Over 12,000 Marines who trained at Montford Point saw duty in the South Pacific during World War II. Members of the 51st and 52nd Defense Battalions, much to their disappointment, were never placed in combat. But members of both ammunition and depot companies saw action in some of the Pacific campaign's bloodiest battles, including Saipan, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Photographs of the men in combat are extremely difficult to find. Those in this section are from the National Archives.