Americans in World War Two

Part Two of a Memorial Day weekend series. "Americans in World War Two" is about as broad as you get, and I haven't even tried to encapsulate it; rather I've selected a collection of compelling photographs in the general spirit of remembering those who fought and what they had to go through.

A medic gives blood plasma to a wounded soldier, Sicily, 1943. Source

Wounded soldiers await evacuation on Omaha Beach, France, 1944. Source

Infantrymen firing mortars (& holding their ears as they do) after crossing the Rhine, Germany, 1945. Source

American soldiers coming ashore under fire, D-Day, 1944. Source

Troops carry causalities, the Philippines, 1945. Source

An infrantryman runs across an open field on a sortie, Belgim, 1944. Source

Soldiers marching through the Siegfried Line, Germany, 1945. Source

Soldiers huddle together while crossing the Rhine under heavy enemy fire, Germany, 1945. Source

A soldier tends to a wounded comrade, Okinawa, 1945. Source

An American soldier just back from the front lines at the Battle of the Bulge, Belgium, 1945. Source

A soldier grabbing some sleep in a lined foxhole, Italy, 1944. Source

Food being served to soldiers on the way to the front line at the Battle of the Bulge, Belgium, 1945. Source

Soldiers marching along a desert roadway in Tunisia, 1943. Source

Medics carrying a casualty from the battlefield, France, 1944. Source

German POWs carry the body of an American soldier killed in the Battle of the Bulge, Belgium, 1945. Source

A medic recommended for a Silver Star for setting up a dressing station and helping over 330 servicemen on the beaches of Normandy at D-Day, France, 1944. Source

Exhausted Marines after two days of fighting on Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands, 1944. Source

Graves of soldiers killed in the battle for Tarawa Atholl, Gilbert Islands, 1944. Source

A Coastguardsman bows his head at the grave of a comrade, the Pacific, 1944. Source

Americans in World War One

The start of a three-part series for the Memorial Day weekend. The Americans may have come to the Great War later than many, but their experience was every bit as intense. 

From the LIFE photo archives (though not LIFE magazine, which didn't yet exist), plus one from the Imperial War Museum. 

1917-1918, of course.

A young soldier boarding a train for the Front. Source

American troops lined up in London before being shipped to the front. Source

Troops on the move. Source

An American machine-gun platoon moving through a forest to the front lines, France. Source

Marching soldiers. Source

Artillery spotters. Source

Soldiers advancing on the American positions. Source

Soldiers resting during a lull in the fighting. Source

Soldiers getting new clothes from the quartermaster. Source

Machine gun platoon creeping along a path. Source

Troops advancing through a shattered forest. Source

Medics carry a wounded a soldier. Source

Troops running across a battlefield. Source

Snipers in camouflage. Source

French children watch a procession of American ammunition. Source

American surgeons at a field hospital. Source

Marching through shell-devastated woodland. Source

Troops shooting from a ruined house. Source

A soldier silhouetted by an exploding phosphorus bomb. Source

In Antarctica

We've seen the fantastic colour photographs of Shackleton's Endurance in Antarctica, 1915, but they only skim the surface of photographer Frank Hurley's work in Antarctica. Between 1911 and 1932 he visited the continent six times, accumulating stunning captures of landscapes, people, animals, and expeditions. Today, a selection.

From various Australian institutions on the Flickr Commons (for specifics, see links).

National Library of Australia

The Aurora anchored in Commonwealth Bay, 1911-14. Source

National Library of Australia

Elephant seals and royal penguins, 1911-14. Source

National Maritime Museum

The shore of South Georgia island, 1917. Source

National Maritime Museum

The Endurance in the ice, 1915. Source

State Library of New South Wales

Hand-netting for plankton from The Aurora, 1911-14. Source

State Library of New South Wales

A puppy called Blizzard, 1911-14. Source

State LIbrary of New South Wales

Adelie penguins coated in ice after a blizzard, 1911-14. Source

State Library of New South Wales

"A dreamy Venice in seal-land", 1911-14. Source

National Maritime Museum

An adult and baby King penguin, c. 1915. Source

State Library of New South Wales

King penguins, 1911-1914. Source

State Library of New South Wales

A Sclater penguin, 1911-14. Source

State Library of Queensland

Sled dogs and the wreck of the Endurance, 1915. Source

State Library of New South Wales

A frozen Adelie penguin, 1911-14. Source

State Library of New South Wales

Winter quarters, 1911-14. Source

National Library of Australia

An ice cavern, 1911-14. Source

State Library of New South Wales

Penguins surround the wreck of The Gratitude, 1911. Source

State Library of New South Wales

Xavier Mertz exiting the hut via roof trapdoor, 1911-14. Source

National Library of Australia

The west coast of Macquarie Island, 1911-14. Source

National Library of Australia

The night watchman pushes through snow to get back into the hut, 1911-14. Source

National Maritime Museum

The ice-coated Endurance, 1915. Source

National Library of Australia

Xavier Mertz climbing in an icy ravine, 1911-14. Source

State Library of New South Wales

A blizzard at Camp Denison, c. 1912. Source