The photo above, of a young family in church, occasionally makes the rounds online. I can’t blame the sharers; it’s a striking image.
However, almost never is the image source included. Even if someone bothers to include trivial details like names or dates, no further context is ever provided. In this accursed age of image falsification, I have two guiding rules when I see a photo: information is guilty until proven innocent, and relatedly, there is no kill like research overkill.
Some time ago, I researched this photo to find out everything I possibly could about its origin and subjects. This post is a collection of what I found, and I hope serves as an example of the kind of sanctifying digital footprint someone else can leave. I have transcribed many of the photo captions and articles, because I am deeply untrusting about the stability of web pages.
The photograph is of Marine Lt. Thomas Bussjaeger (1922-2021), his wife Dawn (1925-2013), and their child. The photograph was taken by Julian Robinson in Saint Michael’s Catholic Church, Los Angeles, California. The photo was featured on page 2 of the Los Angeles Times, Christmas Day, 1945. Interestingly, in addition to flipping the photo, someone at the newspaper appears to have edited the (already arresting) scene with an additional celestial sunbeam.
Left: Marine Lt. Tom Bussjager with his wife and child alone in St. Michael Church praying in Los Angeles, Calif., 1945. Photographer: Julian Robinson. Holding institution: Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive. Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA. Identifier: edu.ucla.library.specialCollections.latimes:4367, uclalat_1429_b3222_39110. https://dl.library.ucla.edu/islandora/object/edu.ucla.library.specialCollections.latimes:4367
Right: “PEACE ON EARTH: The war ended and peace once more has settled upon the nation, and in many homes and in churches today there will be prayers of gratitude, spoken or unspoken. Marine Lt. Tom Bussjager, just returned from Pacific, with his wife and child went to St. Michael Church here yesterday for a solemn, sentimental moment.” The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California). Tuesday, December 25, 1945, page 2.
Digging deeper
The first significant ‘internet clippings’ I could find date to the early 1940s. Bussjaeger played football both before and after his enlistment in World War II: before, at Loyola Marymount University, and after, for the San Francisco Clippers. In between: he enlisted in 1942, got married in 1944, shipped out to serve with the U.S. Marines 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion, and returned in 1945.
“Loyola’s line also will be improved. Marty likes the look of a sophomore named Tom Bussjaeger, who is going to work with Travis French at center…”
“BETTER LINE.” The Los Angeles Times, 1941-08-10.
“Six more Loyola athletes will be wearing service uniforms afted [sic] July 1, according to an announcement by Graduate Manager Jack Dempsey yesterday. Tom Bussjaeger, football center…”.
“Six More Loyola Athletes Called.” The Los Angeles Times, 1943-06-12.
“1946 San Francisco Clippers.” A photo and forum discussion thread on the now-defunct website Oldest Living Pro Football Players” Pro Football’s Online Encyclopedia. The photo was posted by user Aggiefan on March 17, 2012. One of Bussjaeger’s daughters left two comments, one in 2015 and one in 2020, confirming that her father was #29. Wayback Machine link: https://web.archive.org/web/20200805135411/http://www.oldestlivingprofootball.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=151739487
While I did not find much digital evidence of Tom Bussjaeger from the 1950s-1990s, I was delighted to find some clippings of his wife, Dawn.
“FASHION PLATES: Kathy Bussjaeger, right, sketches fashions on glass for Our Lady of Guadalupe Guild’s Hi-Fi Fashion Show to be held next month. Examining her work, from left, are Mmes. Thomas Bussjaeger, Kathy’s mother and a member of the guild, and Mrs. Harry K. Cromwell Jr., chairman of the show.”
The Los Angeles Times, 1959-03-22.
“CENTERPIECE: This candelabra being lighted by Mrs. John F. Gardner for Mrs. Thomas Bussjaeger, left, and Mrs. Robert Lavin will be used as centerpiece of the banquet table for the Candlelight Ball Saturday. The affair is sponsored by Our Lady of Guadalupe Church of La Habra and will be at Disneyland Hotel.”
The Los Angeles Times, 1962-04-29.
In 1999, Tom sent a letter and donation to his high school’s alumni magazine.
“Tom, Here’s $50 for “whatever” and thanks for keeping our great memories alive…Lots of memories looking through annuals and old pictures of my football days.”
The Crusader, an alumni publication of Mt. Carmel High School, volume 7 (1). 1999-08. Wayback Machine link: https://web.archive.org/web/20160822124315/http://mtcarmelcrusaders.org/newletters/news_9908.pdf
In 2003, Tom wrote a moving letter to the editor for The Desert Sun.
“A tribute to the new “war mothers”: When I see servicemen returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, I have to pay tribute to all of the wives who bore their children while their husbands were overseas. My wife and I were married in August 1944 while I was in the Marine Corps and a few months later I shipped out to the Pacific. We had $100 in the bank, an old 1935 Ford, and my wife was pregnant. She had to go back home to live with her mother, brother and two sisters. When I returned home and saw our daughter for the first time, she was 7 months old. Many other World Way II servicemen husbands had longer tours of duty and greater stories to tell, but the loneliness and anxiety then and now must be the same. God has been good to us. In August, we will celebrate our 59th wedding anniversary. Our lives have been full of happiness and love for each other, our family, our friends, and the Marine Corps. The sacrifice and wait was well worth it.”
“Sacrifice worth it.” The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, California), 2003-05-15.
