Trench Coats for Women (The Stars and Stripes, 1918)
The Donut Dollies, Nurses and Hello Girls needed trench coats, too. This link will display the printable image of a 1918 advertisement for one of the first American trench coats made for women.
Recent Articles
Dogs for Defense (American Magazine, 1943)
Dogs for Defense was a World War II organization founded by three patriotic dog enthusiasts who established the group in order to procure patriotic canines (meeting certain height and weight standards) for the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps, that branch of the services charged with the task of training the animals. Dogs for Defense was able to provide as many as four hundred dogs a week for the U.S. Army throughout both W.W. II as well as the Korean War.
The attached article can be printed.
Realistic Training for ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (Photoplay Magazine, 1931)
Prior to reading this PHOTOPLAY article we were convinced that Oliver Stone’s Vietnam war film, PLATOON (1986) was the first production of it’s kind to actually take the effort to school all cast and extras as to the horrors of war; however it seems that this unique distinction goes to All Quiet on the Western Front.
In this interview the seven leading cast members discuss how the making of that movie disturbed each of them in profound ways:
We went into that picture a group of average wise-cracking fellows. We didn’t come out that way…
A small notice has been added that announced that the movie had been banned in Austria.
A 1929 review of the book can be read here
Realistic Training for ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (Photoplay Magazine, 1931)
Prior to reading this PHOTOPLAY article we were convinced that Oliver Stone’s Vietnam war film, PLATOON (1986) was the first production of it’s kind to actually take the effort to school all cast and extras as to the horrors of war; however it seems that this unique distinction goes to All Quiet on the Western Front.
In this interview the seven leading cast members discuss how the making of that movie disturbed each of them in profound ways:
We went into that picture a group of average wise-cracking fellows. We didn’t come out that way…
A small notice has been added that announced that the movie had been banned in Austria.
A 1929 review of the book can be read here
German Paratroops (U.S. Dept. of War, 1945)
Attached is the U.S. War Department study regarding the tactical uses of German airborne forces throughout the course of the Second World War; from the Battle of Crete to the Battle of the Bulge:
In Russia, the Balkans, and the December 1944 counteroffensive in the Ardennes, units varying in strength from a platoon to a battalion have been landed behind enemy lines to disrupt communications, to seize such key points as railroads, roadheads, bridges and power stations.
Segregated Infantry Divisions in France (The Independent, 1919)
A spirited commentary concerning how the African-American Doughboys came to see France, rather than their own homeland, as the land of equality and liberty. It was written by Oscelo E. McKaine, who was serving as a second lieutenant in the all-black 92nd Division. In later life he would play an important roll in the South Carolina civil rights movement.
Read an article about racial integration in the U.S. military.
The Popularity of War Movies (Literary Digest, 1915)
Not surprisingly, special effects were an important box office draw during the Silent Era. This article reports on the popularity of war movies in 1915 and explains how some of the effects were created.
The Salad Days of Gynecology (Pathfinder Magazine, 1951)
Do you think your job is tough? Pity the pioneering gynecologists of the 16th Century…
Her Next Task (Life Magazine, 1919)
An excellent cartoon that serves to illustrate the difficulty that the American suffragettes had to overcome in post World War I America. Following the demobilization of so many women who played vital roles during the course of the war, the next task at hand was to see to it that her fathers, brothers and uncles understood that these veterans of the war expected greater opportunity and would not reside gladly in the same world of low-expectations that saw them off at the docks in 1917
Artist Jacob Epstein Drafted… (Vanity Fair Magazine, 1918)
In 1918, the London-based American expatriot sculptor Jacob Epstein was living life to the fullest and enjoying all the benefits his talents had provided him. He had no intention of joining the army of his adopted country and had successfully avoided the draft since the outbreak of the war. However in 1918, conscription caught up with him. Epstein hated the idea of joining the colors, believing that the military would kill his creative soul, but this article puts a nice spin on all that.