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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Painting of a Fallen U.S. Army Ranger
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Painting of a Fallen U.S. Army Ranger

Object numberMO 1945.83.2
Name Painting
Artist (American painter, art historian, 1902-1986)
Date1944
Mediumcanvas, paint (oil), wood
Dimensionsoverall (on stretcher) H 24 1/4 in x W 40 in (61.6 cm x 101.6 cm )
DescriptionAn oil on canvas painting depicting a World War II D-Day scene of a fallen U.S. Army Ranger who was shot near the edge of a cliff, 100 feet high, on which the German coastal battery at Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, France was located. In the forefront, the body of the visibly wounded soldier lies on the cliff edge, his rifle and helmet lying on the ground to the right. Behind him, the curve of the costal cliffs and the English Channel are visible. The painting is signed by the artist in the lower left: F. Wight.
Label TextNavy Lieutenant Frederick Wight painted this scene of Pointe de Hoc in Normandy during the June 6, 1944 D-Day landings. Pointe du Hoc is a promontory with a 100-foot cliff that overlooked the two American landing beaches (Omaha and Utah). On D-Day, U.S. Army Rangers attacked and captured the battery after scaling the cliff. Wight based this painting on sketches he made while the Allied beachhead was still under fire. This painting is one of two (see also MO 1945.83.1) he sent to Franklin Roosevelt as a token of his “esteem for the President’s war leadership.” When it was presented to Roosevelt on September 7, 1944, he listened intently to the story behind the painting and directed that it be sent to his library.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDeposited at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 7, 1944. It was donated as a bequest of FDR to the Library in 1947.
Credit LineEstate of Franklin D. Roosevelt
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesPrints and Paintings (National Archives Identifier 778817)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
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