American landing craft approaching Aguni Island, Japan, 1945

Description: 

Photograph. American LCI [Landing Craft, Infantry] and LVT (A) [Landing Vehicle Tracked (Armored)] amphibious craft heading for the beach during the invasion of the island of Aguni, near Okinawa; view is from inside one of the landing craft. Official Caption: "Rome. 7/31/45--Seagoing American Tanks Approach Aguni Island. Amphibious tanks of the first assault wave of U.S. Marines to attack Aguni Jima, approach the small island on June 9, 1945. The island, 30 miles (48 km.) west of Okinawa in the Ryukyu (Loochoo) chain is wreathed in smoke from the pre-invasion bombardment by units of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The invasion was unopposed. Aguni was the 18th island of the Okinawa group to be invaded by U.S. forces. The group is about 375 miles (600 km.) south of the Japanese home islands and is a strategic sea and air base. Photo through Rome OWI [Office of War Information] Approved by appropriate U.S. authority." Aguni Island, Okinawa Islands, Japan. 31 July 1945

Image Information

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Date: 
07/31/1945
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Items from the service of Isaac "Ike" Bethel Utley, who was born in Smith Mills, Kentucky on 3 March 1920. Ike enlisted in the Army Air Corps on 19 January 1942. He was shipped overseas to the European Theatre and worked with a supply division based out of the city of Naples with an office set up in a residential villa. Utley worked with the Office of War Information and used their photographs in news articles to inform soldiers of the progress of the war. At war's end, Utley returned stateside. A trunk full of over 800 photographs from the O.W.I. arrived on his doorstep from his office in Italy, sender unknown. This collection consists of those photographs.
Geography: 
Aguni-jima
Thesaurus for Graphic Materials: 
Landing craft--American--Okinawa
Tanks (Military science)--American--Okinawa
Soldiers--American--Okinawa
Amphibious operations--Okinawa
Amphibious vehicles--American--Okinawa