American soldiers posing with a captured mortar they used to knock out a German 85mm gun; 25 February, 1945.

New owners of a formerly enemy weapon

Two American soldiers guarding a road junction with a .50 caliber M2 machine gun. Somewhere in the Ardennes; Belgium, 2 January, 1945.

During the Battle of the Bulge

A Sicilian resident welcomes two US soldiers with a pitcher of wine, in the town of Gela; July 1943.

Get rewarded by friendly locals

Three American soldiers laying one of their fellow soldiers to rest in an American cemetery in Henri-Chapelle, Belgium; March 1945.

May he rest in peace

Soldiers of the 322nd RCT, 81st "Wildcat" Infantry Division, holding a captured Japanese Flag on Angaur Island, Marianas Group, Pacific Theater of Operations; October, 1944.

A Prize to show off with...

Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, flanked by two unidentified airborne officers; His reply - to the German commander's demand, that the 101st Airborne Division surrender at besieged Bastogne - was a resounding "NUTS".

Belgium, December 1944.

US Soldier opens a Christmas package; Ardennes, Belgium 1944.

Gift to lift the fighting spirit

Flight Nurse 2nd Lt. Reba Whittle, the only American female POW in Europe, flew with troops from the front lines of Europe back to the safety of the English countryside.

Flight Nurse POW

A GI named Corporal Leo Kaller celebrates Thanksgiving in  the field, somewhere in Western Europe; November 1944.

Thanksgiving in the lull of combat

 Newly arrived troops from the US Army's 34th Division enjoy a snack at Dufferin Quay, Belfast, Northern Ireland. 
 It was the first American division deployed to Europe in World War II, where it fought with great distinction in North Africa and the Italian Campaign; January 1942.

First GIs to Europe

Many didn't believe women should be war reporters. So when Ruth Cowan (AP) met General George Patton, the naysayers expected a clash. Patton asked, "What is the first law of war?" Cowan replied, "You kill him before he kills you". Patton said - "She stays"

Female War Correspondent

American troops disembark from landing crafts during D-Day on June 6, 1944, after Allied forces stormed the beaches in Normandy, France.

Coming ashore

The Thunderbirds (the 45th Infantry Division) was a National Guard unit composed of enlistees from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. They fought in the battle of Anzio, Italy, which lasted 135 days (22 January – 5 June 1944) and saw daily attacks by German forces. On June 4th, 1944, the unit captured Rome, a major moment in the Italian campaign.

Members of the 45th Infantry Division

A .30 cal. machine gunner and a rifleman (with a carbine), of 87th Infantry Division, 3rd Army, cover a street in Koblenz, Germany; 18 March 1945.

Action in the Rhineland

Maj. Gen. Norman D. Cota greets General George C. Marshall, U.S. Chief of Staff, on Gen. Marshall's arrival at a headquarters in Belgium, 22 October 1944.

High ranking visit

American paratroopers Inside a CG-4 Waco glider

 On the way to Normandy drop zone

Pathfinders of  the 3rd battalion, 505th regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division, under Lieutenant-Colonel Krause was the closest to the town and had a mission to seize Sainte-Mère-Église, Normandy, France. 

Pathfinders just before their mission

The 2nd battalion of the 505th’ pathfinders - 82nd Airborne Division - prior to the taking off, in England; June 5, 1944.

Destination Normandy, France

The respected 1st battalion of the pathfinders of the 505th parachute regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, in the late hours of 5 June 1944.

Still in England, not for long...

The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used American troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4A by the United States Army Air Forces,[1] and given the service name Hadrian (after the Roman emperor) by the British.

Waco Glider

Paratroopers waiting in England for "The longest day", on the evening of June 5, 1944, bound for the Cotentin peninsula; France...

The Airborne Invasion about to begin

The men of the 506th parachute regiment of the 101st Airborne Division within the airfield of England in the late hours of June 5, 1944

Waiting for departure for Normandy 

U.S. Army nurses, newly arrived, line the rail of their vessel as it pulls into port of Greenock, Scotland, in European Theater of Operations. They are waiting to disembark as the gangplank is lowered to the dock.; August 15, 1944. 

Arrival of Army Nurses

US Infantry squad advances past a dead German Nazi after taking Cherbourg, France;  June 1944.

U.S. soldiers on mop-up activity

Infantrymen and a Sherman tank of the U.S. 3rd Army cautiously advance down a walled lane near Metz, north-east France; November 1944, as German troops pull back.

US Army

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