Pictures of World War II
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090506011552im_/http://www.archives.gov/research/ww2/photos/images/cover-m.jpg)
General Douglas MacArthur wades ashore during initial landings
at Leyte, P.I., October, 1944.
Cropped from Select List number 150.
The Second World War was documented on a huge scale by thousands of photographers and artists who created millions of pictures. American military photographers representing all of the armed services covered the battlefronts around the world. Every activity of the war was depicted--training, combat, support services, and much more. On the home front, the many federal war agencies produced and collected pictures, posters, and cartoons on such subjects as war production, rationing, and civilian relocation.
The pictures described in this list are from the holdings of the Still Picture Branch (NNSP) of the National Archives and Records Administration. Most are from the records of the Army Signal Corps in Record Group (RG) 111, the Department of the Navy in RG 80, the Coast Guard in RG 26, the Marine Corps in RG 127, and the Office of War Information in RG 208. Others were selected from the records of 12 additional agencies. Most World War II Air Force photographs are not in the National Archives.
Pictures are listed by subject and campaign. Original captions are in quotation marks. Photographers, artists, locations, and dates, when known, are also included. This information is followed by identification numbers in italics.
At the end of this leaflet there are instructions for ordering complete sets of slides from this and other Select Audiovisual Records lists. To order individual prints, negatives, or slides from this list, write to the Still Picture Branch (NNSP) for a current price list and ordering information. With the exception of 11 pictures that are also in color (indicated by an asterisk following the identification number), all pictures in this list are available only in black and white. Inquiries about other World War II pictures that may be part of the National Archives' holdings should be made separately. Please list, as specifically as possible, names, dates, places, subjects, events, and other details. Please limit each request to three items.
Jonathan Heller researched, selected, and arranged the items for this list and wrote these introductory remarks.
Contents:
Leaders
1. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the Declaration of War against Japan, December 8, 1941. 79-AR-82.
2. "General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, at his headquarters in the European theater of operations. He wears the five-star cluster of the newly-created rank of General of the Army." T4c. Messerlin, February 1, 1945. 80-G-331330.
3. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Munich, Germany, ca. June 1940. 242-EB-7-38.
4. "General MacArthur surveys the beachhead on Leyte Island, soon after American forces swept ashore from a gigantic liberation armada into the central Philippines, at the historic moment when the General made good his promise `I shall return.'" 1944. 26-G- 3584.
5. "Conference of the Big Three at Yalta makes final plans for the defeat of Germany. Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Premier Josef Stalin." February 1945. 111-SC-260486.
6. American generals: seated left to right are William H. Simpson, George S. Patton, Jr., Carl Spaatz, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Courtney H. Hodges, and Leonard T. Gerow; standing are Ralph F. Stearley, Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Walter Bedell Smith, Otto P. Weyland, and Richard E. Nugent. Ca. 1945. 208-YE-182.
The Home Front
7. ". . . we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain . . . Remember Dec. 7th!" Color poster by Allen Saalberg, 1942. 44-PA-191.*
8. "We French workers warn you . . . defeat means slavery, starvation, death." Color poster by Ben Shahn, 1942. 44-PA-246.*
9. "I Want You for the U.S. Army. Enlist Now." Color poster by James Montgomery Flagg. 44-PA-71.*
10. "Man the Guns. Join the Navy." Color poster by McClelland Barclay, 1942. 44-PA-24.*
11. "For your country's sake today--For your own sake tomorrow. Go to the nearest recruiting station of the armed service of your choice." Color poster by Steele Savage, 1944. 44-PA-820.*
12. "Buy War Bonds." Color poster, 1942. 44-PA-531.*
13. "SCRAP." Color poster by Roy Schatt, 1942. 44-PA-1688.*
14. "Harvesting bumper crop for Uncle Sam . Movie star Rita Hayworth sacrificed her bumpers for the duration. Besides setting an example by turning in unessential metal car parts, Miss Hayworth has been active in selling war bonds." 1942. 208-PU-91B-5.
15. "I'm conserving wool, this bathing suit's painted on." Cartoon drawing by Charles Shows. 208-COM-1084.
16. Sugar rationing. 208-AA-322I-2.
17. "An eager school boy gets his first experience in using War Ration Book Two. With many parents engaged in war work, children are being taught the facts of point rationing for helping out in family marketing." Alfred Palmer, February 1943. 208-AA-322H-1.
18. "We Can Do It." Color poster by J. Howard Miller. 179-WP- 1563.*
19. "Secretaries, housewives, waitresses, women from all over central Florida are getting into vocational schools to learn war work. Typical are these in the Daytona Beach branch of the Volusia county vocational school." Howard R. Hollem, April 1942. 208-AA-352V-4.
