Australians in Hollywood : Biographical Notes

Damien Parer
Australia's first ever Oscar winner, Damian Parer (1912-1944) worked as an official war cameraman for the Australian government during World War 2, and earned a reputation for extreme bravery filming in the line of fire. After his film Kokoda Front Line won the best documentary Oscar in 1943, Parer received offers of work from several U.S. newsreel companies. He signed with Paramount in 1943. In September 1944, while filming an American action in the Pacific, Damien Parer was killed by Japanese gunfire. Just two weeks before his death he had written to his brother: “I think that before the war ends I will die if I continue taking photographs the way I am doing. I feel that it's my duty to try to portray the truth and the honesty, the justice and the beauty in the soul of every soldier that dedicates his life to fight and, if necessary, die for his country. I will go on taking photographs the way I know I should, even though I die taking them.”

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