Iconic Photos

I've had some interesting reactions to my Tuesday post on this topic. It's been heavily discussed amongst folks here at my favorite coffee shop, and I've been interrupted a number of times by people wanting to show them to someone else, and see if they recognize them.

It has been really rewarding to see people looking at and considering these. I also got a couple of written comments. EcoGeoFemme said, "Those images are all vaguely familiar to me. I wouldn't have been able to say what they were exactly, but I could probably have guessed well in a multiple choice test. So I'd say they aren't iconic to me, but not completely unfamiliar. I'm 30."

Now I'm not going about this in any systematic way- I think that would be impossible in a blogging environment- but I haven't shown these to many people in their upper 30's and older. Is age really this issue? I suspect it's a component... the availability of enormous amounts of information may dilute the ability of younger people to be exposed to these sorts of images. However compelled to speculate I may be, I'm also compelled to point out that I'm just speculating.

Jim Repka suggested two others for the list- both of which I could picture immediately, and the second of which had already come up in conversation a couple of times by the time I received his comment. Here's the first:

Lyndon Johnson was the only president to take the oath of office from a woman, Federal District Court Judge Sarah Hughes, after the assasination of JFK. He took the oath aboard Air Force One on November 22, 1963. (From Here)

This is Lyndon Johnson taking the Oath of Office in the immediate aftermath of JFK's death. This is the only time a woman has administered the oath of office- a task normally performed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The shock and sorrow in his widow's face is palpable; the nation couldn't help but share her emotions (You can get a better sense of her expression by clicking on the picture to enlarge it.) I'd be willing to bet this is the only time the oath has been administered in an airplane, as well.

This is an image of RFK immediately after he was shot on June 5, 1968

Photo taken by Boris Yaro for the Los Angeles Times (From here)

Though I was too young to really comprehend the impact it had, somehow I recall the assassination of JFK nearly as well as that of his younger brother, Robert F. Kennedy, less than five years later, as he was campaigning (and winning) during the presidential primaries. It's only as I became older that I began to fully understand the ramifications of this event, and I've never felt the same emotional impact as with the JFK shooting. But people just a little older than me still find this harrowing to recall.

And finally, one suggested by Bill, from an era in which most of my readers had at least been born:

Gulf War/Dead Iraqi Soldier, 1991, chromogenic color print, by Kenneth Jarecke. Courtesy Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images. (From Here)

We were led to believe that the first Gulf War, Desert Storm, was being conducted as humanely as possible. Trouble is, "humane" isn't possible in a shooting war. I'd argue that "Rules of War" is an oxymoron. This image showed that war was, is, and always will be, hell. No matter how smart your weapons are.

Again, your comments and suggestions are deeply desired here. Do you recognize some or all or none of these? How old are you? What photos do you consider iconic? As an aside, do you think any particular photos from 9/11 are (or even could be) considered iconic? (There are so many, how do you pick one or two?) What explanations for this cultural void space can you offer?