Marines of the 5th Marine Division on their way to Iwo Jima. 🇺🇸

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Even with its wartime damage, the Cologne Cathedral has a great deal of reverence to it as US soldiers hold mass in March of 1945. 🪖

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After fighting its way from the beaches of Normandy through Western Europe, the men of the 5th Armored Division were ready for a crack at the capital of the Reich as they rolled into Pulheim, Germany in March of 1945. 🪖

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On this day in 1847, three American infantry divisions land at Veracruz, Mexico. It's the United States military's first large-scale amphibious assault. The city falls after a 20-day siege.

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On this day in 1862, naval warfare enters the modern era as the ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack) do battle off Hampton Roads. It's history's first clash between steel warships.

The legendary photographer Robert Capa at an airfield in France just before taking part in a combat jump with the 17th Airborne Division across the Rhine and into Germany. 🪂

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Hard to not look like a boss with a Browning M1919 machine gun mounted on your jeep and a destroyed Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go light tank in the background. 🪖

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In March of 1945, Tech 5 Willie Blow of the 784th Tank Battalion during a rest and refit period in the Venlo area of the Netherlands. 🪖

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Seven Texans of the 96th Infantry Division’s 763rd Tank Battalion review some of the tactics that they used to help defeat the Japanese on Okinawa as they prepare to invade the Japanese mainland. 🪖

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In 1945, wounded Marines are treated at an aid station on Iwo Jima. 🪖

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A Marine feeds his pet lamb during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. 🪖

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81 years ago today, Sgt. Albert Osborne of the 382nd Air Service Group's Sheet Metal Shop patches the flak holes on the nose of a Curtiss C-46. ✈️

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In March of 1945, an M3A1 Halftrack named with the 9th Armored Division named “Bitching Pals” moves through the heavily-mined town of Engers, Germany. 🪖

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After their river crossing in March of 1945, soldiers of the 5th Infantry Division pursue the fleeing enemy as they advance into Frankfurt, Germany. 🪖

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In March of 1945, American soldiers keep a low profile with German fire focused on their landing craft during an assault across the Rhine River at Oberwesel, Germany.🪖

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On this day in 1861, the Confederate States adopt their own constitution. The document is largely a copy of the U.S. Constitution at the time, but includes language entrenching the rights of slave owners.

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On this day in 1941, President Roosevelt enacts the 'Lend-Lease' program. Although still officially a neutral power, the United States will transfer an estimated $50 billion in military hardware to Britain, China and the Soviet Union.

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83 years ago today, after distinguishing himself by intrepid and determined leadership against greatly superior enemy forces in the Pacific, General Jonathan Wainwright earns the Medal of Honor. 🪖

He received his MOH in September of 1945 after several years as a Japanese POW.🇺🇸

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During a lull in fighting, Pfc. Jerry Coleman, an assistant tank driver with the 3rd Armored Division, takes some time out to eat his K Rations near Saint-Jean-de-Daye, France. 🪖

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During Operation Varsity, paratroopers of the 17th Airborne Division take a ride on a Churchill Tank through Münster, Germany in March of 1945. 🪂

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Today in 1947, President Truman pledges to Congress that the U.S. will provide "support for democracies against authoritarian threats." The 'Truman Doctrine' will underpin much of American foreign policy throughout the post-war era.

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