An American serviceman and a young Filipino woman pose together in an open field on the outskirts of a war-ravaged Manila neighborhood, circa 1945. The bombed-out buildings in the background bear witness to the devastating Battle of Manila, one of the most destructive urban battles of the Pacific War. Photographs like this one capture the personal relationships that formed between American troops and Filipino civilians during the liberation and occupation period, set against a backdrop of profound wartime destruction. Project: 218434