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Rare color combat footage of the Marine Corps was recently released and is in the process of being archived digitally.

Marine photographers recorded 2,000 hours on 16 and 35-millimeter film between the 1930s and the 1970s.

Mark Kelley with The Wall Street Journal reported that some hope to use this footage to gain new insight into historical military operations.

The footage was held on the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia. The service will partner with the University of South Carolina to archive the video.

Greg Wilsbacher, director of the film unit at the university, told The Associated Press it could take years to fully digitize the film.

“It’s a big mission, but South Carolina is eager to take it on because there is such strong support for the Marine Corps here in the state,” he said.

Watch WSJ clips from the footage here.