20. "Stars over Berlin and Tokyo will soon replace these factory lights reflected in the noses of planes at Douglas Aircraft's Long Beach, Calif., plant. Women workers groom lines of transparent noses for deadly A-20 attack bombers." Alfred Palmer, October 1942. 208-AA-352QQ-5. (ww2_20.jpg)
21. Riveter at Lockheed Aircraft Corp., Burbank, CA. 86-WWT-3-67. (ww2_21.jpg)
22. "Line up of some of women welders including the women's welding champion of Ingalls [Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, MS]." Spencer Beebe, 1943. 86-WWT-85-35. (ww2_22.jpg)
23. "Chippers." Women war workers of Marinship Corp., 1942. 86-WWT-85-16. (ww2_23.jpg)
24. "Man working on hull of U.S. submarine at Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn." Lt. Comdr. Charles Fenno Jacobs, August 1943. 80-G-468517. (ww2_24.jpg)
25. "Launching of USS ROBALO 9 May 1943, at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wis." 80-G-68535. (ww2_25.jpg)
26. "Someone talked!" Color poster by Siebel, 1942. 44-PA-230.* (ww2_26.jpg)
27. "Loose lips might sink ships." Color poster by Ess-ar-gee. 44-PA-82.* (ww2_27.jpg)
28. "A young evacuee of Japanese ancestry waits with the family baggage before leaving by bus for an assembly center in the spring of 1942." Clem Albers, California, April 1942. 210-G-2A-6. (ww2_28.jpg)
29. "Persons of Japanese ancestry arrive at the Santa Anita Assembly Center from San Pedro. Evacuees lived at this center at the former Santa Anita race track before being moved inland to relocation centers." Clem Albers, Arcadia, CA, April 5, 1942. 210-G-3B-414. (ww2_29.jpg)
30. "Dust storm at this War Relocation Authority center where
evacuees of Japanese ancestry are spending the duration."
Dorothea Lange, Manzanar, CA, July 3, 1942. 210-G-10C-839.
(ww2_30.jpg)
Supply & Support
31. "Mechanics check engine of SNJ at Kingsville Field, NATC, Corpus Christi, Texas." Lt. Comdr. Charles Fenno Jacobs, November 1942. 80-G-475186. (ww2_31.jpg)
32. "Ordnancemen loading belted cartridges into SBD-3 at NAS Norfolk, Va." September 1942. 80-G-472528. (ww2_32.jpg)
33. "Victory cargo ships are lined up at a U.S. west coast shipyard for final outfitting before they are loaded with supplies for Navy depots and advance bases in the Pacific." Ca. 1944. 208-YE-2B-7. (ww2_33.jpg)
34. "Corporal Charles H. Johnson of the 783rd Military Police Battalion, waves on a `Red Ball Express' motor convoy rushing priority materiel to the forward areas, near Alenon, France." Bowen, September 5, 1944. 111-SC-195512. (ww2_34.jpg)
35. "Invasion of Cape Gloucester, New Britain, 24 Dec. 1943. Crammed with men and material for the invasion, this Coast Guard- manned LST nears the Japanese held shore. Troops shown in the picture are Marines." PhoM1c. Don C. Hansen. 26-G-3056.
36. "U.S. Convoy which operates between Chen-Yi and Kweiyang, China, is ascending the famous twenty-one curves at Annan, China." Pfc. John F. Albert, March 26, 1945. 111-SC-208807.
37. "U.S. Marine `Raiders' and their dogs, which are used for scouting and running messages, starting off for the jungle front lines on Bougainville." T.Sgt. J. Sarno, ca. November/December 1943. 127-GR-84-68407. (ww2_37.jpg)
38. "Sgt. Carl Weinke and Pfc. Ernest Marjoram, Signal Corps cameramen, wading through stream while following infantry troops in forward area during invasion at a beach in New Guinea." T4c. Ernani D'Emidio, April 22, 1944. 111-SC-189623. (ww2_38.jpg)
39. "Pfc Angelo B. Reina, 391st Inf. Regt., guards a lonely Oahu
beach position. Kahuku, Oahu." Rosenberg, Hawaii, March 1945.
111-SC-221867.
(ww2_39.jpg)
Rest & Relaxation
40. "Marine Pfc. Douglas Lightheart (right) cradles his 30-cal. machine gun in his lap, while he and his buddy Pfc. Gerald Churchby take time out for a cigarette, while mopping up the enemy on Peleliu Is." Cpl. H. H. Clements, September 14, 1944. 127-N-97628. (ww2_40.jpg)
41. "Sailor reading in his bunk aboard USS CAPELIN at submarine base New London, Conn." Lt. Comdr. Charles Fenno Jacobs, August 1943. 80-G-468523. (ww2_41.jpg)
42. "Activities aboard USS MONTEREY. Navy pilots in the forward elevator well playing basketball." Jumper at left identified as Gerald R. Ford. Attributed to Lt. Victor Jorgensen, ca. June/July 1944. 80-G-417628. (ww2_42.jpg)
43. "Liberty party. Liberty section personnel aboard LCM returning to USS CASABLANCA from Rara Island, off Pitylieu Island, Manus." PhoM1c. R. W. Mowday, Admiralty Islands, April 19, 1945. 80-CASA-618. (ww2_43.jpg)
44. "Bing Crosby, stage, screen and radio star, sings to Allied troops at the opening of the London stage door canteen in Piccadilly, London, England." Pearson, August 31, 1944. 111-SC-193249. (ww2_44.jpg)
45. "Danny Kaye, well known stage and screen star, entertains 4,000 5th Marine Div. occupation troops at Sasebo, Japan. The crude sign across the front of the stage says: `Officers keep out! Enlisted men's country.'" Pfc. H. J. Grimm, October 25, 1945. 127-N-138204. (ww2_45.jpg)
46. "Pfc. Mickey Rooney imitates some Hollywood actors for an audience of Infantrymen of the 44th Division. Rooney is a member of a three-man unit making a jeep tour to entertain the troops." T5c. Louis Weintraub, Kist, Germany, April 13, 1945. 111-SC-203412. (ww2_46.jpg)
47. "Marlene Dietrich, motion picture actress, autographs the cast on the leg of Tec 4 Earl E. McFarland at a United States hospital in Belgium, where she has been entertaining the GIs." Tuttle, November 24, 1944. 111-SC-232989. (ww2_47.jpg)