In 2011, the Belmont Village Senior Living of Cardiff by the Sea near Encinitas, California held an exhibit called “Lasting Love.” Thomas Sanders photographed residents with long-lasting marriages. Featured on the cover of the ensuing magazine were Tom and Dawn Bussjaeger.
Caption: Dawn and Tom Bussjaeger, [married] 62 years. North Inland: an edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune, 2011-07-10. http://www.walkepr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Belmont-Village-Lasting-Loves-Promotion-G%C3%87%C3%B4-July-2011.pdf
In 2012, once again we find a poignant letter to the editor.
“Every once in a while, something very nice happens to me. I’m 90 years old and losing weight – time is taking it away. My stretch waistband was very loose, and I took it to (a watch repair shop) in Encinitas for adjustment. They removed three small bars of the band, and when I asked “How much?” their comment was “Nothing.” Even after I tried to give them even $5 for their coffee fund, their final words were “Get out of here,” with a big smile. Life in Encinitas is good. People like the owners of this watch repair shop make it even better.”
“Something very nice in Encinitas”. Letters to the Editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 2012-08-04. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-letters-nct-aug-4-2012-2012aug04-story.html
Throughout the 2010s, we can find multiple news stories of Tom’s activities as a WWII veteran.
“Encinitas resident Tom Bussjaeger remembers approaching San Diego’s shore on the deck of an aircraft carrier during a cold November night in 1945. The glowing lights of the city came into view, marking his and other troops’ return. There weren’t many waiting for them at the dock. […] Bussjaeger saw combat in Saipan as a member of the Second Amphibian Tractor Battalion. During D-Day, while just offshore of Okinawa, a Kamikaze pilot hit the LST 884 ship he was on. Bussjaeger said he “immediately became a combat veteran” after abandoning ship. […] Bussjaeger enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1942 at the age of 20 while living in Los Angeles. Not long after, he met his wife Dawn at the Los Angeles Post Office. […] Bussjaeger married Dawn before shipping out to the Pacific in 1944. “We were married 68 years,” Bussjaeger said. “We had the happiest life that anybody could have. We just loved each other the whole time so much.” Given the heavy casualties, he wasn’t certain he’d see her again upon joining an outfit in Saipan. The Kamikaze strike on D-Day was yet another reminder of the war’s heavy toll. Several months after the Japanese surrendered in 1945, Bussjaeger was on his way back to San Diego. A tiring 21-day boat ride from Guam to Pearl Harbor ensued, and then six days on an aircraft carrier to San Diego. Yet Bussjaeger said reuniting with Dawn and his 7-month-old baby girl made the trip more than worth it. “It was like the movies,” Bussjaeger said.”
Photo caption: “1st Lt. Tom Bussjaeger, center, is welcomed home by residents at Lindbergh Field. Bussjaeger, a 91-year-old Encinitas resident, was part of a veterans group who received an all-expense-paid trip to visit war memorials in Washington, D.C. as part of San Diego Honor Flight. Photo by Jared Whitlock”
“Encinitas veteran receives a hero’s welcome.” The Coast News, 2013-10-23. https://www.thecoastnews.com/encinitas-veteran-receives-a-heros-welcome/.
“Bussjaeger vividly recalls the initial monument-making effort, borne from a reunion in 2000 of the members of the 2nd Amtrac Battalion Association. They reached out to more than 200 of their fellow members, and heard back from 35 of them. The three decided in 2001 after not getting enough donations from the reunion group to pull their own money together to pay for the supplies. Between the three of them, they raised $1,800. They purchased the supplies from Home Depot and several Marines from the 1st Amphibious Assault Vehicle Battalion on the base assisted them in erecting it.”
Photo caption: “Tom Bussjaeger is working to keep alive the memory of his unit — the U.S. Marines 2nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion, which served in the Pacific theater of WWII from 1942 to 1945 — and the monument, which sits outside of a museum dedicated to amphibious tracked vehicles at Camp Pendleton. Photo by Aaron Burgin”
“Marine vet plans ceremony to commemorate monument.” The Coast News, 2017-10-05. https://www.thecoastnews.com/marine-vet-plans-ceremony-to-commemorate-monument/
“Tom Bussjaeger smiled from ear to ear on Oct. 11 as he exited the YAT-YAS Museum at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton’s Del Mar boat basin area. Surrounded by members of the Marines Assault Amphibian School Battalion, a color guard and friends, Bussjaeger celebrated the re-dedication of the monument he and members of his World War II amphibian tractor battalion erected in 2001 to commemorate their unit’s contributions. “I feel like I’m a Marine again,” Bussjaeger said.”
“Marines, veterans rededicate monument.”, The Coast News, 2017-10-13. https://issuu.com/coastnewsgroup/docs/the-coast-news_-october-13_-2017
In 2018, Tom’s name was included in a parish bulletin from St. John the Evangelist Church, Encinitas, California.
“Please Keep in Your Prayers.” Parish bulletin from St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Encinitas, CA, 2018-06-03. http://saintjohnencinitas.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/390000-6-3-2018.pdf
One of the last digital traces I can find of Tom Bussjaeger comes from his time as a resident at Atria Senior Living in Encinitas, California. He left multiple 5-star reviews for various staff members, and these reviews were featured on the facility’s homepage.
Obituary for Dawn Bussjaeger: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=162764030
Obituary for Tom Bussjaeger: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/thomas-bussjaeger-obituary?pid=198172230