Through the Camera's Eye:
The Allison Collection 
of World War II Photographs (continued)

Date      

Image #

Caption

6-17-43

77.09.914

Release in A.M. Papers, Sunday, June 20, 1943
New York Bureau
Training For Invasion By Sea
Somewhere Along the Atlantic Coast—Streaming into waist-deep water from an L.C.I. (Landing Craft: Infantry), U.S. Army troops “hit the beach” during practice invasion maneuvers along the Atlantic coast. Training to strike as a strong, well-drilled invasion spearhead, these men will form part of a unified Army-Navy amphibious force to storm enemy strongholds from the sea.
Credit: Official U.S. Navy photo from ACME.

6-17-43

77.09.922

New York Bureau
Bringing Up the Ammunition
Somewhere on the East Coast—Carting heavy loads of ammunition from a landing barge, these Yanks hold a dress rehearsal in preparation for the day when they’ll stream from U.S. Navy transports to invade enemy seaside strongholds, training to work as part of a unified Army-Navy amphibious force, composed of ricked officers and men from both services, these boys learn to carry out the most difficult of all military assignments—landing on a fortified, hostile shore.
Credit: Official U.S. Navy photo from ACME.

6-18-43

77.09.1544

New York Bureau
Softening Up Messina
Allied bombs are shown exploding on the strategic waterfront area of Messina Harbor in this photo taken from an American high altitude bomber. Without let-up, the daylight bombing of important cities such as this one along the southern coast of Italy continues.
Credit (U.S. ARMY AIR FORCE PHOTO FROM ACME)

6-18-43

77.09.2995

DESTRUCTION VIA PARACHUTE
NEW GUINEA—Dozens of heavy bombs float lazily of Japanese installations at Lae, New Guinea, where they were dropped via parachute by U.S. bombers. White spots in the middle right of the picture, and in upper left, show still more bombs which will explode a few feet above the ground, or upon contact, with terrific and devastating effect. This new method of sending bombs via parachute is one of the latest developments in air fighting. Its anti-personnel results are telling, since the downward force of the blast penetrates huts and foxholes and seeks out hidden enemy installations.
Credit: U.S. ARMY AIR FORCE PHOTO FROM ACME.

6-18-43

77.09.4026.a-b

New York Bureau
Lost at Sea
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba, an ice-breaker on the Great Lakes in peacetime, has been reported lost in the North Atlantic where she was doing convoy duty. One of six cutters of her class, the 165-foot vessel was built in 1932 and steel-strengthened for ice breaking. All hands except two enlisted men are reported lost with the Escanaba.
Credit: ACME

6-19-43

77.09.2996

JOYOUS MOMENT
SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC—After being marooned on this island for 66 days, members of a B-17 crew leap and wave for joy as their long-awaited rescue plane flies overhead. A moment before photo was made, the beach was deserted as the men and natives hid while deciding whether the plane was friend or foe. Natives still hug the fringe of a palms as the men rush out. Left to right: M/Sgt. Donald O. Martin of Decatur, Ill.; T/Sgt. William H. Nichols of Keiser, Ark.; T/Sgt. Robert J. Turnbell of San Antonio, Texas; First Lt. Ernest C. Ruiz of Santa Barbara, Calif. Note the fliers’ raft on beach. Shadow in lower left corner was made by rescue plane’s wing.
Credit: OFFICIAL ARMY AIR FORCES PHOTO-ACME.

6-20-43

77.09.1087

NEW YORK BUREAU
HOLLOW STEEL READY FOR THE SKYWAYS
PITTSBURGH DISTRICT, PA. – Gleaming hollow steel propellers, soon to whirr on United Nations warplanes, are checked on the final assembly line by Kathren Krumpe and Ann Newdonski, workers at a Curtiss-Wright propeller plant in the Pittsburgh district of Pennsylvania. The plant is reported to be the largest producer of hollow ground steel blades in the nation.
Credit: ACME

6-21-43

77.09.4025.a

New York Bureau
Modern Version of Mail Suit
England -- T/Sgt. J. W. Fawcett, of East Orange, New Jersey, and Sgt. L. Fredrick, (right), of Norwalk, Connecticut, wear armored vests--the modern version of the suit of mail of ancient knights--which are used by American airmen in the battle for control of Europe’s skies. It has been announced that the vests, made of small, overlapping squares of manganese steel built into heavy canvas covers shaped something like a baseball catcher’s chest protector, have already saved the lives of several fliers. The vest is pulled on over the head and is laced up the sides. It protects both the front and the back of the torso. The vest was developed by Col. Malcolm C. Grow, Surgeon of the 8^th Air Force. Passed by censor.
Credit: ACME

