He joined the Naval Reserves in 1940 and was assigned as a Navy combat artist, a role in which he witnessed the surrender of the Japanese on the U.S.S. MISSOURI. He was among the first U.S. military men to enter Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He became a commander and remained in the Naval Reserve. After the war, Stan returned to Santa Barbara and resumed painting. In 1956, he accompanied Admiral Byrd to Antarctica. One of his paintings, "Midsummer Scene, McMurdo Sound," was shown in Princeton in 1968 by the Historical Society of Princeton.

STAN BACKUS, a prominent watercolor impressionist in Santa Barbara, Calif., died there on Oct. 12, 1989. A memorial service was held at All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church on Oct. 21, and Adele Smith, the widow of Howard (Bullet) Smith, represented the Princeton Class of 1933.

Stan was born on Apr. 5, 1910, in Detroit. He graduated  rom Princeton University Class of 1933. In college, he was on the 150-lb. crew and was a member of Cap and Gown. Stan studied architecture in college, but on graduation he discovered that, as he put it, "architects were starving to death." He therefore went to Munich to study art. In 1935, he opened a studio in Santa Barbara.

After being commissioned as an Ensign in the inactive Naval Reserve in 1940, Backus became an active duty officer in 1941. During most of the war he was assigned to the Net and Boom Defenses, first in the South Pacific and then in Washington D.C. In 1945 he was transferred to the Bureau of Naval Personnel to assist in establishing a special Graphic Presentation Unit. Late in the War Backus was assigned to cover operations in the Pacific as a Combat Artist. Backus received promotions throughout the war, attaining the rank of Commander before returning to civilian life in May 1946.

Returning to active duty, Backus accompanied Admiral Byrd to the Antarctica for four months in 1955-56 to record images of the exploration.

Labeled "Operation Deepfreeze", this expedition did preliminary work for the one in July 1956, which widely explored the Antarctic in commemoration of the Geophysical Year. 

During the original exhibition of paintings from Operation Deepfreeze, Backus discussed why the Navy sends artist to cover Naval activities. "The Navy appreciates that the artist, in reporting his experiences, has the opportunity to convey to his audience a large sense of realization of a subject, the artist is obliged to contemplate the subject reflectively, seeking to penetrate beyond the surface of factual representation, in order to present the true nature of the experience."

After his work for the Navy was completed Backus returned to California and continued painting while also teaching at the University of California. As a dedicated member of his community, he served on the boards of several civic and arts organizations. He died in Santa Barbara in 1989.