These stunning color portraits, produced by the U.S. Office of War Information during World War II depict the role of women in the US war effort. All of the images were shot on 4x5 color transparency film by Howard R. Hollem and Alfred T. Palmer during 1942 and 1943 and were turned over to the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division in 1944. They are seen here with their original captions.

In this photograph taken on October 27, 2017 an Afghan woman collects saffron flowers after picking them in a field on the outskirt of Herat For years, Afghanistan has tried to give farmers alternatives such as fruit crops and saffron to wean them away from poppy farming – the lifeblood of the Taliban insurgency. International donors have splurged billions of dollars on counter- narcotics efforts in Afghanistan over the past decade, including efforts to encourage farmers to switch to other cash crops such as saffron. But those efforts have shown little results. (Photo by Hoshang Hashimi/AFP Photo)

The classical ballet company “Ardentia” performs in the street of Mexico City on traffic lights, in an effort to highlight the city's fine arts in public spaces in Mexico, September 8, 2018. (Photo by Carlos Jasso/Reuters)

Pedestrians cross a road in Cape Town, South Africa Saturday, March 28, 2020, as South Africa went into a nationwide lockdown for 21 days in an effort to control the spread of the coronavirus. (Photo by Nardus Engelbrecht/AP Photo)

Members of the Barrio 18 gang run upon their arrival to the San Francisco Gotera penitentiary April 21, 2015. The Salvadoran goverment transfered 1,177 inmates, members of the Barrio 18 gang from Izalco jail to San Francisco Gotera in a effort to curb gang violence activity, according to local media. (Photo by Jose Cabezas/Reuters)

A farmer carries a bundle of wheat after harvesting it from a field in the Gharbia Governorate, as Egypt ramps up efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Egypt on May 14, 2020. (Photo by Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters)

The Predator’s Fins: Atho Ullah, Indonesia. 3rd place, Portfolio category. A freshly caught shark is taken ashore. Efforts to regulate shark fishing in Indonesia are not effective enough. Lack of awareness of the role sharks play in the ocean’s ecosystem poses a major threat to marine life. (Photo by Atho Ullah/2020 Hamdan International Photography Award)

A health worker dresses in a protective suit before starting to perform the coronavirus testing in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, May 26, 2020. (Photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters)