English: Peleliu's Great White Way, time exposure photo of Japanese attack on U.S. Marine positions, 1944.
This dramatic time exposure made in the Fall of 1944 records a fierce night assault by Japanese forces against U.S. Marines on Peleliu in the Palau Islands. Japanese forces were dug in behind Bloody Nose Ridge, visible below a night sky lit up by parachute flares. The long straight lines are tracer shells from Japanese gunners firing on Marine aircraft. At the right edge of the photo, a Marine machine gun is firing. The headlights of a passing Jeep are recorded. The wavy line is from a flashlight carried by a Marine as he runs for cover. The bright burst of light at the lower right is from a motion picture projector showing a movie just prior to the attack. This incredible picture was made by SSgt. William G. Wilson, USMC, a combat cameraman with the 2nd Marine Air Wing. The photo was published in over 500 newspapers and was recognized by CDR Edward Steichen, Chief of Naval Photography, as one of the best pictures depicting action in the Pacific theater.