Dates

• Existence: 1919 - 1965

Biographical Note: Dickey Chapelle

Dickey Chapelle (1914-1965), also known as Georgette Louise Meyer, was an American photojournalist. She was known for her work as a war correspondent covering World War II through the Vietnam War.

Chapelle was born on March 14, 1918 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She studied aeronautical engineering at MIT but dropped out to pursue photography and journalism. Chapelle began her journalism career writing aviation features for the Boston Traveler and was also a staff writer for the Milwaukee Journal. From circa 1939-1941, she worked at Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA) as a press release writer. In April 1941, Chapelle joined Lear Avia as a press liasion in the company's New York office. She later joined National Geographic as a war correspondent photojournalist during World War II. Notably, she covered the Battle of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

In 1940, she married Tony Chapelle, though the marriage ended in divorce in 1955. After her divorce, she changed her first name to Dickey.

Post-war, she traveled extensively as a war photojournalist, often traveling with troops. On November 4, 1965 she was killed in Vietnam while on patrol with a Marine platoon during "Operation Black Ferret," becoming the first female war correspondent to be killed in Vietnam as well as first American female reporter to be killed in action.

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