(Tom Gregory/Stars and Stripes)

Imjin River, South Korea, April 23, 1957: Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment exit one of the small assault boats they used to cross the swift-flowing Imjin River, landing in ankle-deep mud on its south bank during a training exercise. After landing the infantrymen had to cross 75 yards of mud flats before reaching solid ground. In some places men sank hip-deep in the mud and only with the aid of two buddies could be freed, according to the article published at the time.

Pictured here is a scan of the original 1957 print created by Stars and Stripes Pacific’s photo department to run in the print newspaper. The red marks indicate the crop lines. Only the bottom part of the image would appear in the newspaper. As all pre-1964 Stars and Stripes Pacific negatives and slides were unwittingly destroyed by poor temporary storage in 1963, the prints developed from the late 1940s through 1963 are the only images left of Stripes’ news photography from those decades. Stars and Stripes’ archives team is scanning these prints to ensure their preservation.