Yank Cover

Thirsty Pfc. Grant Crawford of Moline, Ill., found the going cooler and smoother in Germany after he drank beer out of a German stein. He is an engineer with the 26th Infantry Division.

YANK 25 May 1945

Yank Cover

YANK Cover for 30 Nov 1945

Cartoon

This cartoon appeared in the very last issue of Yank, 28 Dec 1945, in a two page spread of cartoons wraping up the magazine.

This cartoon is by Sgt. Frank Brandt

Time 9 April 1945

Time Magazine Cover for 9 April 1945 featuring General George Patton. You can read this entire issue of Time HERE

Night Duty

Night Duty painted by Franklin Boggs who was an Abbott Laboratories Artist.

Read more about Franklin Boggs HERE

First Mission

Read this article "First Mission" by Sgt. Saul Levitt about the typical first mission over the dangerous skys of France delivering bombs and surviving.

You are riding away from France now. And eastward there's a line of smoke climbing into the sky. You open the radio-room door to the bomb bay, and there is one flak hole. Just one. You look around to find more. That single piece of hot iron ripped through the bay and went somewhere. But just where? Clanton comes up and points, and you follow his finger around to where that little hunk of iron went—in the wall a foot from your head.

Read the article HERE

This a quick load article for those of you with slow connection speeds.

YANK 31 March 1944

Infantry Battle in New Georgia (2)

Read about this amazing jungle fight in New Georgia. We are reposting this article that we posted last September as we are reorganizing our web site and relocating the article.

This is a fast loading article for all you who have slow connection speeds. There are no pictures, just very interesting reading about some of the viscious fighting in WWII.

Read the article HERE

Mental Breakdowns in the Army

What causes psychoneurosis at the front lines? Usually it does not develop in men who have a clear idea of the necessity for the war and understand why they had to get into a GI uniform and do the fighting.

Read this article by Sgt. Mack Morriss

It covers three PDF pages. Read the article here: Page 8, Page 9, Page 10.

Artwork by Cpl. Ruge.

Keep in mind this article was issued to the GI's who did the fighting in 1944. It may not have bearing by modern psychological theories. It may not also take into account the tremendous impact explosives and shelling can have on the human brain. The issue of combat fatigue was very common in WWII. It was misunderstood by many Generals, i.e. General Patton slapping a soldier in a hospital ward trying to snap him out it. By the way, that doesn't work.

Remember to zoom the PDF page to 25% or more for easy viewing.

YANK 31 March 1944

Burial at Sea

Another of many farwells to a comrade buried at sea from the decks of countless of Navy ships.

Finishing touches

An aircraft worker is putting the finishing touches on one of the thousands of aircraft manufactured for World War II.

Jane Randolph

Jane Randolph was featured in a previous blog posting. She was YANK's very first Pin Up Girl on 17 June 1942. She had a brief career as a Hollywood actress from about 1941 to 1955. She later married and moved to Spain. She was about 23 when this picture was taken. She should be about 88 today.

This a colorized version of the black and white shot that originally appeared in YANK. Colorization was done by todophoto.com

Island Game

Saturday Evening Post Cover by Stevan Dohanos for 21 April 1945 titled Island Game. One of the funniest covers for all of World War II.

Corsair Junk

Wreckage of a F4U-Corsair is salvaged as a spare parts unit for other Corsairs in the Pacific

Inferno

Inferno by William F. Draper

This painting depicts the village of Charou Kanan, Saipan, the sugar mill became an inferno on D-Day. As the flames leap to the sky, Marines stealthily creep forward. Enemy mortar fire falls over the beachhead causing many casualties to the men and supplies.

Oil on canvas, October 29, 1944

Puerto Rican Soldier

Pvt. Fulano de Tal, the typical GI, is proud of his island, fights well and likes rice, beans and the rumba.

Read this article by Sgt. Lou Stoumen here at Page 7

Remember to zoom the PDF page to 25% or better for easy viewing.

YANK 31 March 1944

French Ambulance Girls in Italy

In Italy, the gallant T-5 Sal Cannizzo helps French ambulance driver Nanou Calas with her knitting.

When the going is tough, French Ambulance Girls in Italy dream of Paris Days. Read this little story by Sgt. Ralph G. Martin.

Read the PDF page here: Page 5

Remember to zoom the PDF page to 25% or better for easy reading.

