1945

Articles from 1945

The Beachmaster (Newsweek Magazine, 1945)

One of the most familiar human sounds in any Central Pacific operation is a rasping, oath-throwing voice with a rich Scandinavian accent which booms out over the loudspeaker on the invasion beaches. The voice threatens, gives orders with no reservations, pleads and intimidates. It is the voice of a Navy captain, Carl E. (Squeaky) Anderson, the force, or senior, beachmaster – the man who unloads the ships and keeps the supplies (all 64,000 tons) rolling in.

Iwo Jima, he says, is the worst beach he’s ever had anything to do with.

Marshall’s Strategic Concept (Yank Magazine, 1945)

An excerpt from General Marshall’s introductory essay to his 1945 Biennial Reportstyle=border:none for U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stimson concerning the progress and general status of the American Army through the period beginning on July 31, 1943 through June 30, 1945.


Click here if you would like to read an article about 1940s fabric rationing and the home front fashions.

Above Nagasaki (Yank Magazine, 1945)

The destruction of Nagasaki looks nothing like the debris in Cassino or Leghorn. The strange thing here is the utter absence of rubble. You can see a couple of square miles of reddish-brown desolation with nothing left but the outlines of houses, a bit of wall here and half a chimney there. In this area you will see a road, and the road will be completely clean. It is too soon after the bombing for the Japs to have done any cleaning of the roads and you can’t see a single brick or pile of broken plaster or lumber on any street or sidewalk in town.


After Nagasaki, Japan surrendered – but there was a lapse of fifteen hours before the Japanese heard that their declaration had been accepted…

Occupation Begins (Newsweek Magazine, 1945)

On Tuesday, August 28 (Tokyo time), the Japs got their first taste of the ignominy of surrender… The occupation forces were ordered to go ashore much as they regularly did in amphibious operations – with full combat equipment and battle dress, across beaches and onto docks. No chances were to be taken.

Milton Caniff: 1940s American Cartoonist

Attached is a profile of Milton Caniff (1907 – 1988), who is remembered as the creator of Terry and the Pirates (1934 – 1946), Mail Call (1942 – 1946) and Steve Canyon (1946 – 1988).


Click here to read an article by G.I. cartoonist Bill Maulden.

Understanding the Veterans (Pageant Magazine, 1945)

Appearing in various magazines and newspapers on the 1945 home front were articles and interviews with assorted experts who predicted that the demobilized military men would be a burden on society. They cautioned families to be ready for these crushed and broken men, who had seen so much violence and had inflicted the same upon others, would be maladjusted and likely to drift into crime. In response to this blarney stepped Frances Langford (1913 – 2005), the American singer. She wrote in the attached article that she had come to know thousands of soldiers, sailors airmen and Marines during the course of her tours with the USO and that the nation could only benefit from their return.

Understanding the Veterans (Pageant Magazine, 1945)

Appearing in various magazines and newspapers on the 1945 home front were articles and interviews with assorted experts who predicted that the demobilized military men would be a burden on society. They cautioned families to be ready for these crushed and broken men, who had seen so much violence and had inflicted the same upon others, would be maladjusted and likely to drift into crime. In response to this blarney stepped Frances Langford (1913 – 2005), the American singer. She wrote in the attached article that she had come to know thousands of soldiers, sailors airmen and Marines during the course of her tours with the USO and that the nation could only benefit from their return.

The African-Americans Fighting in France and Italy (Yank Magazine, 1945)

Here are two Yank Magazine articles from the same issue that report on the all-black combat units that fought the Germans on two fronts in Europe: one organization fought with the Seventh Army in France and Germany, the other fought with the Fifth Army through Italy:

Hitler would have a hemorrhage if he could see the white boys of the 411th Infantry bull-sessioning, going out on mixed patrols, sleeping in the same bombed buildings, sweating out the same chow lines with the Negro GIs.


Click here to read about the African-American efforts during the First World War.

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