Lt. Col. F. Evans Carlson (front row, third from left) with his famed Carlson's Raiders, the 2nd Raider Battalion. February, 1943, Guadalcanal.

Source: National Archives

Bill Lansford and Pete Arias talk about being part of "Carlson's Raiders"

Infantrymen grab sleep where they can. Normandy, France, July 1944.

Source: National Archives (111-SC-191444)

Bill Mauldin worked for Stars and Stripes during the war. His cartoons were viewed by GIs serving in Europe.

Source: Copyright 1945 by Bill Mauldin. Displayed courtesy of the William Mauldin Estate.

Marines Pete Arias and Bill Lansford land on Iwo Jima.

Pete Arias was born in 1923, one of nine siblings born to Mexican immigrants. He was raised on a farm in Los Angeles County and joined the Marines one month after Pearl Harbor. He heard about an elite commando unit begin formed and decided to volunteer. After an interview, he . . .