Vintage Photos Capture Farewell Scenes At Penn Station In World War II – Design You Trust

Vintage Photos Capture Farewell Scenes At Penn Station In World War II

At the height of the Second World War, in April 1943, LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt came to Penn Station, NYC and captured the sorrowful farewell scenes between young soldiers and their families. These forlorn figures, who were bidding goodbyes, seemed to anxiously fear that they might never have any chance to reunite with their loved ones after this departure.

Here’s how LIFE described the scenes in its February 14, 1944 issue: “They stand in front of the gates leading to the trains, deep in each other’s arms, not caring who sees or what they think.

Each goodbye is a drama complete in itself, which Eisenstaedt’s pictures movingly tell. Sometimes the girl stands with arms around the boys’ waist, hands tightly clasped behind. Another fits her head into the curve of his cheek while tears fall onto his coat. Now and then the boy will take her face between his hands and speak reassuringly. Or if the wait is long they may just stand quietly, not saying anything. The common denominator of all these goodbyes is sadness and tenderness, and complete oblivion for the moment to anything but their own individual heartaches.”

h/t: vintag.es

Below are black-and-white photographs capture the farewells at the station:

































If you want more awesome content, subscribe to 'Oh, Design You Trust,' our brand new Facebook page! Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

More Inspiring Stories

Fabulous Film Portrait Photography By Dave Mentzer
This Photograprer Has Captured A Bunch Of Little Caesar’s Pizza Pies In Unusual Locations And Situations Throughout LA
Japanese Photographer Yuichi Yokota Captured Beautiful Photos Of Tokyo Covered By Heavy Snow
A Mermaid’s Perspective: Underwater Photos That Will Make You Question Which Way Is Up
2 New and Awesome Wall Decal Collections from PIXERS
100 Homeless People Were Given Disposable Cameras And These Are Some Of The Amazing Results
Winners Of The 2020 iPhone Photography Awards Announced
Fascinating Black And White Photos Capture Street Scenes Of Kyoto, Japan In 1974
The Beautiful Pictures of Waves
2016 Washington Post Travel Photo Contest
This Family Started Staging Their Funny Christmas Cards 7 Years Ago, And Their Creativity Is Brilliant
Fantastical New Worlds Created From Realistic Landscapes By Catherine Nelson
Mongrel Mob Portraits By Jono Rotman
Wildlife And Stars In Stunning Photographs By Mark Andrew Thomas
This Ukrainian Photographer Captures A Fairytale Photo Masterpieces
Shocking Real Stories of Feral Children Told with Dark Photos
Two Sisters from Norway with Magical Photos Inspired by Nature and Music
Photographer Captures Beautiful Polish Folklore Costumes In A Painting-Like Style
Photographer Tobias Hägg Captures Inspiring Photographs Of The Ocean Seen From Above
The Jaw-Dropping Photography by Kaiyhun
A Couple Find The Exact Locations From Movies And Films And Do Their Best To Recreate Scenes From Them
Instagram Model Crafts Incredibly Detailed Photo Shoot Sets That She Later Uses To Take Self-Portraits
Look at All These Insane Deep-Sea Creatures Biologist Just Found In White Sea
Photographer Els Vanopstal