On July 15, 1943, in Villisca, Iowa,[1] many of the town's 1,100 residents gathered at the train station to welcome Lieutenant Colonel Robert Moore home from duty in World War II.

When his initial photo was marred by a failed flashbulb, Bunker quickly replaced the bulb and captured the prize-winning photograph of Moore's emotional reunion with his daughter.

The prize jurists were Robert E. McAlarney and Fred J. Pannwitt and they selected two war-related photographs to win the 1944 Pulitzer.

[1] It won a national Associated Press news photo contest and was used on literature distributed by the American Red Cross.

[8] Writing in the Omaha World-Herald in July 2022, Sheritha Jones said "The embrace represented the fondest wish of millions of Americans whose sons, husbands and fathers were away fighting the war.