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COURTESY AL CHANG Combat photographer Al Chang took this renowned picture of Army Sgt. Bill Redifer comforting fellow soldier Vincent Nozzolillo after a battle during the Korean War. This is an emotional image for the Redifer family.

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The picture
of love

A wartime photo depicting
a father's compassion
is finally found

It's said that a photo is worth a thousand words. For Theresa Redifer, one particular image is worth a lifetime of love.

And sometime tomorrow, on Christmas Day, Theresa will hand it to her husband, Paul.

The photo, which depicts Paul's father, Army Sgt. Bill Redifer, comforting fellow soldier Vincent Nozzolillo after a battle during the Korean War, was taken by veteran combat photographer and lifetime Hawaii resident Al Chang on Aug. 28, 1950. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, the image shows a grief-stricken American infantryman after learning his buddy was killed in action. In the background a corpsman methodically fills out casualty tags.

But the image also shows something that those closest to Bill rarely saw in him while alive: the warm, caring side of a loving man.

Theresa said her father-in-law never seemed to get emotional about anything. "That's why that picture is so important. It showed us something different about him," she said. "He didn't like to show that side of him. He loved to act tough."

That's why she reached way back in time to find the perfect Christmas gift for her husband, Paul. "We knew he loved us, but he wasn't the type of person who would show it."

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COURTESY OF THE REDIFER FAMILY Patriarch Bill Redifer Sr., left, and wife Carmen are shown in their Pennsylvania home in this undated photo with children Bill Jr., back left, Paul and Joyce.

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Bill Redifer, who died on May 23, 2002, at the age of 71, "never talked about the war," his daughter-in-law said. "He rarely showed the emotion that comes through in that picture. He showed us the picture once. Someone had sent him a news clipping, but he never discussed it."

Tracking the photo was not easy, even though it appeared in the 1955 book "Family of Man," by Edward Steichen, and has been in numerous other publications and exhibits.

Her search finally took her to the Star-Bulletin, which had printed the photo more than half a century ago. With the newspaper's help, she found a better print at the National Archives, where she purchased a copy of Chang's photograph for her husband and other family members.

Theresa said her father-in-law enlisted in the Army in 1948, when he was 17, and stayed for five years, earning three Bronze Stars and one Meritorious Unit Commendation. When he died, he had six grandchildren.

The photo has also deeply touched Nozzolillo, who contacted the Star-Bulletin more than a year ago looking for Chang. Chang had worked as a photographer for both major Oahu newspapers, and his work was well known.

Nozzolillo, who lives in Auburn, Mass., told the Star-Bulletin in 2003 why he was grieving in that photo.

Now 74, he said he was devastated after learning that a buddy who had taken his place as a radio operator had been killed.

"The day before," Nozzolillo remembered, "I had been ordered by my company commander to go up the hill to bring back another soldier who had said he wouldn't come down until I rescued him. I took him to another company that was behind us and was told to spend the night there because it was getting dark.

"When I went back the next morning, I saw where the explosion had taken place. I think (Chang) took the picture right after they had brought the body down. I just went nuts when I saw the body and realized what had happened."

Nozzolillo was 20 when Chang snapped the photo.

Chang, who is now 82, might never know the tremendous impact the photo had on his subjects, and their families and friends. He is recuperating from two strokes and a triple bypass surgery at the Spark Matsunaga Center for the Aging at Tripler Army Medical Center.

"He has a hard time remembering people," said Jacqueline, his wife of 35 years. "He remembers us ... and his granddaughter, KaUialohaokalewalani Naluai. He loves his granddaughter."

Last year, Chang, who also was a combat photographer in the Vietnam War, was praised in a tribute by Mayor Jeremy Harris at the annual Memorial Day ceremony at the National Cemetery of the Pacific.