marines took turns watching over the body.
Photo of Marines taking shifts during those days.
Before the burial, his casket was covered with the Marines’ gloves that had carried James Cathey to his final place of rest. They also placed a single rose and sand that one of them had collected from the beaches of Iwo Jima.
Seven days after her husband’s body landed in America, Katherine would find out that they would be having a boy.
Above is the full photo that earned Todd Heisler a Pulitzer Prize. Mr. Heisler’s collection submitted to the nomination is titled “Final Salute”.
Because this is one of the most powerful galleries that I’ve personally ever come across, later tonight when theChive posting is done, I’d like to share his full collection of photos from “Final Salute” in HIGH-RES. If you happen to be at a larger screened computer, consider checking out Mr. Heisler’s collection of both these photos and additional photos from this powerful story.
