Charles M. Israel

Hamilton, Montana - Charlie Israel, 80 of Hamilton passed away on April 6, 2014, of congestive heart failure.

Charlie was born May 15, 1933 in New York City. He grew up in the Bronx with his two older brothers, Eddie and Phil. They were the sons of Rae (Levine) and Martin Israel. As a boy living in New York City, life was full of exciting and remarkable adventures; going to Broadway shows with his parents and to museums, art galleries and the Bronx Zoo with his mother. He lived in a neighborhood of Irish, Italian and Jewish second generation immigrants. His own family background was of Russian Jewish ancestors. Eddie gave him his first camera when he was 11 years old. He made use of the family bathroom in their brownstone apartment, developing film in a Folgers coffee can. He discovered that he was good at photography and over the years he became intrigued with photography as an art form.

After World War II was over he and his parents left New York City and joined his brothers who had settled in Los Angeles. Charlie attended and graduated from John Marshall High School in LA.

After high school graduation he enrolled in L.A. Trade Tech taking only photography classes. His attendance there lasted only a few months because Uncle Sam came calling and he was drafted into the Army. He was 18 A½ years old.

After boot camp at Fort Ord he embarked on a troop ship to Korea. Then after a few short weeks digging holes and climbing telephone poles he was transferred to a 13 man photo unit with the I Corps Division headquartered at Uijeongbu within the DMZ. Being a combat photographer saw him in the thick of things and many times his position was overrun by the North Koreans. On two separate occasions he barely escaped. At other times he was attached to General Maxwell Taylor or General Mark Clark when the Generals came to visit the front lines. Charlie was present at the Welcome Gate at Pannmunjom for the prisoner of war exchange and photographed this historic event. Many of his photos taken during the Korean War were featured in the Army Newspaper, "The Stars and Stripes." Two years in the Army and 19 months in a combat zone changed Charlie forever. Upon his discharge in 1953, he returned to his family in Los Angeles.

Once back home he apprenticed with a mural maker in L.A. and then worked for an L.A. commercial photographer as a dark room assistant. He also resumed his photographic studies. After several years her met and married his first wife, Frances and his son Jeff was born in 1959 and later his daughter, Marla, in 1963. Because he had a young family to support, photography became an abiding passion and not his way to make a living. Charlie followed his brother's footsteps and went into the furniture business. His brother, Phil, owned a furniture factory and Charlie became a furniture manufacturer's rep. For the next 35 years this was his profession; selling furniture to stores located in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties.

1n 1973 Charlie and Frances divorced. Charlie moved to Garden Grove, CA. It was at this time that he made a major investment with the purchase of a Hasselblad Camera, turning his apartment's master bathroom into a darkroom. With this large format camera (2 A