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Ernie Pyle dead body after being killed by a machine gun bullet on Ie Shima
On April 18, 1945 Pyle was a passenger in a jeep with Lt. Col. Joseph B. Coolidge (C. O. 305th Infantry Regiment) plus three other officers bound for their new command post. At the outskirts of Ie, a Japanese machine gunner in a coral slope along side the road opened fire and the men in the jeep ran into a nearby ditch seeking cover. When Pyle raised his head above the ditch he was hit in his left temple just below the rim of his helmet, killing him instantly. After three hours of patrolling, the machine gun position that opened fire was eliminated. Later, Lt. Col. Joseph B. Coolidge was quoted stating "A little later Pyle and I raised up to look around, Another burst hit the road over our heads... I looked at Ernie and saw he had been hit." After his death, this photograph was taken of his Pyle wearing his glasses with his hands folded laying on the ground before his body was recovered.
Credit: Richard Strasser, AP Date: April 18, 1945
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