The Snapshots in Time Collection

Native Village Under Strafing Attack, Lower Sepik River, New Guinea

Native Village Under Strafing Attack, Lower Sepik River, New Guinea

Concentric ripples spreading across the Sepik River mark the impact of machine-gun fire during a low-level strafing pass on this native village in New Guinea. Photographed by Fifth Air Force aircrew during the period the 312th Bombardment Group operated from Gusap airfield, this image reflects the harsh calculus of a war in which suspected collaboration with Japanese forces could bring native settlements under direct attack. Project: 218561