Link to some really sharp and interesting WWII pictures of Iwo Jima and its flying forces.
And P-61 Black Widows!
You know…I love stuff like this. I grew up in a military household, built many of these planes as models with my Dad as a kid (and hung them from my bedroom ceiling with monofilament!), but mostly…I like looking at the faces of these men from previous wars. I try to imagine what they are thinking when the picture is taken, where they are from, I wonder if they are still alive today, etc.
Oh, and the P-51 is a badass mama-jama. I also did not know that they were ever outfitted with rockets.
First, I have to say I love this sort of B&W photography.
Second, how close can someone get to naming every person in these pictures?
I love it too. And these pictures are incredibly sharp and focused. I have no idea how all the names were culled.
I presume they came from family collections or the military who took notes.
Wow, those are some great pics.
In the captions they use the word “Jap”. Fucking racists.
MY father in law was with the 4th Marines. I wish he could have seen these.
some great photos
The official military and news photographers normally would record the names and home town info of everyone in the photos, as the photos were usually picked up and printed in home town papers.
Great photos. It’s amazing how almost the entire island was built up as either airfield or support area.
Is this a whoosh?
Yeah, when I read that first caption using the word “Jap” in it, it pegged my racism-o-meter at first too…until I remembered that the captions, like the photos, are 65 years old.
Great selection of pictures. They must of been carefully labeled with names when the pictures were taken. It really brings that war alive.
This puts me in the mood to watch some of my WW2 documentaries on DVD tonight. Great pics! Thanks for sharing.
It can make you wince, certainly. In “The Fighting Seabees”, John Wayne refers to the Japanese as “Tojo’s bug-eyed monkeys”. Painful, but in the context of what was happening back then.
I can’t believe you’re questioning the Duke. You are in fact sir, UnAmerican!
Great photos. Prize for best plane name goes to whoever named their ride “Is this trip necessary?”.
An unintended casualty of the US entry into WWII was “Mrs. Japps” brand of potato chips. They changed their name to something similar.
Great pics - thanks!
Yeah, as you probably know, that was a common resource-conservation slogan during WWII.