A young woman from Arizona writing her Navy boyfriend a thank-you note for the Jap skull he sent her (May 22, 1944) Photo credit: Ralph Crane | LIFE magazine’s “Picture of the Week” A rare and disturbing photo, so much about this it’s still a mystery. We don’t know what became of the skull in … Read more
Bordering other Caribbean nations to the north, Trinidad and Tobago shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Grenada to the northwest, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west. Here is a fascinating collection of images from of Trinidad and Tobago found in the service album of an … Read more
The Photo That Was Hard to Get Published, but Even Harder to Get LIFE photojournalist George Strock captured an iconic image of 3 U.S. soldiers lying on the sand of Buna Beach, New Guinea. The small wave breaking provides a stark contrast to the stillness of the men and the half-submerged landing craft behind them. … Read more
The city of Lvov (L’viv) in southeastern Poland was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1939, under the terms of the German-Soviet Pact. There were over 200,000 Jews in Lvov in September 1939; nearly 100,000 were Jewish refugees from German-occupied Poland. The Germans subsequently occupied Lvov after the invasion of the Soviet Union in June … Read more
Matthäus Hetzenauer, Austrian sniper with 345 confirmed kills, 1944. Hetzenauer (1924–2004) was an Austrian sniper in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. He served in the 3rd Mountain Division on the Eastern Front of World War II, and was credited with 345 kills. His longest confirmed kill was reported at 1,100 meters (1,200 yards). Hetzenauer received … Read more
Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 14, 1945. The Japanese government notified the Allies that it had accepted the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender, or the Potsdam Declaration. General Douglas MacArthur led the Allied occupation of Japan at the end of World War II, with support from the British Commonwealth. This occupation of … Read more