Gerald P. Pulley (October 25, 1922 – March 31, 2011) was an American

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

noted for his work with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Career

Pulley's Navy career included serving under Rear Admiral

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

, during the U.S. classified

South Seas Today the term South Seas, or South Sea, is used in several contexts. Most commonly it refers to the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of the equator. In 1513, when Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa coined the term ''Mar del Sur'', ...

exploration aboard from September 5, 1943 through November 24, 1943, serving in China aboard as part of the last official task force to close out the military activities in that area, various missions during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, and serving as the Officer in Charge of the Fleet Air Photographic Laboratory in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Pulley also served as the Military White House Photographer to President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

following the death of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. During the famous "

Whistlestop In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, s ...

" tour of 1948, Pulley followed the President's campaign, covering in 33 days. Following Truman's reelection, Pulley left his position with the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

but returned in January 1952 to document the meeting between President Truman and Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

aboard USS ''Williamsburg''. His "Oral History Interview" can be viewed through the

Harry S. Truman Library The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and resting place of Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States (1945–1953), his wife Bess and daughter Margaret, and is located on U.S. Highwa ...

website. Pulley has been given the title, "Mr. Navy Photographer" (Joint Chief Photographer's Roundup 1984) by his peers and was the founder of the "National Association of Naval Photography." He was also an active member of the

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

(for over 60 years) and often gave presentations to various Masonic Lodges on his days at the

with former Mason President Truman. Pulley's work is listed in ''Eyes of the Navy: A History of Naval Photography'' by George Carroll, LCDR, USN(Ret)

Personal life

Pulley died on March 31, 2011 at age 88. He was survived by his wife of 67 years, Mary Virginia Pulley, whom he married on January 6, 1943. They had three children and four grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pulley, Gerald P. 1922 births 2011 deaths People from King City, Missouri Photographers from Missouri United States Navy personnel of World War II Truman administration personnel People from Virginia Beach, Virginia Military personnel from Missouri