Random WWII photos from the National Archives

For the history buffs, the National Archives has a wealth of WWII photos and I thought I'd share some of the ones that stuck out to me this morning. It was definitely a different time and different generation.




Marines man a foxhole after engaging Japanese forces during the Peleliu Islands campaign. September 14, 1944




PFC Harvey White administers plasma to PFC Roy Humphrey after shrapnel wounds in Sicily. August 9, 1943





Soldiers from the 7th Infantry Division using flame throwers to smoke out Japanese tunnels on Kwajalein Island. February 1944





Marines of the 5th Division inch forward up a sloped beach under Japanese fire at Iwo Jima.
February 19, 1945





An American Army doctor operates on a wounded U.S. soldier in an underground surgical room behind the front lines in Bougainville. December 13, 1943





Coast Guardsmen on the deck of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spencer watch the explosion of a depth charge in an attack on a German U-boat.
April 17, 1943





A Japanese torpedo bomber suffers a direct hit from a 5-inch shell in an unsuccessful attack on a U.S. aircraft carrier off Kwajalein. December 4, 1943





USS Bunker Hill burns after receiving two direct hits from kamikazes in 30 seconds off Kyushu. 372 dead, 264 wounded. May 11, 1945.





Pilots aboard the USS Essex receive instructions before a search and destroy raid. April 11, 1944





Crossed rifles in the sand pay respects to a fallen U.S. soldier at Omaha Beach, France on D-Day. June 6, 1944





Women who slept with German officers have their heads shaved in the town square in Montelimar, France. August 29, 1944





Slave laborers freed from Buchenwald concentration camp by soldiers of the 80th Division. April 16, 1945





Soldiers from the 60th Infantry Regiment advance into a Belgian town under the cover of a heavy tank. September 9, 1944





American soldiers from the 347th Infantry line up for chow in the Ardennes Forest. January 1945





U.S. soldiers advance through the Siegfried Line into Germany. Early 1945





Two soldiers of the 101st Infantry dash past a burning enemy vehicle in a street battle for Kronach, Germany. April 14, 1945





American soldiers burrow into their landing craft under intense enemy fire while crossing the Rhine. March 1945





A joint Canadian-American force presses an attack through a town in Belgium. February 1945





East meets West when 2nd Lt William Robertson shakes hands with Lt. Alexander Sylvashko of the Soviet Army near Torgau, Germany. April 25, 1945



A Czech woman cannot contain her anguish as her town is forced to salute Hitler in a parade. May 1942



U.S. prisoners on the Bataan Death March, carrying their wounded comrades in improvised litters. May 1942



U.S. Marines in the first wave of the amphibious assault of the Solomon Islands. June 30, 1943




Rescued prisoners of war from the US, UK and Holland celebrate their release from captivity. August 29, 1945





Navy pilots play basketball at sea aboard the USS Monterey. The jumper on the left is Gerald Ford.