48. "A youngster, clutching his soldier father, gazes upward while the latter lifts his wife from the ground to wish her a `Merry Christmas.' The serviceman is one of those fortunate enough to be able to get home for the holidays." December 1944. 208-AA-2F-20. (ww2_48.jpg)
Aid & Comfort
49. "Crewmen lifting Kenneth Bratton out of turret of TBF on the USS SARATOGA after raid on Rabaul." Lt. Wayne Miller, November 1943. 80-G-415477. (ww2_49.jpg)
50. Medics helping injured soldier, France, 1944. 208-YE-22. (ww2_50.jpg)
51. "Private Roy Humphrey is being given blood plasma by Pfc. Harvey White, after he was wounded by shrapnel, on 9 August 1943 in Sicily." Wever. 111-SC-178198. (ww2_51.jpg)
52. "Transfer of wounded from USS BUNKER HILL to USS WILKES BARRE, who were injured during fire aboard carrier following Jap suicide dive bombing attack off Okinawa." PhoM3c. Kenneth E. Roberts, May 11, 1945. 80-G-328610. (ww2_52.jpg)
53. "In an underground surgery room, behind the front lines on Bougainville, an American Army doctor operates on a U.S. soldier wounded by a Japanese sniper." December 13, 1943. 111-SC-187247. (ww2_53.jpg)
54. "Nurses of a field hospital who arrived in France via England and Egypt after three years service." Parker, August 12, 1944. 112-SGA-44-10842. (ww2_54.jpg)
55. "With a canvas tarpaulin for a church and packing cases for an altar, a Navy chaplain holds mass for Marines at Saipan. The service was held in memory of brave buddies who lost their lives in the initial landings." Sgt. Steele, June 1944. 127-N-82262. (ww2_55.jpg)
56. "The crew of the USS SOUTH DAKOTA stands with bowed heads,
while Chaplain N. D. Lindner reads the benediction held in honor
of fellow shipmates killed in the air action off Guam on June 19,
1944." July 1, 1944. 80-G-238322.
(ww2_56.jpg)
Navy & Naval Battles
57. "A PT marksman provides a striking camera study as he draws a bead with his 50 caliber machine gun on his boat off New Guinea." July 1943. 80-G-53871. (ww2_57.jpg)
58. "Officer at periscope in control room of submarine." Ca. 1942. 80-G-11258. (ww2_58.jpg)
59. "PT's patrolling off coast of New Guinea." 1943. 80-G-53855. (ww2_59.jpg)
60. "USS PENNSYLVANIA and battleship of COLORADO class followed by three cruisers move in line into Lingayen Gulf preceding the landing on Luzon." Philippines, January 1945. 80-G-59525. (ww2_60.jpg)
61. "Coast Guardsmen on the deck of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spencer watch the explosion of a depth charge which blasted a Nazi U-boat's hope of breaking into the center of a large convoy." Sinking of U-175. WO Jack January, April 17, 1943. 26-G-1517. (ww2_61.jpg)
62. Torpedoed Japanese destroyer photographed through periscope of U.S.S. Wahoo or U.S.S. Nautilus, June 1942. 80-G-418331. (ww2_62.jpg)
63. Sixteen-inch guns of the U.S.S Iowa firing during battle drill in the Pacific, ca. 1944. 80-G-59493. (ww2_63.jpg)
64. "Jap torpedo bomber explodes in air after direct hit by 5 inch shell from U.S. aircraft carrier as it attempted an unsuccessful attack on carrier, off Kwajalein." U.S.S. Yorktown. CPhoM. Alfred N. Cooperman, December 4, 1943. 80-G-415001. (ww2_64.jpg)
65. "Japanese plane shot down as it attempted to attack USS KITKUN BAY." Near Mariana Islands, June 1944. 80-G-238363. (ww2_65.jpg)
66. "USS BUNKER HILL burning after Jap suicide attack." Near Okinawa, May 11, 1945. 80-G-274266. (ww2_66.jpg)
67. "USS BUNKER HILL hit by two Kamikazes in 30 seconds on 11 May 1945 off Kyushu. Dead-372. Wounded-264." 80-G-323712. (ww2_67.jpg)
Aviation
68. "A Chinese soldier guards a line of American P-40 fighter planes, painted with the shark-face emblem of the `Flying Tigers,' at a flying field somewhere in China." Ca. 1942. 208-AA-12X-21. (ww2_68.jpg)
69. "Pilots aboard a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier receive last minute instructions before taking off to attack industrial, and military installations in Tokyo." February 17, 1945. 208-N-38374. (ww2_69.jpg)
70. "Dynamic static. The motion of its props causes an `aura' to form around this F6F on USS YORKTOWN. Rotating with blades, halo moves aft, giving depth and perspective." November 1943. 80-G-204747A. (ww2_70.jpg)
71. "Take off from the deck of the USS HORNET of an Army B-25 on its way to take part in first U.S. air raid on Japan." Doolittle Raid, April 1942. 80-G-41196. (ww2_71.jpg)
72. "TBF (Avengers) flying in formation over Norfolk, Va." Attributed to Lt. Comdr. Horace Bristol, September 1942. 80-G-427475. (ww2_72.jpg)
73. "The first big raid by the 8th Air Force was on a Focke Wulf plant at Marienburg. Coming back, the Germans were up in full force and we lost at least 80 ships-800 men, many of them pals." 1943. 208-YE-7. (ww2_73.jpg)
74. "Photograph made from B-17 Flying Fortress of the 8th AAF Bomber Command on 31 Dec. when they attacked the vital CAM ball- bearing plant and the nearby Hispano Suiza aircraft engine repair depot in Paris." France, 1943. 208-EX-249A-27. (ww2_74.jpg)
75. "Pilots pleased over their victory during the Marshall
Islands attack, grin across the tail of an F6F Hellcat on board
the USS LEXINGTON, after shooting down 17 out of 20 Japanese
planes heading for Tarawa." Comdr. Edward Steichen, November
1943. 80-G-470985.
(ww2_75.jpg)
German Aggression
76. "Hitler accepts the ovation of the Reichstag after announcing the `peaceful' acquisition of Austria. It set the stage to annex the Czechoslovakian Sudetenland, largely inhabited by a German- speaking population." Berlin, March 1938. 208-N-39843. (ww2_76.jpg)
77. German troops parade through Warsaw, Poland. PK Hugo J.ger, September 1939. 200-SFF-52. (ww2_77.jpg)
78. "The tragedy of this Sudeten woman, unable to conceal her misery as she dutifully salutes the triumphant Hitler, is the tragedy of the silent millions who have been `won over' to Hitlerism by the `everlasting use' of ruthless force." Ca. 1938. 208-PP-10A-2. (ww2_78.jpg)
79. Soviet Foreign Commissar Vyacheslav Molotov signs the German-Soviet nonaggression pact; Joachim von Ribbentrop and Josef Stalin stand behind him. Moscow, August 23. 1939. 242-JRPE-44. (ww2_79.jpg)
80. British prisoners at Dunkerque, France, June 1940. 242-EB-7-35. (ww2_80.jpg)
81. "A Frenchman weeps as German soldiers march into the French capital, Paris, on June 14, 1940, after the Allied armies had been driven back across France." 208-PP-10A-3. (ww2_81.jpg)
82. Adolf Hitler in Paris, June 23, 1940. 242-HLB-5073-20. (ww2_82.jpg)
83. German troops in Russia, 1941. 242-GAP-286B-4. (ww2_83.jpg)
Battle of Britain
84. Aircraft spotter on the roof of a building in London. St. Paul's Cathedral is in the background. 306-NT-901B-3.
85. "Standing up gloriously out of the flames and smoke of surrounding buildings, St. Paul's Cathedral is pictured during the great fire raid of Sunday December 29th." 1940. 306-NT-3173V.
86. "Over 500 firemen and members of the London Auxiliary Fire Fighting Services, including many women, combined in a war exercise over the ground covered by Greenwich (London) Fire Station." Ca. July 1939. 306-NT-901-19.
87. "Children of an eastern suburb of London, who have been made homeless by the random bombs of the Nazi night raiders, waiting outside the wreckage of what was their home." September 1940. 306-NT-3163V.
88. "Two bewildered old ladies stand amid the leveled ruins of the almshouse which was Home; until Jerry dropped his bombs. Total war knows no bounds. Almshouse bombed Feb. 10, Newbury, Berks., England." Naccarata, February 11, 1943. 111-SC-178801.
89.Life in London during the war. View of a V-1 rocket in flight, ca. 1944. 306-NT-3157V.
North Africa, Sicily, Italy
90. Gen. Erwin Rommel with the 15th Panzer Division between Tobruk and Sidi Omar. Sdf. Zwilling, Libya, January or November 24, 1941. 242-EAPC-6-M713a.
91. "General Bernard L. Montgomery watches his tanks move up." North Africa, November 1942. 208-PU-138LL-3.
92. "Lt. Col. Lyle Bernard, CO, 30th Infantry Regiment, a prominent figure in the second daring amphibious landing behind enemy lines on Sicily's north coast, discusses military strategy with Lt. Gen. George S. Patton. Near Brolo." 1943. 111-SC-246532.
93. "Front view of 240mm howitzer of Battery `B', 697th Field Artillery Battalion, just before firing into German held territory. Mignano area, Italy." Boyle, January 30, 1944. 111-SC-187126.
94. "Moving up through Prato, Italy, men of the 370th Infantry Regiment, have yet to climb the mountain which lies ahead." Bull, April 9, 1945. 111-SC-205289.
95. "Americans of Japanese descent, Infantrymen of the 442nd Regiment, run for cover as a German artillery shell is about to land outside the building." Levine, Italy. April 4, 1945. 111-SC-337154.
96. "Pvt. Paul Oglesby, 30th Infantry, standing in reverence before an altar in a damaged Catholic Church. Note: pews at left appear undamaged, while bomb-shattered roof is strewn about the sanctuary. Acerno, Italy." Benson, September 23, 1943. 111-SC-188691.
97. "From Coast Guard-manned "sea-horse" landing craft, American
troops leap forward to storm a North African beach during final
amphibious maneuvers." James D. Rose, Jr., ca. 1944. 26-G-2326.
France
98. "Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower gives the order of the Day. 'Full victory-nothing else' to paratroopers in England, just before they board their airplanes to participate in the first assault in the invasion of the continent of Europe." Moore, June 6, 1944. 111-SC-194399.
99. "Landing on the coast of France under heavy Nazi machine gun fire are these American soldiers, shown just as they left the ramp of a Coast Guard landing boat." CPhoM. Robert F. Sargent, June 6, 1944. 26-G-2343.
100. "Crossed rifles in the sand are a comrade's tribute to this American soldier who sprang ashore from a landing barge and died at the barricades of Western Europe." 1944. 26-G-2397.
101. "American howitzers shell German forces retreating near Carentan, France." Franklin, July 11, 1944. 111-SC-191933.
