Steichen in the uniform of a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve during World War II, courtesy LIFE magazine.
In World War I, he was commissioned a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army and took command of the photographic services of the American Expeditionary Forces in France, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel and honors from both France and the U.S.A.
He was officially discharged in 1945, at the age of 67, and received the Distinguished Service Medal. Steichen left the Navy with the rank of Captain, as Director of the WWII Naval Photographic Institute.
