Duane Zemper (MSNC ’42) is used to staying out of the public eye and being behind the camera. But a PBS documentary recently turned the tables. His adventures as a photo reconnaissance officer in World War II were featured this fall in a documentary made by a Flint, Mich., public television station.
The documentary aired across Michigan before an episode of “The War: A Ken Burns Film,” the nationally-acclaimed sevenpart series that told the story of World War II through the personal accounts of men and women from four American towns. Zemper’s story – “WWII: Through the Lens of Duane Zemper” – was told by Emmy-award winning producer Donna Ryen and first broadcast on WFUM-TV.
Zemper, who lives in Howell, Mich., uniquely entered the field of photography. He graduated from Michigan State Normal College in 1942 with degrees in mathematics, chemistry and physics and was teaching physics at MSNC when the Pentagon contacted him about photography. When he was asked about his experiences as a photographer, “I didn’t have any, but I had taught physics in lens photography,” Zemper said.
“The next day, the Pentagon told me I would be a chief photographer and was being sent to Yale for further education and basic training,” said Zemper, 88. Eventually, he would serve as a second lieutenant to the 457 Bomber Group and was part of the photo section of the group intelligence department. He was based in Europe and oversaw 20 photographers who were responsible for aerial photography taken from B-17 planes flying daily missions. It was imperative that everyone worked efficiently. Their daily responsibilities included making contact prints of all shots taken and quickly providing them to various generals.
“If they didn’t have photographs of a mission, the crew did not get credit for it, so the photos were important,” Zemper said. Most crews were able to return home after 25 missions. But Zemper spent two years in Europe before returning to Howell in 1945.
The Zemper documentary was produced as part of a larger national effort to tell the stories of local vets as an introduction to the Burns series. WFUM first aired Zemper’s story Sept. 23. Special preview screenings were conducted Sept. 13 at the Ann Arbor District Library and Sept. 20 at the Howell Theater, originally the Howell District Library. The local showings created such a buzz that a second showing had to be moved from the Howell Carnegie District Library to the Howell Theater to accommodate larger audiences. Overall, about 1,000 people came to the showings in Ann Arbor and Howell, but Zemper took the adulation in stride.
“I’m no different than anyone else. Anyone’s that my age has been through a lot, and I just try to do the best I can,” Zemper said.
Zemper is no stranger to publicity. He has been interviewed several times about his war-time efforts, and has copies of numerous articles written about him. Looking back on his accomplishments and near-death war experiences, Zemper said he was never awestruck by any of it. Instead, his focus was on “getting the job done.”
"I’m no different than anyone else. Anyone’s that my age has been through a lot, and I just try to do the best I can"
Zemper was born in 1919 in Bay City, Mich., and grew up in Flint. At age 8, he started his first job selling candy and continued to work off and on during high school and later at MSNC. He held many odd jobs during college, including washing dishes at McKenny Hall and working at area apartment houses for board and on campus with landscaping crews.
Zemper was as an All-American athlete at MSNC in track and held many records. His most memorable experience at MSNC was when “the relay team I was on set an American record and almost beat Indiana for the national championship,” Zemper said. “Track and cross county and field running taught you a lot of lessons. That sport gives you much pain and agony – if you’re doing a good job – and learning to surpass that may have helped me in my later years,” he said.
After the war, Zemper knew he wanted to continue working with people and his newfound vocation. So he bought and took over a photo studio, renamed it “Zemper’s,” and operated it for 50 years. It was the oldest studio in the United States for consecutive operation. Its photographers shot more than 2,000 weddings before the business closed in 1998.
In 1980, he helped co-found the archives section of the Howell-Carnegie Library with three other friends – all of whom had great historical photos and documents of Howell they wanted to safely store for future generations.
Zemper, a Howell resident for now more than 65 years, continues to surround himself with the visual image as a town archivist and historian. His passion now resides in the archives, and in continuously connecting with people from Howell.
“In order to live to be this age, you have to be able to get along with people and to enjoy what you’re doing,” he said. “Otherwise, there’s no point in being here.”