Yank Magazine

Articles from Yank Magazine

One of the First Letters to the Editor in Favor of the Bomb (Yank Magazine, 1945)

Apparently the arguments that we still hear today concerning whether or not use of the Atomic Bomb in 1945 was justifiable popped-up right away. The following is a letter to the editor of Yank Magazine written by a hard-charging fellow who explained that he was heartily sick of reading the

-pious cries of horror [that] come from the musty libraries of well-fed clergymen and from others equally far removed from the war.

One of the First Letters to the Editor in Favor of the Bomb (Yank Magazine, 1945) Read More »

German Armor: Panzer III and IV (Yank Magazine, 1944)

The attached two articles report on what the U.S. Army came to understand following the close examination of two German tanks: the Panzer III and Panzer IV.


The Panzer III was first produced in 1934 and the Panzer IV two years later; both tanks were used with devastating effect during the opening days of the Blitzkrieg on Poland, France and later the invasion of Russia. The developed a close and personal relationship with both during the North African campaign in 1943.


Click here to read about the German King Tiger Tank.

German Armor: Panzer III and IV (Yank Magazine, 1944) Read More »

American GIs Meet the Reds on the Elbe (Newsweek & Yank Magazines, 1945)

In late April of 1945, American tank crews south of Torgau (Germany) began to pick up the chattering of Soviet infantry units on their radios – the transmissions were generated by the advanced units of Marshal Konev’s (1897 – 1973) First Ukrainian Army and both the allied units were elated to know that the other was nearby, for it meant one thing: the end of the war was at hand.


Thankfully, Yank‘s correspondent Ed Cummings was with the U.S. First Army when the two groups met at the Elbe River and he filed the attached article.

American GIs Meet the Reds on the Elbe (Newsweek & Yank Magazines, 1945) Read More »

American GIs Meet the Reds on the Elbe
(Newsweek & Yank Magazines, 1945)

In late April of 1945, American tank crews south of Torgau (Germany) began to pick up the chattering of Soviet infantry units on their radios – the transmissions were generated by the advanced units of Marshal Konev’s (1897 – 1973) First Ukrainian Army and both the allied units were elated to know that the other was nearby, for it meant one thing: the end of the war was at hand.


Thankfully, Yank‘s correspondent Ed Cummings was with the U.S. First Army when the two groups met at the Elbe River and he filed the attached article.

American GIs Meet the Reds on the Elbe
(Newsweek & Yank Magazines, 1945) Read More »

VE-Day at the 108th General Hospital (Yank Magazine, 1945)

An eyewitness account accompanied by a wonderful Howard Brodie sketch describing the enthusiastic rush enjoyed by all the wounded GIs in the dayroom at the 108th General Hospital in London:

The war was over, and I was still alive. And I thought of all the boys in the 28th Division band who were with me in the Ardennes who are dead now.

Click here to read a short notice about how Imperial Japan took the news of Germany’s surrender.

VE-Day at the 108th General Hospital (Yank Magazine, 1945) Read More »

African-Americans in Hawaii (Yank Magazine, 1943)

Colonel Chauncey Hooper was a World War I veteran; of African-American stock, he had served with the Harlem Hellfighters (the 369th Regiment, 93rd Division). When 1943 came along, he could be found as an army colonel in Hawaii, lording over a regiment of colored New Yorkers calling themselves Hooper’s Troopers. This article is by no means about Hooper as much as it concerns the high number of Harlem Jazz musicians who served under his command


Dorie Miller was an African-American hero during the Second World War, click here if you would like to read about him.

African-Americans in Hawaii (Yank Magazine, 1943) Read More »

African-Americans in the U.S. Army (Yank Magazine, 1945)

Here are a few fast facts about the African-Americans who served in the U.S. Army during the Second World War (it should be noted that the record keeping in 1945 was not nearly as accurate as they had hoped; the number of Black servicemen and women was way off compared to what is known today. Pentagon figures today number W.W. II African-American service at 1.2 million).


Those councilors who advised FDR on all matters African-American were popularly known as the Black Brain Trust…

African-Americans in the U.S. Army (Yank Magazine, 1945) Read More »

Fashion Symbolism in Wartime Attire (Yank Magazine, 1945)

This was an unusual article for Yank to run with but it is a wonderful read nonetheless. The column concerns fashion as a reliable barometer of societal direction and starts out with a quote from Basil Liddell-Hart (1895 – 1970) on this issue. The writer then goes to the author and all-around fashion philosopher, Elizabeth Hawes (1903 – 1971) who proceeded to speak thoughtfully on the topic of fashion in wartime. Hawes remarked that the clothing of the leaders can be read as an indicator of forthcoming events.


CLICK HERE to read about the beautiful Blonde Battalions who spied for the Nazis…

Fashion Symbolism in Wartime Attire (Yank Magazine, 1945) Read More »