| Robert L. Steele |
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Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
As a young Army officer and amateur
photographer, Robert L. Steele was glued to a
camera for most of the 30 months he spent in
Japan as part of the U.S. occupation force after
World War II.
Nearly 40 years later, his archive of thousands
of previously unpublished color slides of everyday
life near Tokyo caught the eye of a major
Japanese news company and led to his work being exhibited in one of
Japan's most prestigious museums.
Col. Steele, who retired in 1966 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, died
Feb. 22 at his home in Arlington County of coronary artery disease. He
was 84.
As a lieutenant out of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.,
he toured around Japan with a duffel bag filled with hundreds of rolls of
color Kodak film, which was extremely rare in the Pacific after the war.
He captured images of workers tending to market stalls, farmers
ankle-deep in a cabbage patch and children smiling at U.S. soldiers
patrolling their town.
He took the photos for his own pleasure, but his personal archive later
proved to be a treasure trove of historical footage.
In the early 1980s, he had a chance meeting in Washington with
representatives from the Japanese Embassy and the Mainichi newspaper
company, one of Japan's largest news organizations.
Col. Steele told them about his old photos and showed them a sampling.
Surprised at the breadth of Col. Steele's unpublished collection, the
newspaper's representatives told him that they wanted to use his photos.
Until meeting Col. Steele, the Mainichi news company had few color
photos of Japan during the postwar U.S. occupation.
In 1985, Col. Steele was commissioned by Mainichi to curate a large
project that would include two books, a number of glossy magazines,
and a television production that comprised his photographic work and
thousands of other pictures he had found by American photographers.
As a result, a number of Col. Steele's color photographs are on
permanent display at the Edo-Tokyo Museum in the Japanese capital.
Robert Lee Steele, whose father was an Army officer, was born in in
Washington on Aug. 25, 1925. After graduating from Western High
School, he received a presidential appointment to West Point.
Col. Steele graduated from the military academy in 1946 and served in
Korea during the 1950s. He later served at West Point as a faculty
member of the English department, until being reassigned in 1962 to
Frankfurt as a public information officer.
According to his family, Col. Steele was in charge of coordinating press
coverage of President John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit to Germany, where
the commander in chief fumbled his words during his "Ich bein ein
Berliner" speech.
Col. Steele retired to the Washington area in 1966. In the 1970s, he
joined the National Association of Home Builders' magazine as a
business editor and retired from there in 1981.
His wife of 42 years, the former Patricia Blake, died in 1991.
Survivors include four children, Amanda Steele of Chapel Hill, N.C.,
Newell Steele of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Marilee Steele of Arlington and
Robin Steele of Chicago; a brother; and a grandson.
Robert L. Steele took thousands of color photographs of daily life and recovery in postwar
Japan. (Robert L. Steele)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
As a young Army officer and amateur
photographer, Robert L. Steele was glued to a
camera for most of the 30 months he spent in
Japan as part of the U.S. occupation force after
World War II.
Nearly 40 years later, his archive of thousands
of previously unpublished color slides of everyday
life near Tokyo caught the eye of a major
Japanese news company and led to his work being exhibited in one of
Japan's most prestigious museums.
Col. Steele, who retired in 1966 with the rank of lieutenant colonel, died
Feb. 22 at his home in Arlington County of coronary artery disease. He
was 84.
As a lieutenant out of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.,
he toured around Japan with a duffel bag filled with hundreds of rolls of
color Kodak film, which was extremely rare in the Pacific after the war.
He captured images of workers tending to market stalls, farmers
ankle-deep in a cabbage patch and children smiling at U.S. soldiers
patrolling their town.
He took the photos for his own pleasure, but his personal archive later
proved to be a treasure trove of historical footage.
In the early 1980s, he had a chance meeting in Washington with
representatives from the Japanese Embassy and the Mainichi newspaper
company, one of Japan's largest news organizations.
Col. Steele told them about his old photos and showed them a sampling.
Surprised at the breadth of Col. Steele's unpublished collection, the
newspaper's representatives told him that they wanted to use his photos.
Until meeting Col. Steele, the Mainichi news company had few color
photos of Japan during the postwar U.S. occupation.
In 1985, Col. Steele was commissioned by Mainichi to curate a large
project that would include two books, a number of glossy magazines,
and a television production that comprised his photographic work and
thousands of other pictures he had found by American photographers.
As a result, a number of Col. Steele's color photographs are on
permanent display at the Edo-Tokyo Museum in the Japanese capital.
Robert Lee Steele, whose father was an Army officer, was born in in
Washington on Aug. 25, 1925. After graduating from Western High
School, he received a presidential appointment to West Point.
Col. Steele graduated from the military academy in 1946 and served in
Korea during the 1950s. He later served at West Point as a faculty
member of the English department, until being reassigned in 1962 to
Frankfurt as a public information officer.
According to his family, Col. Steele was in charge of coordinating press
coverage of President John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit to Germany, where
the commander in chief fumbled his words during his "Ich bein ein
Berliner" speech.
Col. Steele retired to the Washington area in 1966. In the 1970s, he
joined the National Association of Home Builders' magazine as a
business editor and retired from there in 1981.
His wife of 42 years, the former Patricia Blake, died in 1991.
Survivors include four children, Amanda Steele of Chapel Hill, N.C.,
Newell Steele of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Marilee Steele of Arlington and
Robin Steele of Chicago; a brother; and a grandson.
Robert L. Steele took thousands of color photographs of daily life and recovery in postwar
Japan. (Robert L. Steele)
