Gerald P. Pulley

Gerald P. Pulley

Gerald Paul Pulley, (born October 25, 1922 in King City, Missouri) is an American photographer who is most noted for his 30 years of active duty service in the United States Navy, as well as 11 additional years of service to the Department of Defense and Goddard Space Flight Center. He enlisted as a Seaman Apprentice in November, 1940, was later selected as the only photographer into the LDO program and was commissioned as an Ensign on July 22, 1952.

Throughout his long and distinguished Navy career, his accomplishments included serving under the command of Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, U.S.N. during the U.S. Antarctic Service Expedition, serving in China during the Navy Occupation Service, various missions during World War II, Korean War and Vietnam conflict and serving as the Officer in Charge of the Fleet Air Photographic Laboratory in Jacksonville, FL during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 where his group was responsible for the development of the aerial reconnaissance surveillance photographs taken over Cuba. He also served as the Military White House Photographer to President Harry S. Truman following the death of President Franklin Roosevelt. During the famous “Whistlestop” tour of 1948, Pulley followed the President’s campaign throughout the country, covering 32,000 miles in just 33 days. Following Truman’s defeat of Dewey, Pulley left his position with the White House but returned in January, 1952 to document the meeting between President Truman and Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard the USS Williamsburg.

He is regarded as the unofficial “Chief Navy Photographic Historian” and given the title, “Mr. Navy Photographer” by his peers. He is the former President and founder of the National Association of Naval Photography and remains active. He is also an active member of the Masonic Lodge (for almost 60 years) and often gives presentations to various Masonic Lodges on his days at the White House with President Truman who had been a Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge in Missouri.

He currently resides in Virginia Beach, VA with his wife of almost 65 years, Mary Virginia Pulley. They have three children and four grand-children