My Home Sweet Home
Tag: Military
Detour With The Detroit Navy Anchorettes
Best Foot Forward
New recruits in the Aldershot Command of the British Army are given foot inspections during WWII as part of their three months of basic training.
Now That’s What I Call A Peaceful Protest
I love old magazines; they don’t mince words. In their retelling of how toddler Peter Jackson came to be the “sensation of the late London season” at the Horse Guards Parade, they made sure to make mention that he was only there because his poor father was jobless and had nowhere else to be, since he wasn’t supporting his family. Was that necessary?
Two-year-old Peter, overcome with emotion, could not simply watch the Mounting of the Guard. He had to be a part of it. It was not a protest at all, but imitation in the highest. Slipping away from the supervision of his father, Peter dashed out onto the grounds, secured his toy rifle (albeit on the wrong shoulder), and marched with military form, to the delight of onlookers. In this image, he is shouting an order, immediately followed by a fearful reaction to his own voice, and flees back to the arms of his papa.
Chipped Nails Bring The Victory
Even the Tri Delts, who weren’t part of the WATC, did their part on the homefront.
Water Under The Bridge
“The 50th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, Union (left) and Confederate (right). Veterans shake hands at a reunion, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1913.”
Well, At Least I Have My Haversack
Let Me Soothe You With My Chorded Zither
It’s WWII. An injured soldier tolerates appreciates the twang of a skilled Red Cross Gray Lady, plucking the strings of an autoharp. Why Gray Lady, you ask? Because she has gray hair? No. Gray Ladies were volunteers who performed non-medical services to sick, injured, or disabled patients. They were not nurses, but they could read to patients, write letters home for them, or in this case, perform talents worthy of an appearance on Star Search. My question is: why isn’t he donning an open-backed hospital gown? Instead, he sports a Chinese stand collar, frog button jacket, as though he is dressed for his shift at The Golden Tiger. I don’t get it.
If Hitler Attacked, What Would The Pacifists Do?
Post-Dinner Movie In The Rain On Guadalcanal
Chair Carrying: Things Worse Than Quarantine
Chair carriers support travelers and their goods as they painstakingly make their way up the steep steps from the Kialing River in Chungking, 1941. And they didn’t even have Asics with good arch support. The provisional capital of China, not under Japanese occupation, would suffer from continuous terror bombing by the Japanese air force until 1943.
Below, conscripts of the Chinese Nationalist Army walk through the city on labor detail. Makes social distancing seem like a walk in the park.
Today, what we called Chungking is now Chongqing, but it still looks a bit congested for my taste. You wouldn’t catch me on that tram.
Honestly, before today, I only associated the word with old Chun King ads.
But today, I am sheltered-in-place and more educated than before.
And glad I don’t live on the Yangtze River.
© JingAiping/Shutterstock.com
Late Stage Civil War Veterans
I Don't Get It 