U.S. Marines move cautiously through the shattered remains of a coconut grove on Kwajalein Atoll, their rifles slung and packs loaded for the advance inland. The splintered, defoliated palms bear witness to the intense naval and aerial bombardment that preceded the amphibious landings of Operation Flintlock in early 1944. This official U.S. Marine Corps press photograph, numbered K-11, was part of a series distributed to document the Marshall Islands campaign for the American public. Project: 218719