102. An American officer and a French partisan crouch behind an auto during a street fight in a French city, ca. 1944. 111-SC-217401.
103. "General Charles de Gaulle speaks to the people of Cherbourg from the balcony of the City Hall during his visit to the French port city on August 20." 1944. 208-MFI-5H-1. (ww2_103.jpg)
104. American troops in tank passing the Arc de Triomphe after the liberation of Paris, August 1944. 208-YE-68.
105. "American troops of the 28th Infantry Division march down the Champs Elysees, Paris, in the `Victory' Parade." Poinsett, August 29, 1944. 111-SC-193197.
106. "This girl pays the penalty for having had personal relations with the Germans. Here, in the Montelimar area, France, French civilians shave her head as punishment." Smith, August 29, 1944. 111-SC-193785.
The Low Countries
107. "Men of the 8th Infantry Regiment attempt to move forward and are pinned down by German small arms from within the Belgian town of Libin. Men seek cover behind hedges and signs to return the fire." Gedicks, September 7, 1944. 111-SC-193835.
108. Yanks of 60th Infantry Regiment advance into a Belgian town under the protection of a heavy tank.Spangle, September 9, 1944. 111-SC-193903.
109. Parachutes open overhead as waves of paratroops land in Holland during operations by the 1st Allied Airborne Army. September 1944. 111-SC-354702.
110. "A U.S. Infantry anti-tank crew fires on Nazis who machine- gunned their vehicle, somewhere in Holland." W. F. Stickle, November 4, 1944. 111-SC-197367.
111. "A Nazi soldier, heavily armed, carries ammunition boxes forward with companion in territory taken by their counter- offensive in this scene from captured German film." Belgium, December 1944. 111-SC-197561.
112. "A lanky GI, with hands clasped behind his head, leads a file of American prisoners marching along a road somewhere on the western front. Germans captured these American soldiers during the surprise enemy drive into Allied positions." Captured German photograph, December 1944. 111-SC-198240.
113. "Chow is served to American Infantrymen on their way to La Roche, Belgium. 347th Infantry Regiment." Newhouse, January 13, 1945. 111-SC-198849.
114. Canadian Infantry of the Regiment de Maisonneuve, moving through Holten to Rijssen, Netherlands. Lt. D. Guravitch, April 9, 1945. 306-NT-1334B-11.
Germany
115. "First U.S. Army men and equipment pour across the Remagen Bridge; two knocked out jeeps in foreground." Sgt. William Spangle, Germany, March 11, 1945. 111-SC-201973. (ww2_115.jpg)
116. "Then came the big day when we marched into Germany--right through the Siegfried Line." 1945. 208-YE-193. (ww2_116.jpg)
117. "I drew an assault boat to cross in--just my luck. We all tried to crawl under each other because the lead was flying around like hail." Crossing the Rhine under enemy fire at St. Goar. March 1945. 208-YE-132. (ww2_117.jpg)
118. "Two anti-tank Infantrymen of the 101st Infantry Regiment, dash past a blazing German gasoline trailer in square of Kronach, Germany." T4c. W. J. Rothenberger, April 14, 1945. 111-SC-206235. (ww2_118.jpg)
119. "Infantrymen of the 255th Infantry Regiment move down a street in Waldenburg to hunt out the Hun after a recent raid by 63rd Division." 2d Lt. Jacob Harris, April 16, 1945. 111-SC-205778. (ww2_119.jpg)
120. "Soldiers of the 55th Armored Infantry Battalion and tank of the 22nd Tank Battalion, move through smoke filled street. Wernberg, Germany." Pvt. Joseph Scrippens, April 22, 1945. 111-SC-205298.
121. "Happy 2nd Lt. William Robertson and Lt. Alexander Sylvashko, Russian Army, shown in front of sign [East Meets West] symbolizing the historic meeting of the Russian and American Armies, near Torgau, Germany." Pfc. William E. Poulson, April 25, 1945. 111-SC-205228.
122. "General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, accompanied by Gen. Omar N. Bradley, and Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., inspects art treasures stolen by Germans and hidden in salt mine in Germany." Lt. Moore, April 12, 1945. 111-SC- 204516.
123. "The 90th Division discovered this Reichsbank wealth, SS loot, and Berlin museum paintings that were removed from Berlin to a salt mine in Merkers, Germany." Cpl. Donald R. Ornitz, April 15, 1945. 239-PA-6-34-2.
Japan Attacks
124. Captured Japanese photograph taken aboard a Japanese carrier before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 7, 1941. 80-G-30549.
125. Captured Japanese photograph taken during the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. In the distance, the smoke rises from Hickam Field. 80-G-30550.
126. "USS SHAW exploding during the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor." December 7, 1941. 80-G-16871.
127. "The USS ARIZONA burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor." December 7, 1941. 80-G-32420.
128. "Pearl Harbor, T.H. taken by surprise, during the Japanese aerial attack. USS WEST VIRGINIA aflame." December 7, 1941. 80-G-19947.
129. Surrender of American troops at Corregidor, Philippine Islands, May 1942. 208-AA-80B-1.
130. "The March of Death. Along the March [on which] these prisoners were photographed, they have their hands tied behind their backs. The March of Death was about May 1942, from Bataan to Cabanatuan, the prison camp." 127-N-114541.
131. "This picture, captured from the Japanese, shows American prisoners using improvised litters to carry those of their comrades who, from the lack of food or water on the march from Bataan, fell along the road." Philippines, May 1942. 208-AA-288BB-2.
