Picture of a wounded man

Picture of a wounded man

Wounded man in World War One

This is a picture of a wounded soldier taken in France around 1917. This man is missing part of his right arm, as shown by the fact that part of his right sleeve is empty. Despite this grievous injury, he stands tall and proud. He is dressed in uniform in this picture. The background is smokey and hazy giving the photo an ethereal quality. In the picture, the expression on the soldier's face is impassive, it is neither happy nor sad, depressed nor angry. He seems proud to have served his country even though he gave up an arm in the process. This can be viewed as a more realistic image of the war because it did show a man who had sacrificed for his country rather than a man goofing off with his friends and playing cricket. This picture showed how army life came with risks.

Special Collections The University of Tulsa
800 South Tucker Drive
Tulsa OK 74104

circa 1917

still image

English

photograph