Military Actions in Historical Context

Photographs document military operations during the Vietnam War and WWII, portraying soldiers in action, interactions with locals, and the realities of combat and military life.

Members of Btry. C, 3rd Bn., 13th Field Arty., 25th Inf. Div., operate an M-102 105mm howitzer during live-fire artillery exercises at the U.S. Army's Pohakuloa Training Area. Their unit is preparing for Team Spirit '84, a joint South Korean/U.S. training exercise held annually in Korea. Subject Operation/Series: TEAM SPIRIT '84 State: Hawaii (HI) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Members of Btry. C, 3rd Bn., 13th Field Arty., 25th Inf. Div., operate an M-102 105mm howitzer during live-fire artillery exercises at the U.S. Army's Pohakuloa Training Area. Their unit is preparing for Team Spirit '84, a joint South Korean/U.S. training exercise held annually in Korea. Subject Operation/Series: TEAM SPIRIT '84 State: Hawaii (HI) Country: United States Of America (USA)

DM-ST-89-01121. Base: Quantico State: Virginia (VA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A front view of Egyptian and U.S. troops as they board a C-141 Starlifter aircraft during Exercise Bright Star '82. Subject Operation/Series: BRIGHT STAR '82 Base: Cairo Country: Egypt (EGY)

SSGT Richard Bishop, a Marine Corps instructor, critiques the performance of a group of Air Force security policemen who have just completed an anti-terrorist operation. The policemen are participating in an anti-terrorist exercise being conducted by the 1st Marine Brigade School. Base: Bellows Air Force Station, Oahu State: Hawaii (HI) Country: United States Of America (USA)

DA-ST-88-04913. Base: Fort Huachuca State: Arizona (AZ) Country: United States Of America (USA)

DM-SC-87-12139. Base: Beirut Country: Lebanon (LBN)

DN-ST-88-05810. Subject Operation/Series: DISPLAY DETERMINATION Country: Turkey (TUR)

4191-V111115883

Reservists from Company D, 464th Engineer Battalion, East Palmra, New York, use the firing range at the Seneca Army Depot for rifle training. Base: Romulus State: New York (NY) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Marines board the amphibious transport dock USS DUBUQUE (LPD-8) in preparation for exercise Valiant Blitz '91. Subject Operation/Series: VALIANT BLITZ '91 Base: White Beach State: Okinawa Country: Japan(JPN)

For basic trainees at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, a field training exercise ends with a 5.8-mile march out of "The Scorpion's Nest," and back to civilization. The trainees are being tested as they march on what they learned when simulated attacks are stages against them. Base: Lackland Air Force Base State: Texas (TX) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Bangladesh and U.S. military personnel unload supplies from a CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter during Operation Sea Angel, a U.S. military effort to aid victims of a cyclone which struck the area on April 30th. Subject Operation/Series: SEA ANGEL Base: Markhata Country: Bangladesh(BGD)

U.S. Marines with 6th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, conduct a pass and review at a change of command ceremony on Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, June 29, 2022. During the ceremony, Col. Jeffrey R. Kenney, the outgoing regimental commander of 6th Marines, relinquished command to Col. Gregory P. Gordon.

A Navy corpsman uses an AK-47 assault rifle to help him crawl under barbed wire on the obstacle course during a simulated firefight. He is undergoing combat training at the Field Medical Service School. Base: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

During HARVEST BARE, members of the 4449th Mobility Support Squadron demonstrate the building of an expandable personnel shelter (EPS) to members of the 24th Civil Engineering Squadron. Over a hundred will be built as part of the deployment to relieve overcrowding due to President Bush's decision to move all US forces either on base or back to the United States. Subject Operation/Series: HARVEST BARE Base: Howard Air Force Base Country: Panama (PAN)

SSGT Dwain Gully, left, SSGT Wayne J. Riemer, center, and MAJ David G. Warren check over a multi-channel radio antenna at the 25th Infantry Division (Light), forward command post during the combined South Korean/U.S. exercise Team Spirit '90. Subject Operation/Series: TEAM SPIRIT '90 Country: Republic Of Korea (KOR)

DA-SC-87-05416. Subject Operation/Series: TEAM SPIRIT '86 Country: Republic Of Korea (KOR)

A simulated casualty is carried toward a Military Airlift Command C-130 Hercules aircraft as others wait their turn during the medical evacuation phase of exercise Market Square III. Subject Operation/Series: MARKET SQUARE III Base: Mccall Army Air Field State: North Carolina (NC) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Members of the 725th Maintenance Bn., Div. Support Command, 25th Inf. Div. (Light), prepare to hoist an engine into a truck during the joint South Korean/U.S. exercise Team Spirit '89. Subject Operation/Series: TEAM SPIRIT '89 Base: Ichon Country: Republic Of Korea (KOR)

The British Army on the Caen Front in Normandy, July 1944 A gun crew of 53 Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery loading a 155mm gun under camouflage netting. The 155mm gun was an American gun, often manned by British troops on the Normandy front.