Island Campaigns
132. "U.S. troops go over the side of a Coast Guard manned combat transport to enter the landing barges at Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, as the invasion gets under way." November 1943. 26-G-3183. (ww2_132.jpg)
133. "A Water Buffalo, loaded with Marines, churns through the sea bound for beaches of Tinian Island near Guam." July 1944. 26-G-2682. (ww2_133.jpg)
134. "165th Infantry assault wave attacking Butaritari, Yellow Beach Two, find it slow going in the coral bottom waters. Jap machine gun fire from the right flank makes it more difficult for them." Dargis, Makin Atoll, Gilbert Islands, November 20, 1943. 111-SC-183574. (ww2_134.jpg)
135. "Army reinforcements disembarking from LST's form a graceful curve as they proceed across coral reef toward the beach." Laudansky, Saipan, ca. June/July 1944. 111-SC-191475. (ww2_135.jpg)
136. "Marines hit three feet of rough water as they leave their LST to take the beach at Cape Gloucester, New Britain." Sgt. Robert M. Howard, December 26, 1943. 127-G-68998. (ww2_136.jpg)
137. "American troops of the 163rd Infantry Regiment hit the beach from Higgins boats during the invasion of Wadke Island, Dutch New Guinea." Lt. Kent Rooks, May 18, 1944. 111-SC-190968. (ww2_137.jpg)
138. "Landing operations on Rendova Island, Solomon Islands, 30 June 1943. Attacking at the break of day in a heavy rainstorm, the first Americans ashore huddle behind tree trunks and any other cover they can find." 80-G-52573. (ww2_138.jpg)
139. "First flag on Guam on boat hook mast. Two U.S. officers plant the American flag on Guam eight minutes after U.S. Marines and Army assault troops landed on the Central Pacific island on July 20, 1944." Batts. 127-N-88073. (ww2_139.jpg)
140. "Marines storm Tarawa. Gilbert Islands." WO Obie Newcomb, Jr., November 1943. 127-N-63458. (ww2_140.jpg)
141. "The Yanks mop up on Bougainville. At night the Japs would infiltrate American lines. At Dawn, the doughboys went out and killed them. This photo shows tank going forward, infantrymen following in its cover." March 1944. 111-SC-189099.
142. "Retreating at first into the jungle of Cape Gloucester, Japanese soldiers finally gathered strength and counterattacked their Marine pursuers. These machine gunners pushed them back." Brenner, January 1944. 127-N-71981.
143. "Men of the 7th Division using flame throwers to smoke out Japs from a block house on Kwajalein Island, while others wait with rifles ready in case Japs come out." Cordray, February 4, 1944. 111-SC-212770.
144. "A member of a Marine patrol on Saipan found this family of Japs hiding in a hillside cave. The mother, four children and a dog, took shelter from the fierce fighting in that area." Cpl. Angus Robertson, June 21, 1944. 127-GR-113-83266.
145. "After the Marines captured this mountain gun from the Japs at Saipan, they put it into use during the attack on Garapan, administrative center of the island." Cpl. Angus Robertson, ca. July 1944. 127-GR-114-83270.
146. "Back to a Coast Guard assault transport comes this Marine after two days and nights of Hell on the beach of Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands. His face is grimey with coral dust but the light of battle stays in his eyes." February 1944. 26-G-3394.
147. "These men have earned the bloody reputation of being
skillful jungle fighters. They are U.S. Marine Raiders gathered
in front of a Jap dugout on Cape Totkina on Bougainville, Solomon
Islands, which they helped to take." January 1944. 80-G-205686.
Philippine Islands
148. "The gun crews of a Navy cruiser covering American landing on the island of Mindoro, Dec. 15, 1944, scan the skies in an effort to identify a plane overhead. Two 5'' (127mm) guns are ready while inboard 20mm anti-aircraft crews are ready to act." 80-G-47471. (ww2_148.jpg)
149. "A line of Coast Guard landing barges, sweeping through the waters of Lingayen Gulf, carries the first wave of invaders to the beaches of Luzon, after a terrific naval bombardment of Jap shore positions on Jan. 9, 1945." PhoM1c. Ted Needham. 26-G-3856. (ww2_149.jpg)
150. "Gen. Douglas MacArthur wades ashore during initial landings at Leyte, P.I." October 1944. 111-SC-407101. (ww2_150.jpg)
151. "Two Coast Guard-manned LST's open their great jaws in the surf that washes on Leyte Island beach, as soldiers strip down and build sandbag piers out to the ramps to speed up unloading operations." 1944. 26-G-3738. (ww2_151.jpg)
152. "Veteran Artillery men of the `C' Battery, 90th Field
Artillery, lay down a murderous barrage on troublesome Jap
artillery positions in Balete Pass, Luzon, P.I." Morton, April
19, 1945. 111-SC-205918.
