SLIDESHOW: See some of Meyer's photos
David W. Meyer left Weber College to serve in World War II, and before he came home, he saw more scenes of courage and carnage than most.
The Ogden native shot with a camera for the Army Signal Corps. He spent part of the war as a combat photographer, often at or near the thick of the action, documenting scenes of triumph and tragedy, as well as the quiet moments of U.S. soldiers.
"I survived the Battle of the Bulge, the airborne invasion of Holland, and D-Day," said Meyer, 87. "As far as I was concerned, the Lord had his hand on my shoulder."
After his time as a combat photographer, primarily in England, he was sent to Paris and asked to set up a Signal Corps photography office there.
"My first assignment was to compile a photographic history of the war for Gen. Eisenhower," Meyer said. "All the photos came across my desk, and two were printed, one for me, one with the negative for Washington, D.C. I saw photos hours after they were taken."
Selected photos were later compiled into four volumes, now in the collection of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kan.
"The curator said they are the most used books in the library," Meyer said.
After about five months on the job, photos of Nazi concentration camps started landing on Meyer's desk. Meyer put together a volume of 100 of the photos and took it to President Harry S. Truman.
"That became the documentation," said Meyer, from his current home in Phoenix.
Meyer's memories, as well as those of the following men with local ties, are shared in "Untold Stories."
* Eugene K. England of Plain City, a WWII rifleman in the 77th infantry division, tells of crawling through heavy fire to drag an injured solder back to the safety of a foxhole.
* Theodore G. (Bud) Mahas of Clearfield, a WWII Air Force staff sergeant and B-17 ball turret gunner, talks about watching for parachutes that came out of airplanes that were shot down, often seeing none emerge before the planes crashed and burned.
* Lawrence William Stimpson of Riverdale, a WWII sergeant of the 82nd airborne paratroopers, describes a sky so full of parachutes that it looked like fireworks exploding. He also talks about a fellow soldier who stepped into the space Stimpson had just vacated, only to be shot and killed instantly.
* C. Mont Mahoney of Brigham City, a WWII Army lieutenant in the 276th armored field artillery battalion, shares a lighthearted story about warming cans of rations near his tank engine, so he and his tankmates could have a warm meal.
* John R. (Jack) Call, an Ogden native and WWII Army sergeant and tank commander, talks about claustrophobia in the tanks.
* Alden Rigby, a Bountiful native and WWII Air Force fighter pilot, talks about a surprise attack by German airmen. The battle lasted 25 minutes, but not a single American serviceman died.
* J.M. Heslop, an Ogden native and WWII sergeant in the 157th Photographic Signal Company, talks about photographing the liberation of the Ebensee Concentration Camp.
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