YANK 31 March 1944

Suprise Party at Eniwetok

This is the cover shot of the YANK 31 March 1944. The story is "Surprise Party at Eniwetok" by Sgt. Merle Miller. The eight photographs shot for this article were taken by Sgt. John A. Bushemi who lost his life in this fight. The following is an excerpt:

The second attempt came at 0100, when 40 Japs leaped from their holes about 30 yards from the marine lines and raced forward. Brandishing sabers, hurling grenades and screaming "Banzai! The f---ing marines will die!", they leaped into the marine foxholes. There was hand-to-hand combat, jujitsu, knifing and bayoneting. In less than 20 minutes, 40 Japs and 20 marines were killed on a line not more than 30 yards long.

Read this story over 5 PDF pages. Cover, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Remember to zoom the PDF page to 25% or better for easy reading.

YANK 31 March 1944

Fly'n Lumberjack

"TIMBER-R-R-R!"

By M/Sgt. Ted Miller

YANK 31 March 1944

WAVES

Oh, the days are gone when the sailors went
Down to the sea in ships.
For now our gobs are heaven-sent
And go down to the sea in slips!

By A/C Jack McGuire U. S. Naval Air Station, Minneapolis, Minn.

YANK 31 March 1944

The General's Scourge

Gimme candy, Sad Sack!

By Cpl. Ernest Maxwell, Santa Ana AAB, Calif.

YANK 31 March 1944

Travel Note

From London to Tahiti,
From Attu to Port of Spain,
From Bouganinville to Martinique,
You'll hear a new refrain:
From Frisco to Pearl Harbor,
The legend will appear
That during World War No. 2,
Mrs. Roosevelt slept here.

by Sgt. Jack N. Carl

Eleanor Roosevelt was a prolific traveler during the war.

YANK 31 March 1944

Gloria Anderson

Gloria Anderson was the YANK Pin-up Girl for 31 March 1944 (American Edition).

Gloria spent some time as a Hollywood actress making about 6 movies from 1944 to 1946.
Interestingly the Internet Movie Database shows her making one in 2004 as well.

If you have interesting information about Gloria please leave it in the "comments" for all of us to read.

Back For More

Camp Claiborne, La. - T-5 Sam Kellman, a member of the 780th Engineer Petroleum Distribution Co., EUTC, was a lance corporal in the Royal Canadian forces during the first World War. Kellman enlisted at Montreal in 1914 at the age of 14, after an attempt to enter the U. S. Army (had failed).

He fought for two years on the Meuse front and near Metz, where he recieved a leg wound. Later he was gassed on the Gaza front in Egypt where he was captured by the Germans and held a prisoner for two years. He wears the Victory Cross and King George Medal, awarded to him for saving the life of a major during an artillery barrage.

YANK 31 March 1944

See Here!

Pvt. Donald R. Hargrove trained at Camp Callan, Calif., for 12 weeks before confessing he was 13 years old. He will be discharged. The other Hargrove shaves every day.

YANK 31 March 1944

Male Pin-Ups

Floyd Bennett Field, N.Y. - Navy airmen came out on the short end of the pin-up contest here recently when a group of Waves polled their choices. On a slate nominated entirely by the Navy women, three AAF officers took the top three places.

YANK 31 March 1944

New Job

Less glamorous perhaps, but she likes it. WAC Pvt. Dorothy Hamilton was a night-club dancer, now she drives and repair4s tanks at Newport News, Va.

YANK 31 March 1944

Sweet Girlfriend

Camp Crowder, Mo. - Pvt. Francis Tann got a letter from his girl telling him that she had herself a new boy friend. Then Tann learned that the ex-sweetheart had used his car, which he had lent her for the duration, on dates with the new boy friend. Tann found out also that the War Bonds he had bought and put in her name were to be used to underwrite the honeymoon (of the new couple).

Not all the members of the greatest generation were great.

YANK 31 March 1944

Easy Reading

Just check the lines and find any spot you want. Pin-up girls are now making map reading more exciting for trainees in the 22d Air Base Squadron at Lowry Field, Colo. 1st Sgt. Richard P. Bates, overseas veteran of both World Wars, is demonstrating this "visual aid" to willing students.

YANK 31 March 1944

Book Boomerang

Camp Van Dorn, Miss. - Pvt. Harvey B. Vogel of the 255th Infantry loaned a book to a friend 17 years ago in Jersey City. The other day, while going through a shipment of old books sent by the USO for company day rooms, Vogel found the book again.

YANK 31 March 1944

CBI

Learn all about the China-India-Burma theater of World War II. This amazing web site has a tremendous amount of work and effort by many people to inform us about this forgotten area of war. There are also numerous YANK articles there about the CBI.

