Product Information

 In this iconic photo by LIFE photographer George Strock, three Americans lie dead after they were ambushed by Japanese soldiers next to Japanese landing craft. The American advance on Buna was marked by green US troops failing to advance against the Japanese army, Burma, New Guinea, Solomons, January 3, 1943.

 The photo, taken on January 3, 1943 and was censored until the September 20, 1943 issue of LIFE, when it was published as part of a larger publicity campaign to shock the American public, whom US President Franklin D. Roosevelt believed had become complacent about the war. Condemned by many and praised by veterans, the photo was not the first photo of war dead to be published, but was marked by the greatest controversy. Strock reportedly took the photo as part of a feature on a GI named "Bill" who was one of the three men killed.