6-24-43

77.09.610

New York Bureau
This is War – Almost
CAMP ROBERTS, CALIF. – Actual battle will hold few surprises and no fears for trainees schooled at Camp Roberts, for they “fight” under realistic battle conditions on the Camp’s new infiltration course. These infantry trainees flatten themselves on the ground as live machine gun bullets cut the air a few inches above their heads and a land mine explodes right in their midst.
Credit (U.S. Signal Corps Photo from ACME)

6-26-43

77.09.612

New York Bureau
U.S. Soldiers Run Painful Race to Health
Getting over these foot high hurdles is no easy task for Pvt. Ralph Johnson, of Pittsburg, Pa., who needs one strong arm of Sgt. D.D. Gilbert of Philadelphia, Pa., to finish out his first race with health. Hospitalized somewhere overseas these wounded American soldiers must take special therapeutic exercises in the hospital gymnasium to rehabilitate the injured limbs and muscles.
Credit: (Signal Corps Photo from OWI – ACME)

6-26-43

77.09.613

New York Bureau
Submarine R-12 Lost
Lost as the result of an accident which occurred during training exercises, the U.S. submarine R-12 took several men and officers down with her when she sank off the East Coast recently. The depth of the water makes it impossible to salvage the vessel and all hope for recovery of the bodies of the missing personnel has been abandoned. Although no figures on casualties were released, the R-12 carried a normal complement of 28 officers and men, some of whom survived.
Credit: (Official U.S. Navy Photo from ACME)

6-26-43

77.09.2928

CHINESE BOY HELPS BUILD AIRFIELD
SOMEWHERE IN CHINA—This young Chinese lad pauses in front of an American B-25 as he carts hand-crushed stones to be put into place on an airfield that is being built by Chinese men, women and children. Several underlayers of the crushed stone go into the building of the field and it is surprising how quickly the job can be done by using these simple methods.
Credit: OWI PHOTO FROM ACME.

6-27-43

77.09.1542

Liberator Bomber Calls on Italy
The story of an action-packed ten-hour flight of a formation of Liberator bombers that winged from a Libyan airport to blast Grottagli, Italy, is told in this series of pictures. Aside from the high altitude chill, the photographer’s main difficulty was keeping out of the way of battling waist gunners in the Liberator he rode. A formation of 12 German Messerschmidt 109’s attacked the U.S. bombers of the Army Air Force and were beaten off. Here are some of the high spots of the recent raid.
New York Bureau
Two waist gunners let out a deep breath and compare notes on the trouncing they just gave German planes. They are T/Sgt. H.M. Conlee (left), of Mord, Ore. And T/Sgt H.M. V.F. Wachs, of Pittston, Pa.
Credit: ACME.

6-27-43

77.09.1543.a

New York Bureau
This is the tense moment of the raid as Waist Gunners T/Sgt. H.M. Conlee (left), of Mord, Ore. And T/Sgt H.M. V.F. Wachs, of Pittston, Pa., blast at the Nazi attackers with their machine guns. The German planes are yellow-nose Messerschmidt 109’s.
Credit: ACME.

6-27-43

77.09.2718

New York Bureau
Scandal in the South Seas #3
South Sea Island Base – There’s not a sober face in the lot, as service men and guests cheer a number in the “South Sea Island Scandals.” Five lovely fighting French civilian girls were added attractions in the peppy review put on at a South Sea Island Base.
Credit: ACME

6-28-43

77.09.614

New York Bureau
Glider Troops Prepare for Invasion
A U.S. GLIDER SCHOOL—Glider troops, in training at a glider activity base in the United States, practice charging the “enemy” after landing in their bomber-towed glider. These huge gliders, “freight cars” of the air, can carry 15 fully-equipped troops, a Jeep, or field artillery. They are being built in ever-increasing quantities in preparation for the coming invasion of Nazi-dominated Europe.
Credit: (U.S. Army Air Corps Photo from ACME)

