Those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it. Fortunately, with the addition of color, we can examine these historical photographs more closely than ever. 

When looking back at the black-and-white world of older photographs, we can forget that real-life color was just as vibrant then as it is now; both in regular life and war. In one photo here of an American marine using a flamethrower during the battle of Iwo Jima, the flames are colored bright orange. The battle of Iwo Jima saw the United States Marines and Navy work together to capture the Pacific island from Japan during the latter stages of World War II. The battle led to one of the most iconic photographs in American military history, which shows multiple marines working together to hoist an American flag atop the island. But while that photo feels victorious, this one depicts the hardship that American service members had to go through to get there. And with color, we can imagine a bit more vividly just how dire conditions on that island were. 

In a different and less dramatic photo, Audrey Hepburn sits behind the scenes, filming A Nun's Story in 1958. Although there are plenty of color photographs of the iconic actress, fewer of those capture candid, behind-the-scene moments like this one. If those sound cool, check out these 21 colorized historical photos.