View this site: HERE

Rivalry

Do what you like, I'm staying! Caliche, a baby wildcat adopted by the 61st Aviation Squadron at Moore Field, Tex., is disputing William S. Rice's claim to be first sergeant.

YANK 31 March 1944

Businessmen

Wendover Field, Utah - While the finishing touches were being put on Theater No. 1, the officer in charge suggested that the seats be covered with velvet and a 25-cent admission be charged. T/Sgt Myron Kridel disagreed and suggested plush covering and a 20-cent admission charge.

"I think you're both wrong," said Sgt. Lewey Soukup. "It would be more practical to charge only 15 cents and cover the seats with GIs."

Lewey Soukup where are you? Corporate America needs you. For that matter the U. S. Governments needs you.

YANK 31 March 1944

Shake!

Priscilla Cranstoun of New York recieves congratulations from Lt. Comdr. Howard Prentice in Boston, Mass., as the first SPAR chief petty officer. She enlisted in the Coast Guard a year ago. They certainly can pick 'em.

YANK 31 March 1944

Always Wear Your Teeth

Second Army Maneuvers, Tenn. - Sgt. Charles Arnold, platoon leader in an Infantry outfit, sweated out a long chow line and, after his mess kit was loaded with food, found that he'd left his store teeth behind.

Carefully placing his mess gear on the ground, he rushed away to get the teeth. When he got back, he found six little pigs and a big sow eating his dinner.

YANK 31 March 1944

Souvenirs

These holes which T-5 Vaugh Chadbourne of Camp Adair, Oreg., is fingering were made by a .30-caliber bullet from a captured U. S. rifle fired at him by a Jap on Attu.

YANK 31 March 1944

Merry Xmas and Happy Valentines

Tonopah Army Air Field, Nev. - Last Christmas Pfc. W. F. Wigner sent his Seattle, Wash. draft board a card inscribed: "I think of you each day in the year." On Valentine's Day the draft board returned the compliment with a card which said: "We bet you're the only fellow in the service who gets a Valentine from his draft board. Love and kisses, Local Board No. 11."

YANK 31 March 1944

Who Me?

Yes you. It's a terrible thing to face eight first sergeants. They are all in the 260th QM Railhead Co., Camp Beale, Calif. Pointing at T-5 J.DeVito, (L to R) H. L. Montgomery, J. C. Bosch, Harold Kays, Harry Barker, William E . Baularige, A. J. Caiaccid, J. A. Wingard and William J. Lynch.

YANK 31 March 1944

Souvenir Hunter

Sad Sack "Souvenir Hunter" By Sgt. George Baker

YANK 31 March 1944

Shamrock Chapeau

Saturday Evening Post Cover for 20 March 1943
It shows a woman using ration stamps as part of her Saint Paddy's green ensemble.

"Shamrock Chapeau" was painted by Charles Kaiser

Happy Birthday Bill Walker

Happy Birthday Bill Walker

82 Years Young on 22 March!!!

Cover photo of YANK 11 March 1945 Continental Edition

See the Andrews Sisters Sing

Follow this link to view "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" by the Andrews Sisters.

Be sure to pause the music in the 40's Juke Box at the right so you don't get a double sound track.

CLICK HERE

Final Photo for the YANK Staff

Don't Cry

Don't cry, little kraut! These three plump Germans were careless; they got captured (near Anzio).

Does the guy in the middle look a little bit like Matthew Broderick ???

Photo by Sgt. George Aarons

YANK 31 March 1944

Former Valet to Hollywood Stars Greets Them at Middle East Air Base

Somewhere in the middle east—"Hi, Budd. how's everything?" said Fredric March to Cpl. Ralph C. Budd of Hollywood, Calif., as the actor arrived here recently.
Budd, a former valet to Fred Astaire and the Alexander Kordas (Lady Korda is Merle Oberon), has run into several stars he knows .since he was shipped to the Middle East.
The GI's job is to serve as charge of quarters of a penthouse reception room at an airfield where the commander of the USAFIME theater welcomes notables of the political, military and entertainment world coming through.
Budd says he doesn't mind seeing old friends like March, Nelson Eddy, Jack Benny, Lt Bruce Cabot and Luise Rainer, but he'd gladly trade the Pyramids for a quick glimpse of Hollywood Boulevard right now

By Cpl. SAM D. MELSON

YANK 31 March 1944

Little Joe

Little Joe with his "Guardian," T-5 Joe Fillippo. After his father and mother were killed by bombs near Anzio, he was adopted by a Yank artillery outfit.

