. Combat photographers have long-served a tactical and strategic purpose -- their primary objective is to gather military intelligence . While some , like Matthew Brady and Robert Capa , have had storied careers , thousands of others worked in obscurity , their identity hidden behind the lens . Veteran Navy combat photographer Johnny Bivera says military photographers provide a valuable legacy . People like Ruplenas provide our society `` with documentation about a time and place in our history that has long changed and moved on . '' Ruplenas recalls the nervousness he felt on D-Day in World War II , one of his first assignments . `` I hitched up a ride and a pilot let me go with him , I photographed the dozens and dozens of landing craft going in shore . We did n't drop one bomb because our targets in France were covered by fog and rain . '' His company commanders soon realized his talent and encouraged him to take more photographs . Army Headquarters began reviewing his shots regularly to determine whether the United States had hit their hopeful targets . `` I love photography , '' says Ruplenas . `` Anytime
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In his West Virginia home , Peter Ruplenas , a three-time war veteran spends his days thumbing through his personal photography collection . His compilation is vast and includes countless photographs of B-24 bombers , soldiers in the field and the aftermath of war . He holds up a photograph of himself taken by fellow photographer Dick Durrance during the Vietnam War . In it , Ruplenas trudges through a rice paddy after returning from a sweep in Cu Chi , Vietnam . He struggles to carry all his gear , but his grip is firm on his 35-millimeter camera . The photograph captures Ruplenas at the peak of his 29-year photography career and brings him back to a time when he says he was fearless . `` The minute I took the first picture I was completely relaxed . '' `` I feel pretty proud of what I 've done , '' says Ruplenas , a 91-year-old retired combat cameraman of World War II , Korea and Vietnam . How you can honor fallen U.S. troops He joined the Army in 1941 and within weeks of lacing up his boots , became a combat photographer