Bob Preston was a student at St. Pete High when Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941. The professional photographer who worked on the school yearbook was soon drafted to serve in the Army. With no formal training in photography, Preston stepped in to take over as yearbook photo editor. After graduating in 1943, he too joined the Army. When asked what experience he had, he said, “Photography!”

Combat photographer Bob Preston at Nagasaki atomic bomb devastation. He was only two years out of high school at the time, image circa 1945.

Preston was assigned to the Army Signal Corp as a combat photographer, eventually ending up with General Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters in the Pacific.… Read More