Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Marines at Wana, Okinawa

 
Original - Two Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment during fighting at Wana Ridge during the Battle of Okinawa, May 1945. On the left, Davis Hargraves (1925-) provides covering fire with his M1 Thompson submachine gun as Gabriel Chavarria (on the right; 1926-), with a Browning Automatic Rifle, prepares to break cover to move to a different position. Wana Ridge was a long coral spine running out of northern Shuri Hill and was lined on both sides with Okinawan tombs. Japanese emplacements in the tombs and on the reverse slope of the ridge forced the Marines to carefully fight their way through the fortifications.
Reason
A dramatic, good quality image of historical interest and which effectively shows employment of infantry combat tactics in a real life situation. The photo was unsuccessfully nominated in 2005 [1] but a recently published book has provided additional information and context about the photo [2].
Articles this image appears in
Battle of Okinawa, Fireteam, 1st Marine Division (United States), Surrender of Japan, 2nd Battalion 1st Marines, Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, and Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign
Creator
Staff Sergeant Walter F. Kleine

Not promoted --jjron (talk) 08:31, 12 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]