6-29-43

77.09.199

Rub-Out on Rubber
RUHR, GERMANY -- Hell breaks loose in the Ruhr, as a close-packed formation on Flying Fortresses scrambles synthetic rubber plants at Huls. The camera picked out this one Fortress out of the close formation flown by the big bombers to mass their fire power against enemy fighters. In the upper right hand corner the smoke from a blasted factory rises up over the target area as group after group of Fortresses roar through their bombing runs.
Credit: (ACME)

6-29-43

77.09.1540

New York Bureau
Palermo Church Hit by Allied Bombs
SICILY—Allied bombers, attacking Palermo, according to the caption on this picture received from a neutral source. Although our airmen have pledged themselves to steer free of the Vatican should they bomb Rome, it is not always possible to pick out industrial targets in crowded war centers.
Credit: ACME.

6-29-43

77.09.1541

New York Bureau
Wanted: More Clean-Up Squads in Sicily
SICILY—So great has been the damage done to Sicily by Allied bombers that workmen have been sent over from Italy to aid the clearing of the debris. The poster in back of this street cleaning squad reads: “In the name of our dead we shall conquer.” Sicilians aren’t so sure, a Mussolini orders all but essential workers to evacuate the island’s cities. Photo received in London from a neutral source.
Credit: ACME.

6-29-43

77.09.4289.a-b

New York Bureau
TWO YANK FIELDS IN ONE MONTH
SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND—At ceremonies dedicating the second American-built and manned airfield completed in England during the last month, a detachment of U.S. Army Engineers stands at attention as Flying Fortresses of the U.S.A. 8^th Air Force roar overhead. Brig. Gen. C.R. Woode, Harrisonburg, Va., Chief Engineer of the European Theater of Operations, turned the field over to Brig. Gen. Newton Longfellow, Minneapolis, Minn., commander of the Eighth Bomber Command, on June 17.
Credit Line (ACME)

06-30-43

77.09.3509

New York Bureau
Army Photographer’s Heroism Recognized
North Africa: - The first U.S. Army Signal Corps enlisted man to be awarded the Silver Star in North Africa was Staff Sergt. Lorenzo Alcock, of Los Angeles, Calif. (right), who receives the decoration from Brig. Gen. J.V. Matejka, Chief Signal Officer. Sergeant Alcock, an Army pictorial service cameraman, received the award for bravery under fire with utter disregard for his own personal safety while photographing the action during the landing operations in the African invasion.
Credit (U.S.Army Signal corps radio telephoto from ACME)

8-14-43

77.09.1817

NEW YORK BUREAU
NO TIME FOR SENTIMENT
SICILY—To those given to contemplation, these jagged shells of the once peaceful homes of Troina, Sicily, present a sorry sight—mute evidence to the terrible destruction of this war which the Axis wished on itself—but to Pvt. William Saleski, Wilkes Barre, Pa., they are mighty good hiding places. He holds his gun ready as he watches for enemy snipers.
Credit: Acme

8-14-43

77.09.2323

NEW YORK BUREAU
THE WAR IS OVER FOR THEM
SICILY—A U.S. soldier leads a group of captive Italian soldiers through the debris that clutters the streets of bomb-scarred Troina after our troops pushed the Axis out of the town. They are on their way to a temporary internment camp. Note the two pictures still hanging on the wall in the background. They are all that remain as evidence that the building was once a home.
Credit: Acme

8-23-43

77.09.1312

CHICAGO BUREAU
ROUGH WORK BUT THEY LIKE IT!
CAMP CARSON, COLO.—Commando training has nothing on the work these rough riding cyclists of the Reconnaissance Troop, Camp Carson, Colo., do to keep themselves and their machines ready for the battle front where paved highways are apt to be conspicuous by their absence.
Photo No. 3. A soldier’s motorcycle makes a good shield in combat.
Credit: U.S. Signal corps from Acme

8-23-43

77.09.4044.a-b

Chicago Bureau
War Show Dedicates New Army Base
Alliance, Nebraska -- Air-borne Jeeps and Howitzers, men and machines of war, filled the air over the army air base at Alliance, Nebraska, as nearly 60,000 persons gathered to watch the war games and display of military might which marked the formal opening of the new field under command of Lt. Col. D. Arthur Walker. The base is operated by the 1^st Troop Carrier Command of Stout Field, Indianapolis, Indiana, with troop carrier units, parachute infantry, glide infantry and air-borne engineers located there. This photo shows a glider-borne Jeep ready for the “invasion.”
Credit: ACME