Yesterday, Sept. 2, was the 64th anniversary of the end of World War II. Did you know that?
I should’ve remembered. Not because I was around at the time but because I had read about the Japanese surrender and the signing of surrender documents aboard the USS Missouri in 1945. I read about both in magazines from an auction I attended a couple weeks ago. My old newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, ran a story today about the anniversary.
The magazine was called “Yank, The Army Weekly.” I had never heard of it, but when I saw old copies on a table in photos from one of my favorite auction houses I decided to Google it. There were about 36 of the Yank magazines (Continental Edition) up for auction, dating from 1944-1945. Yank was written by enlisted soldiers, with 21 editions in 17 countries printed at offices around the world (British, Mediterranean, Continental, and Western Pacific). The price was 5 to 10 cents. The Continental Editions were sold for 3 to 4 francs.
I’m sure there was some censorship of the articles, but the detailed accounts offer a very good historical glimpse into the war and the soldiers’ reaction and reporting about it.
I was fascinated with the articles, photos and illustrations. The magazines contained the popular pinups of movie stars (female, obviously, including Vivian Blaine, Esther Williams, Deanna Durbin and Gene Tierney), Sad Sack cartoons, riveting black & white photos, and great cartoons drawn by soldiers.
The magazines were printed on newsprint rather than glossy magazine paper. Most were in fragile condition, and apparently had been well-read and later stored. Most of the wear was to the covers and not the inside pages.
There were one or two photos of black soldiers in the war. One enlightening story was about women who served in Hitler’s army who were then Allied prisoners (and wholly unrepentant).
The most wrenching story (along with photos) was one soldier’s account of entering the Buchenwald Concentration Camp and what he saw there. Another was “Bury the Dead,” a photo essay of German men and women ordered by the US military to be pallbearers at a mass burial of 161 Jewish slave laborers killed by Nazi guards in Bavaria. The photos of their faces (above) say more than the words.
All was not grim in the magazines. There were photo features about life back home, called “Main Streets of America (including Pittsburgh, PA; Sheridan, WY, and Paducah, KY),” and a Dec. 24, 1945, issue with an article titled “Christmas at Home.” On the cover is a Sad Sack cartoon (created by Sgt. George Baker). The magazine also contained the Associated Press selection of the 1944 All-American College Team, along with outstanding athletic champs in various sports around the country.
The Oct. 7, 1945, magazine contained a story and photos showing Gen. Douglas McArthur and the Japanese signing the surrender document aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay (the ship has since been decommissioned). There is also a photo of the document itself.
The Japanese formally surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945, but the article didn’t make Yank until a month later.
