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)

A Salvadorean clown going by the name of “Almohadita” poses during National Clown Day celebrations at Beethoven Square in San Salvador December 3, 2014. The Salvadorean congress declared the second Wednesday of December as National Clown Day to honour all Salvadorean clowns in their efforts to bring fun to the country, reported local media. (Photo by Jose Cabezas/Reuters)

People in Kathmandu joke that the face mask has now become part of the national dress – an indispensable accessory in an effort to protect themselves from the dust. Nepal has the worst air quality in the world, according to the Environmental Performance Index. (Photo by Pete Pattisson/The Guardian)

A driver pulls a handgun on protesters after they broke his trucks lights on March 28, 2021 in Salem, Oregon. The protesters clashed with occupants of vehicles that had participated in an American flag-waving car caravan, despite law enforcements efforts to to keep the groups separate. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

A Cambodian man sells shoes on a motorized cart travelling along a street in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 30 April 2020. Cambodian authorities are enforcing strict traffic rules in an effort to cut down traffic accidents on the road as a new land traffic law will go into effect in the beggining of of May 2020. (Photo by Mak Remissa/EPA/EFE)