Marines from Fox Company 2/7, rush across the desert in full battle gear to their helicopters as the airborne assault part of the exercise begins. THERE IS ONLY A SCREEN RESOLUTION IMAGE AVAILABLE. Subject Operation/Series: STEEL KNIGHT '97 Base: Twentynine Palms State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Airmen carry a "wounded soldier" to an ambulance from one of the inflatable tents during exercise Reforger '80. Subject Operation/Series: REFORGER '80 Base: Wunstdorf German Air Force Base Country: West Germany (FRG)

Signalman aboard the Uruguayan frigate 18 DE JULIO (3) send a message by signal searchlight to another ship during Operation UNITAS XXV. Subject Operation/Series: UNITAS XXV Base: 18 De Julio -3

A U.S. Navy beachmaster guides the air cushion landing craft LCAC-2 ashore near Pattaya Beach during the combined Thai/U.S. joint exercise Thalay Thai '89. Two U.S. Marine Corps LAV-25 Light armored vehicles are aboard the landing craft. Subject Operation/Series: THALAY THAI '89 Country: Thailand (THA)

A U.S. Navy Basic Underwater Demolition/Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) (BUD/S) trainees crawl under a barbed wire obstacle during a "hell week" exercise. Phase I of BUD/S training concludes with "hell week," when students' physical, emotional and mental abilities are tested under adverse conditions. Base: Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Members of a U.S. Navy Beachmaster gather around an M-939 5-ton cargo truck as they prepare to move out to their base camp following establishment of a tent city near Zakhu. An encampment was erected as part of Operation Provide Comfort, an Allied effort to aid Kurdish refugees who fled the forces of Saddam Hussein in northern Iraq. Subject Operation/Series: PROVIDE COMFORT Country: Iraq (IRQ)

4191-V111115185

Cuba, Rio Cauto, Militia Men On The Back Of A Truck

APOCALYPSE NOW (1979), directed by FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA.

981010-M-0023H-007. Subject Operation/Series: DYNAMIC MIX '98 Base: Iskenderum Country: Turkey (TUR)

An Iraqi soldier, killed in one of the final attacks by the Coalition as Iraqi forces retreated from the city, lies beneath a destroyed civilian automobile during Operation Desert Storm. In the background is an Iraqi T-55 main battle tank. Subject Operation/Series: DESERT STORM Base: Kuwait City Country: Kuwait(KWT)

Lance CPL. Alexander T. Acocello, Headquarters & Service Company, 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion, 1ST Marine Division, waits for a clear path to the ocean before "splashing" from White Beach. (Duplicate image, see also DMSD0207640 or search 970626M9368G030). Subject Operation/Series: Kernel Blitz '97 Base: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Border Police, Full-Length Portrait Standing at Attention, Hong Kong, 1958

DF-ST-89-06212. Base: Rhein-Main Air Base Country: West Germany (FRG)

At the Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center, a High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) of the "aggressor" forces lays down some bright pink smoke as they begin an attack on the defender positions during Air Base Ground Defense training (ABGD). Base: Camp Douglas State: Wisconsin (WI) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Berlin Wall Photo - 9/24/1961 - While Occupants of Bernauer Strasse Are Being Forcefully Evacuated from Their Apartments the Volkspolizei is Holding Up Mirrors to Blind Reporters and Cameramen from the West. Sept. 24, 1961.

DN-ST-90-02115. Base: Canal Zone Country: Panama (PAN)

Volunteers from Charleston Air Force Base and local county fire and rescue squads spread out to comb the beach in a search and rescue operation during a simulated aircraft accident The exercise was conducted to evaluate response times, correct medical procedures and to demonstrate the integration between members of the military and the Charleston County, Dorchester County and Berkeley County Fire and Rescue Squads. Base: Folly Beach State: South Carolina (SC) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Soldiers from Charlie Company, 16th Engineering Battalion, 130th Brigade, inspect bunkers and trenches along the Zone of Separation (ZOS) for weapons and munitions. Subject Operation/Series: JOINT ENDEAVOR Country: Bosnia And/I Herzegovina (BIH)

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