These 8 iconic images tell the story of every US conflict from World War I to Afghanistan

Germany and the axis powers in Europe were defeated in World War II 74 years ago on May 8.

With as many as 50 million killed, it is the deadliest conflict in history. 

It is also the war that cemented America's status at the apex of the international system, and set the stage for a decades-long confrontation with the nuclear-armed Soviet Union and its communist partners.

But the war that established America as a world power was World War I, a brutal war that lasted more than four years and killed an estimated 8.5 million soldiers and 13 million civilians.  The conflict ended 100 years ago on November 11.

The US has been embroiled in war or conflict for much of the century since the Great War ended. 

And these iconic war photos show that path. 

World War I (1914-1918).

This photo was taken by Paul Popper for Getty Images. It shows British troops running out of their trenches to charge the enemy lines during the bloody Battle of the Somme. Spaces between trenches were branded "no man's land." 

When Americans got to Europe, this is what the fighting looked like. Life in the trenches involved sharing damp, diseased quarters with dead bodies and making slow, if any progress. 

The Great War between the Allied and Central Powers involved more than 30 countries. It's estimated that 8.5 million soldiers and 13 million civilians were killed during the war. 

World War II (1939-1945).

This photo was taken by Jose Rosenthal for the Associated Press. It shows US troops raising the flag on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, one of the first pieces of Imperial Japanese territory to fall to US hands.

Fifty years after the picture was taken, the Associated Press wrote that it may be the world's most widely reproduced.

But half of the six soldiers depicted died — among 6,821 Americans — on the very same island they claimed: Franklin Sousley, Michael Strank, and Harlon Block.

The Second World War between the Allied and Axis Powers killed approximately 40 to 50 million people, making it the deadliest war in history. 

Korean War (1950-1953).

This photo was taken by R.V. Spencer for Getty Images. It shows a Korean girl carrying her brother past a stalled M-26 tank in 1951. 

The Korean War began in June 1950 when North Korea, backed by the Soviet Union and China, invaded South Korea, which was backed by the US.

The fighting lasted until 1953, and was devastating to the local population, with approximately 1.6 million civilian casualties on both sides. The war, however, is still technically ongoing, as there was never a peace treaty.