While growing up in the Taylor Street neighborhood, Ralph Triggiano dreamed of becoming a photographer. That dream became a reality during World War II, when the Navy trained him to be its eye in the sky over the Pacific.

For two years, he took reconnaissance photos of enemy positions from 10,000 feet in the air, helping to turn the tide in the war against Japan. Along the way, he captured vivid, close-up images of life on deck and on shore, as well as chilling long-range shots of Nagasaki after the atomic blast.