Photo by Sgt. George Aarons

YANK 31 March 1944

Nothing Like a Little Surprise

SAIDOR, NEW GUINEA—An Ordnance mechanic's life is supposed to be pretty dull, and generally it is. But three ordnancemen in the American force here have made the discovery that sometimes it isn't.
Sgt. Emil Raninen of Detroit, Mich , who holds the Silver Star for gallantry at Buna, was exploring the area near his jungle hammock, in company with Cpl. Eugene Weinard of West Bend. Wis. They found a dugout cleverly hidden beneath a huge log.
"That was used by the Japs all right," said Raninen. "It would take a good hit to blast a guy out of there."
Next morning they brought S/Sgt. Charles Allhands of Madison, Wis., to see the dugout. Peeking into the hole, Weinard suddenly noticed some rags that hadn't been there the day before.
Allhands crawled down into the hole to investigate. The rags, he discovered, were the remains of an American shelter half.
"I started to pull it out," he said later, "and the whole thing came alive. I scrambled back out, scared as hell, and then we could hear jabbering from beneath the shelter half."
The men drew their guns and waited. Out crawled a miserable, half-starved Jap, without an ounce of fight left in him.
They took the straggler prisoner and proudly escorted him back through their camp to headquarters.
Now Raninen, Weinard and Allhands are trying to decide who gets the prized souvenir, an official receipt for one Jap prisoner. Meanwhile the dull routine of keeping the trucks rolling goes steadily on.

By Cpl. RALPH BOYCE

YANK 31 March 1944

Unused Nazi Pillbox

Nurses Victoria Hansen (left) and Carrie Sheetz inspect a German pillbox in the Anzio-Nettuno area of combat. It never fired.

Photo by Sgt. George Aarons

YANK 31 March 1944

Woodman, Spare That Tree

WITH THE FIFTH ARMY IN ITALY—On a tree in Naples, Cpl. Clyde L. Hardin of a Field Artillery outfit found the name and address of Pvt. Judy Brooks of the WAC, carved in deeply by some earlier passer-by.
Like any sensible GI, Hardin jotted it down and wrote her a letter Judy answered from her station in the States, and the correspondence is hot and heavy now.
Since he found her address, Hardin has moved on with his outfit from Naples into the front lines on the road to Rome. Judy, in turn, has moved from private to sergeant.

YANK 31 March 1944

WWII Stock Photo

This is a picture labled "Air Drop in the Solomon Islands"

Antipersonnel Bombs Drive You Nuts (coconuts)

SOLOMON ISLANDS—Coconut plantations are often used for military encampment in these islands because there is no jungle undergrowth, there is perfect concealment from the air and there are plenty of palm logs to cover foxholes.
Only drawbacks are the coconuts, hanging like the Sword of Damocles over thousands of GI noggins. There are literally millions of coconuts. Winds and heavy rains knock them down; they fall about 50 feet, so that getting hit by a nut is like stopping a golf ball, only more so.
Surprisingly enough, very few men have been in the way when the nuts came thudding down One exception is Pvt. Eugene K. Lampkin, an MP from Cincinnati, Ohio
It happened on one of his worst days Lampkin was directing traffic near the shore of Empress Augusta Bay on Bougainville, and his heart was seething. A passing truckload of marines had just asked the inevitable and unanswerable "why don't you join a good outfit?" It was just this unfortunate moment that the coconuts above him chose to let go.
"One hit me on the shoulder," he fumed, "one made a little circle around me, and the thud conked me dead center on the head It's lucky I had my helmet on."

By Sgt BARRETT McGURN

YANK 31 March 1944

Billets in a Haystack

A tank destroyer on the alert, camouflaged with hay.

These soldiers near the front in Italy have burrowed caves into a haystack.

Photo by Sgt. George Aarons

YANK 31 March 1944

War in Their Faces

After 23 days and nights of fighting in the dark jungles of New Britain, these marines are going to get a rest. Waiting at Cape Gloucester for all the men of their unit to climb aboard the trucks that will carry them to the rear, they have the marks of front-line fighters bitten deep in their faces.

YANK 31 March 1944

The Coxswain

The landing craft coxswain was the symbol and fiber of the amphibious force. Exposed to enemy fire as he steered his craft to shore, the lives of thirty-six infantrymen in his small LCVP were his responsibility. If he failed in his mission of landing these troops, the strategy of admirals went for naught; the bombardment of a naval force alone could never gain a foothold on the hostile and contested shore. Prairie boy or city lad, the coxswain became a paragon of courageous determination and seamanship.

