G.I. Stories 1941-1945

13/10/2026

Original caption: "𝙸𝙽𝙽𝙾𝙲𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝚅𝙸𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙼 - 𝙽𝚊𝚟𝚢 𝙿𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚌𝚒𝚜𝚝'𝚜 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝙳𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚕𝚊𝚜 𝙳𝚎𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚊, 𝚘𝚏 𝟸𝟺𝟷 𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝙰𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚞𝚎 𝟻𝟼𝚝𝚑, 𝙻𝚘𝚜 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜, 𝙲𝚊𝚕𝚒., 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝙾𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚠𝚊 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚜 𝚊 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚖 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙹𝚊𝚙𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚗𝚒𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙹𝚊𝚙𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗." Photo by Marine Private Joseph Gudas, probably June 1945.

I've recently been reading a lot about the battle for Okinawa. Japanese command pressed approximately 23,000 Okinawans into the fight in the form of home guard-style units, including 2000 boys from 14-17 in the "Iron and Blood" units. Civilians were told that the US soldiers and Marines would brutalize them, violate the women, and even eat them... ironically, all things the Imperial Japanese forces did at various times and places in their own campaigns in the Pacific.

Source: NARA, 127-GR-99-122162

11/10/2026

Filmed on either May 16 or 17, 1945, Marines from the 29th Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Division clear a Japanese bunker or cave on Sugar Loaf Hill (a.k.a. Hill 52) on Okinawa. The 29th Marines relieved the battered 22nd Marines at the Hill on May 16, 1945.

The intense fight for Sugar Loaf Hill resulted in over 2000 Marine casualties - some estimates claim up to 2600 casualties.

Source: NARA, 428-NPC-13044

PRESENTED FOR HISTORICAL AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY

09/10/2026

Don't forget to subscribe to the YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ for longer WWII films. No AI, no colorization, no music, no sound effects, just history.

All footage posted here is in the public domain; primarily from the US National Archives. I do my best to research and confirm the location and dates by cross-referencing a variety of source material such as unit histories, after action reports, other photos, shot cards, etc. This channel is the com...

09/10/2026

Original caption: "Group of CBs acting as stretcher bearers for the 7th Marines. Peleliu." (Scroll for close-up)

Men of the 17th Special Naval Construction Battalion on Peleliu, probably in September 1944. The 17th NCB (Special) was a segregated unit of Seabees formed at Camp Peary, Virginia in August 1942 as "combat stevedores." The 17th Special entered the PTO in January 1944 and remained in-theater until after VJ Day.

Summary of their actions on Peleliu:
"𝙱𝚊𝚝𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝟷𝟻 𝚂𝚎𝚙 '𝟺𝟺, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝟷𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚝. 𝙾𝚗 𝟸𝟾 𝚂𝚎𝚙. 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝟷𝚜𝚝 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝟷𝚜𝚝 𝙴𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚗. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝟷𝟽𝚝𝚑 (𝚂𝚙) 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝟼𝟸𝟿 𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝟷𝟻 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝟷𝚜𝚝 𝙿𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝟷𝚜𝚝 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔. 𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝙷-𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚕𝚞𝚜 𝟸 𝚘𝚏 𝙳-𝙳𝚊𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚞 𝙸𝚜. 𝚂𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚂𝚎𝚙 𝟸𝟾𝚝𝚑. 𝚁𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝟹𝟽 𝙼𝙼 𝚐𝚞𝚗. 𝟹𝟹 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝟼 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚍."

Source: NARA, 127-N-96475

06/10/2026

Latest Peleliu footage:

September 29, 1944 – Marines – likely of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine ...

06/10/2026

Original photo caption: "𝚁𝙴𝙵𝚄𝚂𝙴𝙳 - 𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚞, 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚎-𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚑𝚒𝚋𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛." No date or exact location listed.

The reverse of the photo also includes:
𝚆𝙰𝚃𝙲𝙷 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙲𝚁𝙴𝙳𝙸𝚃 𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙴
𝙾𝙵𝙵𝙸𝙲𝙸𝙰𝙻 𝚄.𝚂. 𝙼𝙰𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙴 𝙲𝙾𝚁𝙿𝚂 𝙿𝙷𝙾𝚃𝙾

Source: NARA, 127-GR-62-98264

05/10/2026

September 17, 1944 - "There was little actual ground resistance on the airfield itself, but deadly
fire poured from the ridges and from installations in the woods, or scrub jungle, on the north and east which made a terrain compartment of the entire area. While these woods might provide covered approaches to the heights, there were no covered approaches to the woods; they had to be taken by determined tank-infantry attack, supported by naval gunfire, air strikes, and all the artillery and mortars which could be spared from other sectors." (From "The Assault on Peleliu" by Maj. Frank O. Hough, 1950)

D+2, Marine cameraman Albert Monteverde captures scenes around the airfield on Peleliu as Navy aircraft attack targets nearby.

PRESENTED FOR HISTORICAL AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Original color. No AI.

Source: NARA, 127-R-1033

03/10/2026

This is the 1st Marine Division Photo Section, responsible for most of the images and footage taken on Peleliu. While I unfortunately cannot identify most of the Marines, I can tell you about two of them:

Fourth from the left, standing, is Technical Sgt. 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗙. "𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲" 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗲. He lead the 1st Marine Division Photo Section on Peleliu. He filmed much of the color footage shot on Peleliu posted here. Before the war, Monterverde was an official photographer for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) at Yosemite, and worked as a news photographer for most of his postwar career. He was born in Mexico, but spent most of his life in California. He passed in 1996 at age 81.

Fourth from the right, in the khaki shirt, appears to be 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 "𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹" 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗻. Lundigan - a native of Syracuse, NY - was a Hollywood actor. He had appeared in over 40 movies between 1937 and 1943. Exempt from the draft due to a college football injury, he did not have to serve, but after appearing in "Salute to the Marines" he felt he had to do his part. To Louis B. Mayer's chagrin, Lundigan enlisted in the Marine Corps. Because of his professional experience, he was trained as a combat photographer - a Marine Corps decision, as Lundigan wanted no special treatment. Peleliu was his first assignment with 1st Marine Division. He later filmed combat footage on Okinawa. Postwar, he returned to Hollywood, and was in film and television until 1971. He passed in 1975 at age 61.

Scroll for close-ups. Original caption: "Here are the Photographers of the 1stMarDiv Now Taking Pictures of the Peleliu Operation."

This photo has been posted before, but I've yet to find any version from any other "content creator" with additional research... no men identified, no info, just the caption. I try to go the extra mile to actually add something to these posts.

Source: NARA, 127-N-96986

03/10/2026

September 29, 1944 - Marines engage Japanese positions on Hill 140 on Peleliu. In a scene reminiscent of something from a Hollywood movie, one Marine rises up and fires two Thompson SMGs at once... was it something slick to do for the benefit of the camera? Was it actually effective? Who knows... I'm sure the comments section can parse it out.

We also see M1s with M7 launchers being used again in an indirect fire role, almost like a makeshift mortar.

The Marines are likely from the 7th Marine Regiment, as Hill 140 was part of the Umurbrogol Pocket. The 7th Marines took over responsibility for the reduction of the pocket on Sept. 29.

PRESENTED FOR HISTORICAL AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY

Source: NARA, 111-ADC-3424

30/09/2026

Original photo description: "Photograph of a phosphorous gr***de exploding a Japanese dugout on the southern Peleliu peninsula."

Photo taken by USMC combat photographer Norm Hatch. September-October 1944.

Source: "Norm Hatch Photograph Collection," National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation. Accessed via The Portal to Texas History