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USO Canteen FReeper Style....Nose Art and Pin Ups go to War....May 8,2002
FRiends of the USO Canteen FReeper Style and Snow Bunny

Posted on 05/08/2002 3:01:00 AM PDT by Snow Bunny

The practice of personalizing military aircraft with custom artwork began a few years before WWI, and continues to this day. The peak of this practice occurred during WWII, when hundreds of thousands of aircraft were adorned with such artwork, generally painted near the nose of the aircraft... hence the term, "Nose Art."

Often, flight and ground crews wore a smaller version of the artwork painted on the backs of their jackets. Of course, the quality of the artwork varied, from crude to excellent, depending on the skill of the artist.

The sultry, wonderful world of Nose Art is as varied as the individuals who dressed up and decorated the aircraft and the feelings of the men who flew them into combat. Though this variety is staggering, common themes run through them all from World War II to the end of the Korean War when the genre all but left the scene.

Humor, pathos, slogans, girls, cartoons, nicknames, hometowns, girls, patriotism, dishing it to the enemy, warriors, girls, youthful bravado, girls...these transcended nationality as both Allies and Axis pilots went to war in their individually marked chariots. Men at war separated from home, family, loved ones and a familiar way of life sought ways to personalize and escape the very harsh business surrounding them. For the most part they thought about women, represented on the sides of aircraft in the most tender of ways to the most degrading. These men spent many hours longing for the tenderness a woman could bring to their lives...and for the sexual pleasure they could provide. Whether top level commanders ordered it off the aircraft or not, the men let their feelings flow onto their machines.

As their aircraft reflected, fighter pilots of both wars were busy strafing, bombing, hunting for aerial kills and protecting friendly aircraft, airfields, supply lines and troops. But the ground crews were just as busy trying to make sure the aircraft they had generously loaned to the pilot was on the line each day and ready to bring him home. There is never enough credit to be given to these men who worked ten hours for every hour the pilot flew.

The fame and glory attached to the pilot over shadowed his faithful ground ponders, but this usually did not prevent the enlisted men and officers from becoming devoted friends. Each needed the other to make the mission successful, and a pilot's crew would experience as much pride for a victory, knowing they were behind the guns as well. As a result, nose art was often the choice of the ground crew rather than the pilot. Some units made room for both by having the pilot's art on the left side and the ground crew's on the right.

Unique among fighters, the P-38 Lightning had three noses to adorn, allowing a separate canvas for the pilot, crew chief, armorer and radio man.

Pin Ups.......


The Professor is trying to give you a more scientific explanation of how this kind of cheesecake affected the average American soldier.

World War II pinups appeared in many forms, from fighter and bomber nose art and bomber jacket art to calendars, postcards, matchbooks, and playing cards. The term pinup was coined during World War II, when soldiers would "pin up" these idealized pictures on their barracks and foxhole walls, and sailors did the same to lockers and bulkheads. There were photos of Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth and Lana Turner, and hundreds of other calendar girls and Hollywood starlets whose only claim to fleeting fame was their image seared into a GI's brain from a ragged page of YANK or Esquire magazine.

"Servicemen soon began to create their own pinup art, decorating the noses of their planes and their bomber jackets with more primitive paintings of shapely babes."


Betty Grable as she appeared in a map-reading manual. This image was used to get pilots used to reading map grids.


An early centerfold featuring Dorothy Lamour, "... the No. 1 pinup girl of the U.S. Army."

Nose art was a popular morale builder, it ranged from tame cartoon characters to some really "RACEY" women.

It must be remembered that these men were young, at war, and homesick at times. The names of mothers, girlfriends and colorful limericks were often the inspiration for this unique art form. These pictures and captions are published here for historical value, exactly as they appeared on the planes.



TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: usocanteen
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To: ClaraSuzanne
Ok....Ari will do very nicely! But I have to say the one I have at home is TheeBest! :)
141 posted on 05/08/2002 9:40:05 AM PDT by MistyCA
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To: MistyCA
LOL I need to get someone who'll lead me down the straight and narrow!LOL
142 posted on 05/08/2002 9:42:15 AM PDT by Pippin
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To: ClaraSuzanne
There, there. Of course you're respectable (smirking)
143 posted on 05/08/2002 9:43:05 AM PDT by McLynnan
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To: ClaraSuzanne
LOL....! well now I am thinking of going over to paint some nose art on my sister's plane! LOL!
144 posted on 05/08/2002 9:45:17 AM PDT by MistyCA
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To: McLynnan
Really! I'm as innocent as a babe! Just ask HSM!
145 posted on 05/08/2002 9:46:32 AM PDT by Pippin
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To: MistyCA

Constance Frances Marie Ockleman
Born:
14th November 1922,
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Died:
7th July 1973,
Burlington, Vermont, USA. (hepatitis)
Height 5' 11/2"

Veronica Lake began her life in Broolyn, N.Y., as Constance Frances Marie Ockleman. Her father Harry, was a ship's master for an oil company and died in a ship explosion in 1932.

A year later, her mother, Constance married Anthony Keane, an artist for the New York Herald, and moved to Montreal, Canada where "Veronica" attended Villa Maria, a Roman Catholic boarding school until being expelled in 1937 for bad behavior.

The family moved to Miami, Florida in 1937, where "Veronica" entered the "Miss Miami" sponsered by her high school and won third place.

As a finalist, she was competed for the "Miss Florida" title and won, but had her titled revoked when it was discovered she was too young to participate in the contest. Vaudeville star Harry Richman had been one of the judges and suggested to "Veronica" and her mother that she should consider going to Hollywood.

