tennessee6
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Latest Posts by tennessee6
# Mont St. Michel
Abbey on Mont St. Michel France. Apr 2024
Tailspin Tapestries: The Colorful Faces of WWII Aircraft 🃏
Nose art, the decorative painting or design on the fuselage of military aircraft, has a storied history that peaked during World War II. This vibrant, often cheeky artwork served as a morale booster for the crew, adding a personal touch to the grimness of war and providing a sentimental tie to the home they were fighting to protect. The practice traces its origins to Italian and German pilots in World War I, but it was during World War II that American airmen embraced this form of expression with unparalleled creativity.
World War II represented the golden age of nose art, with American crews stationed in Europe and the Pacific leading in creativity. Artworks ranged from ferocious animals and cartoon characters to pin-up girls and patriotic symbols, each with a unique name that reflected the aircraft's character, the crew's aspirations, or an inside joke among the squadron. Names like "Memphis Belle," "Enola Gay," and "Sack Time" became as legendary as the aircraft themselves, symbolizing the spirit of the crew and their mission.
Nose art was crucial to boosting morale among crew members, providing a sense of individuality and ownership over their aircraft in an otherwise regimented and dehumanizing environment. This artwork fostered an emotional attachment to their planes, with each piece a vivid manifestation of the crew's bond. It represented a piece of home and personality in foreign skies, a reminder of what they fought for and the camaraderie that sustained them.
The subject matter of nose art varied widely, reflecting diverse personalities within the crews. Cartoons and comic characters like Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny were favorites for their humor and relatability. Artwork also featured fierce sharks, tigers, and eagles, symbolizing the aircraft and crew's power and aggression.
Many nose art pieces were painted by the crew members themselves, though some squads had designated artists. Individuals like Don Allen, who painted nearly 100 pieces of nose art, were celebrated for their contributions. Using whatever materials were at hand, these artists created masterpieces under challenging conditions, showcasing remarkable ingenuity and talent.
The practice of nose art declined after World War II, largely due to stricter military regulations and the evolving nature of warfare. However, its legacy endures, captivating historians, veterans, and enthusiasts. World War II nose art remains a powerful reminder of the human element amidst war's machinery, a colorful testament to the resilience, creativity, and spirit of those who served.
The National Archives holds a treasure trove of photographs featuring this iconic nose art, often discovered in ordinary crew photos where the art itself isn't the primary focus of the image. This creates a fascinating treasure hunt for enthusiasts and researchers alike, offering glimpses into the past where this artwork accompanies stories of bravery, camaraderie, and the personal touches that made these aircraft more than just machines of war.
More resources on the National Archives website and Catalog:
https://nara.getarchive.net/topics/nose+art https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/photos
Nisqually Wildlife Refuge
Jimmy Stewart & Post-Traumatic Stress: Months after winning his 1941 Academy Award for best actor in “The Philadelphia Story,” Jimmy Stewart, left Hollywood and joined the US Army. He was the first big-name movie star to enlist in World War II. An accomplished private pilot, the 33-year-old Hollywood icon became a US Army Air Force aviator, earning his 2nd Lieutenant commission in early 1942. With his celebrity status, he was assigned to attending rallies and training younger pilots. Stewart, however, wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to fly combat missions. By 1944, frustrated and feeling the war was passing him by, he asked his commanding officer to transfer him to a unit deploying to Europe. His request was reluctantly granted. Stewart, now a Captain, was sent to England, where he spent the next 18 months flying B-24 Liberator bombers over Germany. Top brass tried to keep the popular movie star from flying over enemy territory. But Stewart would hear nothing of it. Determined to lead by example, he assigned himself to every combat mission he could. By the end of the war he was one of the most respected and decorated pilots in his unit. But his wartime service came at a high personal price. In the final months of WWII he was grounded for being “flak happy,” today called Post Traumatic Stress (PTS). When he returned to the US in August 1945, Stewart was a changed man. He had lost so much weight that he looked sickly. He rarely slept, and when he did he had nightmares of planes exploding and men falling through the air screaming (in one mission alone his unit had lost 13 planes and 130 men, most of whom he knew personally). He was depressed, couldn’t focus, and refused to talk to anyone about his war experiences. His acting career was all but over. As one of Stewart’s biographers put it, “Every decision he made [during the war] was going to preserve life or cost lives. He took back to Hollywood all the stress that he had built up.” In 1946 he got his break. He took the role of George Bailey, the suicidal father in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Actors and crew of the set realized that in many of the disturbing scenes of George Bailey unraveling in front of his family, Stewart wasn’t acting. His PTSD was being captured on film for millions to see. But despite Stewart’s inner turmoil, making the movie was therapeutic for the combat veteran. He would go on to become one of the most accomplished and loved actors in American history. When asked in 1941 why he wanted to leave his acting career to fly combat missions over Nazi Germany, he said, “This country’s conscience is bigger than all the studios in Hollywood put together, and the time will come when we’ll have to fight.” This holiday season, as many of us watch the classic Christmas film, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” it’s also a fitting time to remember the sacrifices of those who gave up so much to serve their country during wartime.
Shore birds Canon Beach Oct 2020
March 20, 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
A special shout-out to all my fellow OIF veterans. It's hard to believe it has been 20 years since the start of our time in "the sandbox." I'm proud to have chewed the same sand and mud as you. Semper Fi!
Stone wall and flowers. Entrance to Ashford Castle, Cong Ireland
Stone carver studio. Tenino WA
C-82 Packet. Aft cargo compartment. McChord Air Museum. Lakewood WA
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Ireland
Foundations
LaConner WA
Center for Wooden Boats
Seattle WA
Constellation. Boeing Museum of Flight. Seattle WA
Light switch
Figure heads. Museum of History and Industry. Seattle Wa
Dublin Ireland
Christ Church Cathedral Dublin Ireland
7 church area Innishmore. Aran Island Ireland
Pacific County Court House. South Bend WA
St Multose church Kinsale Ir
Holy Trinity Abbey. Adare Ireland
Spiral staircase. Library Trinity College. Dublin Ir
Swaying in the Breeze | Photo by Ioan Balasanu
PBY Catalina. McChord Air Museum
Albert Renger-Patzsch - Winter Landscape with Oak Grove, Wamel. C. 1955
