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Into the Jaws of Death

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Into the Jaws of Death by Robert F. Sargent
Original caption: Down the ramp of a Coast Guard landing barge Yankee soldiers storm toward the beach-sweeping fire of Nazi defenders in the D-Day invasion of the French Coast. Troops ahead may be seen laying flat under the deadly machinegun resistance of the Germans. Soon the Nazis were driven back under the overwhelming invasion forces thrown in from Coast Guard and Navy amphibious craft.[1]

Into the Jaws of Death is a photograph taken on June 6, 1944, by Robert F. Sargent, a chief photographer's mate in the United States Coast Guard. It depicts soldiers of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division disembarking from an LCVP (landing craft, vehicle, personnel) from the U.S. Coast Guard-crewed USS Samuel Chase at Omaha Beach during the Normandy landings in World War II.[2][3] Sometimes appearing with the title Taxis to Hell—and Back, it is regarded as one of the defining images of World War II.[4][5][6]

The photograph

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The photograph was taken by Chief Photographer's Mate Robert F. Sargent during the troop landing phase of Operation Neptune, the naval component of the Operation Overlord Normandy landing commonly known as D-Day.

The photograph was taken at 7:40 am local time. It depicts the soldiers departing the Higgins boat and wading through waist-deep water towards the "Easy Red" sector of Omaha Beach.[7] It shows troops of Company E, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division landing on Omaha Beach from a U.S. Coast Guard landing craft (from the U.S. Coast Guard-manned USS Samuel Chase) on D-Day.[2][8][9]

The image is one of the most widely reproduced photographs of the D-Day landings. The original photograph is stored by the United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.[7]

Background

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Neptune was the largest combat operation ever performed by the United States Coast Guard.[7]

The Higgins boat depicted in the photograph had departed from the attack transport USS Samuel Chase about 10 miles (8.7 nmi; 16 km) from the coast of Normandy at around 5:30 am. Waves continuously broke over the boat's square bow, and the soldiers inside were drenched in cold ocean water.[7]

In all, Samuel Chase lost six landing craft on D-Day; four foundered near the beach, one was "impaled" by a beach obstacle, and another was sunk by enemy gunfire.[7]

Origin of the phrase

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The phrase "into the jaws of Death" in the photograph's caption comes from a refrain in "The Charge of the Light Brigade", an 1854 narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson about the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War.[10]

Robert F. Sargent

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Robert F. Sargent
Sargent (left) shows fellow Coast Guardsman Clyde Wilson a photograph of the sinking landing craft that Wilson evacuated on D-Day.
Born(1918-07-19)July 19, 1918[11]
DiedMarch 27, 1969(1969-03-27) (aged 50)[11]
AllegianceUnited States
BranchUnited States Coast Guard
RankChief Photographers Mate
Known forInto the Jaws of Death

Robert Fred Sargent (July 19, 1918 – March 27, 1969) was a United States Coast Guard chief petty officer;[2] was a photographers mate best known for taking Into the Jaws of Death. He was from Summit, New Jersey.[12]

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Other photos by Sargent include:

  • Hugging the Beach at Salerno (September 1943), Sargent's photograph of Coast Guardsmen flat on the sand under German bombardment during Operation Avalanche
    Hugging the Beach at Salerno (September 1943), Sargent's photograph of Coast Guardsmen flat on the sand under German bombardment during Operation Avalanche
  • French Coast Dead Ahead, Sargent's photograph of U.S. Army troops crouching behind the bulwarks of a landing craft as it nears Omaha Beach on D-Day
    French Coast Dead Ahead, Sargent's photograph of U.S. Army troops crouching behind the bulwarks of a landing craft as it nears Omaha Beach on D-Day
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The image was evoked in the 1998 Hollywood film Saving Private Ryan,[13][14] and appears on the cover of Stanley Lombardo's 1997 English translation of the Iliad as a symbol of the universality of war.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Into the Jaws of Death. Records of the U.S. Coast Guard. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Price, Scott T. "U.S. Coast Guard at Normandy". U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 3 January 2012.[dead link]
  3. ^ Robert F. Sargent, USCG. "The Jaws of Death". www.history.uscg.mil. U.S. Coast Guard. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  4. ^ Virga, Vincent; Brinkley, Alan; and curators of the Library of Congress (1997). Eyes of the Nation: A Visual History of the United States. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 306. ISBN 0-679-44330-4.
  5. ^ "Taxis to hell-and back". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  6. ^ Horne, Madison (6 July 2018). "The Pictures that Defined World War II". History. A&E Networks. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e Young, Stephanie. "Into the jaws of death: U.S. Coast Guard-manned landing craft at Normandy". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  8. ^ Goldberg, Vicki (August 27, 1999). "Photography Review; An American Century, Through the Government's Lens". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  9. ^ Lucas, Dean (12 September 2010). "Greatest Generation D-day landing". Famous Pictures. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  10. ^ "The Charge Of The Light Brigade". Alfred, Lord Tennyson. nationalcenter.org. Archived from the original on March 2, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Robert F Sargent in the U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1861-1985. National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, MO, USA; Applications for Headstones, 1/1/1925 - 6/30/1970; NAID: 596118; Record Group Number: 92; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General. Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1861-1985 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Retrieved May 89, 2025.
  12. ^ Winship, Thomas. "ABOARD THE COAST GUARD-ASSAULT TRANSPORT U.S.S. SAMUEL CHASE, OFF THE COAST OF FRANCE" (PDF). U.S. Department of Defense. U.S. Coast Guard. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  13. ^ Shields, Mark (August 3, 1998). "'Ryan' recalls a war that was 'good' because it was democratic". The Free Lance–Star. Creators Syndicate.
  14. ^ Ritzenhoff, K.; Kazecki, J. (2014-08-07). Heroism and Gender in War Films. Springer. ISBN 9781137360724.
  15. ^ Mendelsohn, Daniel (July 20, 1997). "Yo, Achilles". The New York Times.
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