In 1938, the family moved to Hollywood, and "Veronica" enrolled in the Bliss Hayden School of acting in Beverly Hills, CA, and started performing as an extra on movie sets around town using the name Connie Keane. Her first screen test was unsuccessful.

To become more marketable, and to have more independence, "Veronica" and her mother decided to raise her age by three years, and to indicate that she had graduated high school before coming to Hollywood (which is why some bios refer to her birth-year as 1919).

Her first movie was as one of the many coeds in the RKO film, SORORITY HOUSE in 1939. Two other small parts followed: ALL WOMEN HAVE SECRETS and DANCING CO-ED, both in 1939.

In 1940 she met and married MGM art director John Detlie.

It was in MGM's Forty Little Mothers(1940), that the "peek a boo" look accidentally occured during filming, and was promoted as a hair style. It was during this time she was given the name by a studio head of Veronica Lake. (Veronica, because of her classic features, and Lake because of her blue eyes)

Signed by Paramount in 1941, Lake was often teamed with actor Alan Ladd thereby launching one of Paramount's most successful screen duos.

During the mid-forties, upon hearing that working woman occassionally got their "Peek a boo" bangs caught in sewing machines, her publicist came up with a promotional ploy that the government had requested Veronica to change her hair style, which she did pulling it back in braids for several mid-forties movies.

Her next husband was director Andre De Toth. Lake flourished professionally until 1948, after she was dropped by Paramount, she was sued for support payments by her mother, who after the death of her husband in 1946 had no means of support and was livig off friends. As she later revealed to a writer, loans were made to "Veronica" to inially help her in the beginning or her carrer pursuits, with the agreement that she would pay them back in installments as she became successful, however the payments stopped coming.

Her final movie of the 40s was the 20th Century-Fox film Slattery's Hurricane(1949). She left Hollywood bitter for NEW YORK in the early 1950s, making a living with stage appearances. and by 1959 she was working as a Manhattan barmaid. The Washington Post caught up with her and did a "whatever happenned to..." story in the early-sixites. Fans from many countries sent checks to her, which she returned due to pride.

Lake staged a comeback as a Baltimore TV host in the early 1960s. and had her autobiography written in 1969. After seeking stage work in England, Lake returned to the U.S. in 1971; two years later, after more personal problems and failed comeback attempts, she died of hepatitis while visiting friends in Burlington, Vermont. Lake´s son, Mike, flew in from Hawaii to arrange his mother´s funeral. Only 30 mourners went to her funeral.

She was cremated, and scattered at sea.

146 posted on 05/08/2002 9:47:16 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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To: ClaraSuzanne

Eye Candy

147 posted on 05/08/2002 9:50:44 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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To: Snow Bunny
Pin Ups forever...Bump !!
148 posted on 05/08/2002 9:52:42 AM PDT by blackie
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To: SAMWolf
Oh, what a sad life!
149 posted on 05/08/2002 10:02:27 AM PDT by MistyCA
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To: SAMWolf
Wow...those are some nice bow-ties! :)
150 posted on 05/08/2002 10:06:24 AM PDT by MistyCA
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To: ClaraSuzanne
Here's another one for you...
151 posted on 05/08/2002 10:11:25 AM PDT by MistyCA
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To: abner;Snow Bunny; Billie; FallGuy; JohnHuang2; Mama_Bear; Victoria Delsoul; daisyscarlett...


FReeper abner and her husband are on a mission, traveling in this balloon.
"We are on a mission to increase interest and understanding of the principles and beliefs
that created our country and allowed it to endure, grow and prosper becoming a bastion of freedom and equality for over 200 years."
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE



152 posted on 05/08/2002 10:12:55 AM PDT by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
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To: ClaraSuzanne
You can also have this one
153 posted on 05/08/2002 10:13:26 AM PDT by MistyCA
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To: USO Canteen
An Amish boy and his father were in a mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and then slide back together again.

The boy asked, "What is this, Father?"

The father (never having seen an elevator) responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don't know what it is."

While the boy and his father were watching with amazement, a fat old lady in a wheel chair moved up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched the small circular numbers above the walls light up sequentially. They continued to watch until it reached the last number and then the numbers began to light in the reverse order.

Finally the walls opened up again and a gorgeous 24 year old blonde stepped out.

The father, not taking his eyes off the young woman, said quietly to his son .. . . "Go get your mother"

154 posted on 05/08/2002 10:18:33 AM PDT by lodwick
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To: MistyCA;Snow Bunny

One of my favorites.

155 posted on 05/08/2002 10:24:44 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub
Super post, Tonk! Enjoyed seeing the balloon site. :)
156 posted on 05/08/2002 10:27:30 AM PDT by MistyCA
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To: SAMWolf
LOL...I wonder why? :)
157 posted on 05/08/2002 10:29:48 AM PDT by MistyCA
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To: MistyCA;Snow Bunny;All

The Amazing Interactive B-17 Nose Art Maker

Have fun!

158 posted on 05/08/2002 10:31:09 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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To: SAMWolf
Where are the men??????
159 posted on 05/08/2002 10:38:06 AM PDT by MistyCA
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To: Diver Dave
Morning All. Looks like this is going to be a graphics intense thread today ,br>and with the way this 'puter is operating lately (grrrrr), I'll have to occupy my time with either work around the homestead or dive in and fix the config problems.

Decisions, decisions. What's a guy to do?

Just have to come back after the graphic kings and queens have run out of graphics, I guess.

Although...I wouldn't mind waiting to see the Betty Grable, Ava Gardner etc, pics.

Too many 'guy' pics in between. : )

160 posted on 05/08/2002 10:42:11 AM PDT by ST.LOUIE1
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