Ralph Morse
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American photojournalist Ralph Morse (b. 1917) worked many years for Life magazine.
He photographed some of the most widely seen pictures of World War II, the space program, and sports events. During his thirty years at Life, Morse covered every type of assignment from science to theater, and he was the senior staff photographer at the time it ceased weekly publication. After Life magazine folded, Ralph Morse became a free-lance photographer, focusing mostly on the space program, and often having his work appear in Time magazine.
When first hired by Life and sent over to the Pacific theater in WWII, he was the youngest war correspondent. He remained in the Pacific until he was on the USS Vincennes (CA-44) when it was torpedoed and sunk at the Battle of Savo Island. After his rescue, he was reassigned to the European theater for the remainder of the war. After the war ended, he covered the reconstruction of Europe for a year, while living in France. During the war, he covered things ranging from the invasion at Normandy to the German Surrender. Ralph Morse was the only civilian present at the signing of the treaty by the Germans.
Photographer Jim McNitt, who worked with Morse on several Time magazine assignments in the 1970s, describes him as a fun-loving extrovert who was delighted to mentor an aspiring photojournalist. "Watching Ralph plan his shots, respond to editors, and deal with reluctant subjects with off-hand humor taught me things I couldn't learn in photo magazines or workshops," says McNitt.¹ Former LIFE managing editor Georgia Hunt once said of Morse, "If LIFE could afford only one photographer, it would be Ralph Morse."²