(ww2_152.jpg)
Iwo Jima & Okinawa
153. "Marines of the 5th Division inch their way up a slope on Red Beach No. 1 toward Surbachi Yama as the smoke of the battle drifts about them." Dreyfuss, Iwo Jima, February 19, 1945. 127-N-110249. (ww2_153.jpg)
154. "Across the litter on Iwo Jima's black sands, Marines of the 4th Division shell Jap positions cleverly concealed back from the beaches. Here, a gun pumps a stream of shells into Jap positions inland on the tiny volcanic island." Ca. February 1945. 26-G-4122. (ww2_154.jpg)
155. "Smashed by Jap mortar and shellfire, trapped by Iwo's treacherous black-ash sands, amtracs and other vehicles of war lay knocked out on the black sands of the volcanic fortress." PhoM3c. Robert M. Warren, ca. February/March 1945. 26-G-4474. (ww2_155.jpg)
156. "Flag raising on Iwo Jima." Joe Rosenthal, Associated Press, February 23, 1945. 80-G-413988. (ww2_156.jpg)
157. "Corsair fighter looses its load of rocket projectiles on a run against a Jap stronghold on Okinawa. In the lower background is the smoke of battle as Marine units move in to follow up with a Sunday punch." Lt. David D. Duncan, ca. June 1945. 127-GR-97-126420. (ww2_157.jpg)
158. "A Marine of the 1st Marine Division draws a bead on a Japanese sniper with his tommy-gun as his companion ducks for cover. The division is working to take Wana Ridge before the town of Shuri." S.Sgt. Walter F. Kleine, Okinawa, 1945. 127-N-123170. (ww2_158.jpg)
159. "With the captured capital of Naha as a background, Marine Maj. Gen. Lemuel Shepherd, commanding general of the 6th Marine Division, relaxes on an Okinawan ridge long enough to consult a map of the terrain." Pfc. Sam Weiner, ca. June 1945. 127-GR-95-122119. (ww2_159.jpg)
Japan
160. "USS ESSEX based TBMs and SB2Cs dropping bombs on Hokadate (Hakodate), Japan." July 1945.80-G-490232.
161. "Task Force 58 raid on Japan. 40mm guns firing aboard USS HORNET on 16 February 1945, as the carrier's planes were raiding Tokyo." Lt. Comdr. Charles Kerlee, February 1945. 80-G-413915.
162. "Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., pilot of the ENOLA GAY, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, waves from his cockpit before the takeoff, 6 August 1945." 208-LU-13H-5.
163. "A dense column of smoke rises more than 60,000 feet into the air over the Japanese port of Nagasaki, the result of an atomic bomb, the second ever used in warfare, dropped on the industrial center August 8, 1945, from a U.S. B-29 Superfortress." 208-N-43888.
164. "The patient's skin is burned in a pattern corresponding to the dark portions of a kimono worn at the time of the explosion." Atomic bomb survivor. Ca. 1945. 77-MDH-6.55b.
165. In the background, a Roman Catholic cathedral on a hill in
Nagasaki. Ca. 1945. 77-AEC-52-4459.
Prisoners
166. Prisoners in the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen, Germany, December 19, 1938. 242-HLB-3609-25. (ww2_166.jpg)
167. Jewish civilians: copy of a German photograph taken during the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto, Poland, 1943. 238-NT-282. (ww2_167.jpg)
168. "We were getting our second wind now and started flattening out that bulge. We took 50,000 prisoners in December alone." American soldier with captured Germans. Ca. 1944. 208-YE-105. (ww2_168.jpg)
169. "The endless procession of German prisoners captured with the fall of Aachen marching through the ruined city streets to captivity." Germany, October 1944. 260-MGG-1061-1. (ww2_169.jpg)
170. Nuremberg Trials: looking down on the defendants' dock. Ca. 1945-46. 238-NT-592. (ww2_170.jpg)
171. "German Gen. Anton Dostler is tied to a stake before his execution by a firing squad in the Aversa stockade. The General was convicted and sentenced to death by an American military tribunal. Aversa, Italy." Blomgren, December 1, 1945. 111-SC-225295. (ww2_171.jpg)
172. "American prisoners of war celebrate the 4th of July in the Japanese prison camp of Casisange in Malaybalay, on Mindanao, P.I. It was against Japanese regulations and discovery would have meant death, but the men celebrated the occasion anyway." July 4, 1942. 111-SC-333290. (ww2_172.jpg)
173. "Marines unloading Japanese POW from a submarine returned from war patrol." Lt. Comdr. Horace Bristol, ca. May 1945. 80-G-468228. (ww2_173.jpg)
174. "Correspondents interview `Tokyo Rose.' Iva Toguri, American-born Japanese." September 1945. 80-G-490488. (ww2_174.jpg)
175. "Japanese POW's at Guam, with bowed heads after hearing Emperor Hirohito make announcement of Japan's unconditional surrender." August 15, 1945. 80-G-490320. (ww2_175.jpg)
176. "Gaunt allied prisoners of war at Aomori camp near Yokohama cheer rescuers from U.S. Navy. Waving flags of the United States, Great Britain and Holland." Japan, August 29, 1945. 80-G-490444. (ww2_176.jpg)
The Holocaust
177. "Starving inmate of Camp Gusen, Austria." T4c. Sam Gilbert, May 12, 1945. 111-SC-264918.
178. "These are slave laborers in the Buchenwald concentration camp near Jena; many had died from malnutrition when U.S. troops of the 80th Division entered the camp." Pvt. H. Miller, Germany, April 16, 1945. 208-AA-206K-31. (ww2_178.jpg)
179. "This victim of Nazi inhumanity still rests in the position in which he died, attempting to rise and escape his horrible death. He was one of 150 prisoners savagely burned to death by Nazi SS troops." Sgt. E. R. Allen, Gardelegen, Germany, April 16, 1945. 111-SC-203572. (ww2_179.jpg)
180. "Some of the bodies being removed by German civilians for decent burial at Gusen Concentration Camp, Muhlhausen, near Linz, Austria. Men were worked in nearby stone quarries until too weak for more, then killed." T4c. Sam Gilbert, May 12, 1945. 111-SC- 204811. (ww2_180.jpg)
181. "A truck load of bodies of prisoners of the Nazis, in the Buchenwald concentration camp at Weimar, Germany. The bodies were about to be disposed of by burning when the camp was captured by troops of the 3rd U.S. Army." Pfc. W. Chichersky, April 14, 1945. 111-SC-203464. (ww2_181.jpg)
182. "Bones of anti-Nazi German women still are in the crematoriums in the German concentration camp at Weimar, Germany, taken by the 3rd U.S. Army. Prisoners of all nationalities were tortured and killed." Pfc. W. Chichersky, April 14, 1945. 111-SC- 203461. (ww2_182.jpg)
183. "A German girl is overcome as she walks past the exhumed
bodies of some of the 800 slave workers murdered by SS guards
near Namering, Germany, and laid here so that townspeople may
view the work of their Nazi leaders." Cpl. Edward Belfer. May 17,
1945. 111-SC-264895.
