Famous World War II photographer, Tony Vaccaro, has successfully beaten the coronavirus. The virus has a high mortality rate for the elderly, but Vaccaro got out of this battle as a winner at the age of 97.
[Warning: the video above contains graphic images, viewer discretion is advised]
The photographer lives in Queens with his family. With over 335,000 cases confirmed at the time of writing this, New York is the most severely affected city in the USA. WKRG writes that Vaccaro had most likely caught the virus in April from his son, or while he was walking in the neighborhood.
While nearly 50% of coronavirus deaths were people above 75, Vaccaro has successfully recovered. What’s more, he reportedly stayed in the hospital for only two days. He had mild symptoms, and spent another week recovering at home.
According to his family, the photographer surprised everyone by getting up and shaving after he felt better. His daughter-in-law Maria Vaccaro said: “That was it. He’s walking around like nothing happened.” The family is currently working on a documentary about the photographer. So, they joke that “Tony survived COVID-19 because he wants to tell the rest of his story,” as his daughter-in-law told WKRG.
Tony Vaccaro’s parents both died when he was a child, so he was orphaned by the age of five. He was raised by his grandmother, and reportedly survived physical abuse from his uncle. At the age of 21 he went to war, and his position of a scout provided him with the chance to take photos. Vaccaro survived the Battle of Normandy and brought home thousands of photos from the war. “The Kiss of Liberation” is one of his most famous photos, and it’s an iconic one. After the war, Vaccaro returned to the USA and worked for some of the most famous magazines. Between 1950 and 1973 he worked as a celebrity and fashion photographer.
“I really feel I have luck on my back,” Vaccaro said. “And I could go anywhere on this Earth and survive it.” After he survived the illness that isn’t at all harmless for people of his age, I sure hope that he’ll stay healthy and happy, and stay with us to tell the rest of his story.
[via FStoppers]
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