Stanley Madison Troutman October 3, 1917 – January 2, 2020

Stanley Madison Troutman, known for his gritty photographs as a war correspondent during WWII and his 42-year tenure directing the photography department at UCLA, passed away January 2, 2020 from pneumonia in Newport Beach, Ca. He was 102.

During WWII, Mr. Troutman was embedded with the U.S. Marines, Army, and Army Air Force during some of the toughest battles of the Pacific, including Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Peleliu, Leyte, Borneo, Luzon, and Corregidor. He also photographed Americans liberated from prisoner of war camps in China, and he was the first American civilian to photograph the ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from the ground after the atomic bomb. His photographs appeared in newspapers, magazines, and on broadcast stations across the United States, including Life Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, and NBC. 

Mr. Troutman built up the photography department at UCLA from a 1-man operation in 1946 to a fully staffed cinematography department known for excellence. He also filmed the 1956 Olympics in Australia.

Mr. Troutman received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Press Photographer’s Association of Greater Los Angeles in 2004. He was Vice-President in 1946 and a member for more than 70 years. He started the Stan Troutman Endowment Fund to establish a yearly PPAGLA award for the Best UCLA Sports Photo. In recent years, he gave interviews and slide presentations about his experience as a WWII correspondent. His story is featured in the book, Pictures for Heroes, and a forthcoming documentary.

Donations can be made to the Stan Troutman Endowment Fund supporting the UCLA Sports Photo category of the annual stills contest.