Friday, Jun. 05, 2009

Photos

LIFE Archives

With one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of historic photography available on the Internet, LIFE's archives offer 33 World War II-related galleries, including dozens of breathtaking images from D-Day. The first photo, and one of the most striking, shows a stern-looking Allied Supreme Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower, inspecting troops shortly before the Normandy invasion. Another photo reveals a sky reminiscent of a Fourth of July fireworks show, except that it's tracer fire from D-Day's opening phase. Some are more light-hearted, like the image of U.S. serviceman sporting unique, battle-ready haircuts, while others are more gruesome, like Robert Capa's image of fallen Allied soldiers on the beach. But each image is priceless and, somewhat amazingly, available for free.

See pictures of the world's bloodiest battles at LIFE.com.