(ww2_183.jpg)
Death & Destruction
184. "The German ultimatum ordering the Dutch commander of
Rotterdam to cease fire was delivered to him at 10:30 a.m. on May
14, 1940. At 1:22 p.m., German bombers set the whole inner city
of Rotterdam ablaze, killing 30,000 of its inhabitants."* Aerial
view of the ruins of Rotterdam. 208-PR-10L-3.
(* Note: This 30,000 which appears in this photos' caption is now seen as inaccurate. Historians believe the number who died was between 800-980. See The Oxford Companion to World War II, editors I.C.B. Dear and M.R.D. Foot, Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 968.)
185. "Choked with debris, a bombed water intake of the Pegnitz River no longer supplies war factories in Nuremberg, vital Reich industrial city and festival center of the Nazi party, which was captured April 20, 1945, by troops of the U.S. Army." 208-AA- 207L-1.
186. "American soldiers, stripped of all equipment, lie dead, face down in the slush of a crossroads somewhere on the western front." Captured German photograph. Belgium, ca. December 1944. 111-SC-198245.
187. "With torn picture of his feuhrer beside his clenched fist, a dead general of the Volkssturm lies on the floor of city hall, Leipzig, Germany. He committed suicide rather than face U.S. Army troops who captured the city on April 19. 1945." T5c. J. M. Heslop. 208-YE-148.
188. "Photo taken at the instant bullets from a French firing squad hit a Frenchman who collaborated with the Germans. This execution took place in Rennes, France." Himes, November 21, 1944. 111-SC-196741.
189. "The Tapel Massacre on 1 July 1945. Picture shows Pedro Cerono, the man who discovered the group of 8 skulls. Tapel, Cagayan Province, Luzon, Philippine Islands." T5c. Lewis D. Klein, November 23, 1945. 111-SC-227909.
190. "A Coast Guard seaman died at his battle station aboard the USS MENGES, torpedoed by a nazi sub in the Mediterranean. He represents the old Coast Guard expression, `You have to go out, but you don't have to come back.'" PhoM1c. Arthur Green. 26-G-2330.
191. "Two enlisted men of the ill-fated U.S. Navy aircraft carrier LISCOME BAY, torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in the Gilbert Islands, are buried at sea from the deck of a Coast Guard-manned assault transport." November 1943. 26-G-3182.
192. "Standing in the grassy sod bordering row upon row of white
crosses in an American cemetery, two dungaree-clad Coast
Guardsmen pay silent homage to the memory of a fellow Coast
Guardsman who lost his life in action in the Ryukyu Islands."
Benrud, ca. 1945. 26-G-4739.
Victory & Peace
193. "Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel, signing the ratified surrender terms for the German Army at Russian Headquarters in Berlin." Lt. Moore, Germany, May 7, 1945. 111-SC-206292.
194. "Jubilant American soldier hugs motherly English woman and victory smiles light the faces of happy service men and civilians at Piccadilly Circus, London, celebrating Germany's unconditional surrender." Pfc. Melvin Weiss, England, May 7, 1945. 111-SC-205398.
195. At the White House, President Truman announces Japan's surrender. Abbie Rowe, Washington, DC, August 14, 1945. 79-AR-508Q.
196. "GI's at the Rainbow Corner Red Cross Club in Paris, France, whoop it up after buying the special edition of the Paris Post, which carried the banner headline, `JAPS QUIT.'" T3c. G. Lempeotis, August 10, 1945. 111-SC-210208.
197. "New York City celebrating the surrender of Japan. They threw anything and kissed anybody in Times Square." Lt. Victor Jorgensen, August 14, 1945. 80-G-377094.
198. "Gen. Douglas MacArthur signs as Supreme Allied Commander during formal surrender ceremonies on the USS MISSOURI in Tokyo Bay. Behind Gen. MacArthur are Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright and Lt. Gen. A. E. Percival." Lt. C. F. Wheeler, September 2, 1945. 80-G-348366.
199. "Happy veterans head for harbor of Le Havre, France, the first to be sent home and discharged under the Army's new point system." Pfc. Stedman, May 25, 1945. 111-SC-207868.
200. "These Jewish children are on their way to Palestine after having been released from the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. The girl on the left is from Poland, the boy in the center from Latvia, and the girl on right from Hungary." T4c. J. E. Myers, June 5, 1945. 111-SC-207907.
201. "The famous British liner, QUEEN MARY, arrives in New York Harbor, June 20, 1945, with thousands of U.S. troops from European battles." 80-GK-5645.*
202. "F4U's and F6F's fly in formation during surrender ceremonies; Tokyo, Japan. USS MISSOURI left foreground." September 2, 1945. 80-G-421130.
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