Photos WW2 US Forces

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Servicemen load paintings and sculptures looted by Hermann Göring, discovered in a cave near Berchtesgaden in May, 1945.

 

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Fourth and Fifth Marine Divisions moving inland, Iwo Jima, 1945

 

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In July of 1943, Sgt. Norwood Dorman, tired & weary from his march to Brolo, Sicily, imitates the pose of an Italian statue dedicated to Italian World War I soldiers.

 

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Troops en route to Oran, Algeria, 15 June 1943 before the invasion of Sicily studying guidebooks for North Africa and otherwise passing the time in their bunks on board a U. S. Navy transport.
The ship may be USS James O'Hara (APA-90). Note that these men are armed with bolt-action Springfield rifles. They are from the 45th Infantry Division.

 

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A convoy of lorries under enemy artillery and mortar fire on the road between Son and Eindhoven, 20 September 1944. In the foreground American paratroopers shelter in a ditch. Operation Market Garden

 

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F4U Corsair, Torokina, Bougainville, December 1943.

 

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F-4U Corsair flown back to base after a dogfight off southern Kyushu, Japan. June 1945.

 

[uktabber]

That looks like a midair result with that Jap!!

 

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Grumman F4F Wildcat in the hangar deck of the USS Ranger, October 1942.

 

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Grumman F6F Hellcat naval fighters on the deck of Lexington-class aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3) as fire erupts after being hit by a Japanese kamikaze off Iwo Jima, 21-Feb-1945.
It's worth noting that the elevator lines painted underneath the aft Hellcat are actually fake and meant to draw bomber / kamikaze aircraft away from the real elevators further aft.

 

[BravoZulu]

Pfc Edward Shea (of 27 Wentworth Street, Dorchester, Massachusetts) fills up his jeep in the sunshine at the petrol station in Burton Bradstock, Dorset. According to the original caption, the gas station has been taken over by the army. Pfc Shea is helped by local boys Freddy and Chris Kerley, Barry Kneale and Billy Hubbard: one boy works the petrol pump, one holds back the seat, one holds the hose and another cleans the windscreen''.

 

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Martin B-26B Marauders of the 320th Bombardment Group during a bombing raid on the railroad bridge at Albenga, Italy. 12 April 1944

 

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Okinawa saw some of the most brutal fighting in all of World War II . The Japanese knew how to defend themselves well with underground tunnels and mutually supported defensive positions like Sugar Loaf Hill.

Sugar Loaf Hill was just a small mound of earth but it took the lives of countless Marines mentally and physically - to the tune of 2,662 men from physical injury including death , and an additional 1,289 men were pulled off the line because they broke down mentally. Back then it was called combat stress but we referred to it now as PTSD .

It took the Marines 11 attempts to take Sugar Loaf Hill and decimated squads down to 1 or 2 people after assaults.

 

[BravoZulu]

Operation Reckless, Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea, 22 April 1944: LVTs head for the invasion beaches at Humboldt Bay, as light cruisers bombard in the background. The ship firing tracer shells in the right center is USS Boise (CL-47). Just ahead of her is USS Phoenix (CL-46).

U.S. Navy landing craft, loaded with troops, approaches the beach at Hollandia, New Guinea. In the background shell bursts from the preliminary bombardment can be seen. April 1944

 

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Boeing B-29A Superfortress from 6 Bombardment Group, 24 BS - incendiaryjourney June 1,1945 mission to Osaka, Japan.

 

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An LCT(R) - Landing Craft Tank (Rocket) - in action off Juno assault area, 6 June 1944.

 

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Flames sear a Japanese pillbox from a US M3 flame-throwing tank during the American advance on Bougainville Island in the Northern Solomons in the South Pacific. 28 April 1944

 

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Ordnance men arm an F4U-1D Corsair of Fighting Squadron (VF) 84 on the flight deck of USS Bunker Hill (CV 17) in preparation for a mission against Japanese defenses on Okinawa. 20 April 1945