--- description: In 1944, Peter Stackpole was in the Pacific, covering the brutal Battle of Saipan. He also helped save a wounded child's life. title: Behind the Picture: Saving a Wounded Child, Saipan, 1944 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteaad69d3ec9d9be6/69884c222dce01518e9e3480/140709-saipan-pilot-stackpole-19441.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Behind the Picture: Saving a Wounded Child, Saipan, 1944 by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2014 1:00 AM CUT  Wounded Japanese child and American pilot, Saipan, 1944. Wounded Japanese child and American pilot, Saipan, 1944.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2014 1:00 AM CUT In 1944, LIFE photographer Peter Stackpole was in the Pacific, covering the ugly, protracted [Battle of Saipan](http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-saipan "undefined"). The battle proper lasted less than a month, with American soldiers and Marines largely taking control of the 44-square-mile island. But Japanese fighters dug in and resisted for months, with one small contingent of Imperial Army officers and troops refusing to give up until December 1945—long after Japan had officially surrendered to the Allies. In John Loengard’s classic 1998 book, [_LIFE Photographers: What They Saw_](http://www.amazon.com/Life-Photographers-What-They-Saw/dp/0821225189 "undefined"), Stackpole discusses the picture above, and how he came to make it: --- > “” --- --- _Ben Cosgrove is the Editor of LIFE.com_ ---  Wounded Japanese child and American pilot, Saipan, 1944. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/46723/saving-a-wounded-japanese-child-on-saipan-1944/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/46723/saving-a-wounded-japanese-child-on-saipan-1944/"},"headline":"Behind the Picture: Saving a Wounded Child, Saipan, 1944","datePublished":"2014-06-23T01:00:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:30.156Z","description":"In 1944, LIFE photographer Peter Stackpole was in the Pacific, covering the ugly, protracted Battle of Saipan. He also helped save a wounded child's life.","url":"https://time.com/46723/saving-a-wounded-japanese-child-on-saipan-1944/","keywords":["Japan","photography","World War II","1944","Peter Stackpole","Behind the Picture"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteaad69d3ec9d9be6/69884c222dce01518e9e3480/140709-saipan-pilot-stackpole-19441.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Cosgrove","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteaad69d3ec9d9be6/69884c222dce01518e9e3480/140709-saipan-pilot-stackpole-19441.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Saipan, Pilot, 1944","caption":"Wounded Japanese child and American pilot, Saipan, 1944.","creditText":"Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/46723/saving-a-wounded-japanese-child-on-saipan-1944/","name":"Behind the Picture: Saving a Wounded Child, Saipan, 1944"}}]}] ```