Naval History and Heritage Command

Dwight C. Shepler (1905-1974)

Commander, USNR

Born in Everett, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Williams College, Shepler became a member of the American Artists' Group and the American Artists Professional League. Commissioned in the Navy in May 1942 and assigned to the Combat Art Section, he first traveled with a destroyer on Pacific convoy duty. From the mud of Guadalcanal, through the years of the Allied build-up in England, to the memorable D-Day on the French coast, he painted and recorded the Navy's warfare. For his service as a Combat Artist, the Navy awarded Shepler the Bronze Star.

After the war, he continued his career as a pioneer watercolorist of the high ski country and served as president of the Guild of Boston Artists.