Rare World War II photographs show American soldiers' fight for survival

[aarkieboy]

"It is the little-known battle that claimed the lives of thousands of Americans during World War II.

But now black-and-white photographs, captured by Life magazine photographer W. Eugene Smith, show the everyday horrors for the U.S. soldiers fighting against Japanese forces on the Mariana Island of Saipan between June 15 and July 9, 1944.

Faces etched with the pain of their experiences, war-weary men are captured transporting their wounded comrades or forcing Japanese civilians from their hiding places."

See the photos