Artwork by Dwight C. Shepler

Dwight C. Shepler painted and recorded the Navy’s warfare ranging from the Guadalcanal to the D-Day invasion. He was awarded the Bronze Star medal for his work as a combat artist. Shepler painted more than 300 combat scenes compiling a dramatic history of the war. After the war, Shepler continued his career as a pioneer water colorist of the high ski country and served as president of the Guild of Boston Artists.

Wish I Could Join Too!

Recruitment poster for the Navy Waves in 1944 by John Falter.

Read more about John Falter HERE

Navy Poster by McClelland Barclay

Navy Recruitment Poster by McClelland Barclay.

Read more about McClelland Barclay HERE

19 March 1944 British Edition

Read this entire issue of YANK 19 March 1944 British Edition HERE

Remember to zoom the PDF pages to 25% or better for easy viewing.

The Army's Gypsy-Builders

Read about The Army's Gypsy-Builders in this article by Sgt. Saul Levitt. Armies can not move without the "Engineers."

Artwork by Sgt. John Scott.

Read the article over these 3 pages. Page 4, Page 5, and Page 6.

Remember to zoom the PDF file to 25% or better for easy viewing.

YANK 19 March 1944 British Edition

Jack Coggins

Discover the art work of Jack Coggins, YANK artist working from the British Edition field office at this web site

Triple Duty

Three raids in 24 hours kept everybody at this Marauder base busy. Read about the crew of the "Sad Sack, Jr." Pictured are Lt. Phillip G Haglund, Cpl. Edward F Anderson, and T/Sgt. James R. Jordan.

Interesting side note... the former post about Ann Savage has a link to this post. You will read where a ground crew member kept trying to see a movie called "Dangerous Blonde(s)," which was interupted over and over again to prepare for these missions. Ann Savage was one of the stars in that movie. Ironically on the same day that I posted the pin up shot, Turner Classic Movies showed "Dangerous Blondes" for the first time on TV. Things are funny that way sometimes.

View the entire article "Triple Duty" by Pfc. Bill Hennerfrund HERE.

Remember to zoom the PDF file to 25% or better for easy viewing.

Ann Savage

YANK Pin Up Girl for 17 March 1944 British Edition - Ann Savage

Ann Savage was a Hollywood actress who made about 37 films from 1943 to 1986. She was about 23 when this picture was taken.

You can read more about Ann Savage: HERE

News From Home

After taking his Army physical, Mayor William P. Hood, of Wichita Falls, Texas, wired his wife: "Inspected, dissected, infected, rejected, as expected."

YANK 19 March 1944 British Edition

First Come-First Served

Sad Sack - First Come-First Served By Sgt. George Baker

Click on image to enlarge.

Read More about George Baker: HERE

YANK 19 March 1944 British Edition

News From Home

At Camp White, Ore., Sgt. Fred Barnett, of Hammond, Ind., received the Distinguished Service Cross from Major General James M. Bradley, while 10,000 of his fellow-soldiers saluted. The sarge, who is 31 years old and a widower, was honored for killing twenty Japs on Attu last June. A private at the time, he was a member of a battalion which was trapped by Jap snipers and boxed by two machine-gun emplacements. Barnett filled his pockets with grenades and dashed for the enemy position, firing his rifle as he ran. He succeeded in killing the snipers and the crew of one machine-gun before running out of ammunition, then bayoneted or slugged to death every Jap in the second machine-gun emplacement. His mother, Mrs. Edith Barnett, of Independence, Kan., and his daughter, Wanda Barnett, were on hand to see him receive the recognition he had earned.

YANK 19 March 1944 British Edition

Cheta and Nancy

Cheta the Chimp kisses Nancy Kelly while a couple of Joes look on. Cheta (he's 4-F, and over the age limit anyway) and Nancy are to star in a forthcoming movie.

Read more about Nancy Kelly: HERE

YANK 19 March 1944 British Edition

News From Home

During the month of February, 1944, the United States shipyards turned out 134 merchant ships.

YANK 19 March 1944 British Edition

Alberto Varga(s)

He knows his babes like you know your rifle. Alberto Varga, the "Esquire" artist, scktches some lovelies for a mural to adorn the top of a Manhattan theater.

Read more about Alberto Vargas: HERE

YANK 19 March 1944 British Edition