Margie was a very different kind of pin-up girl. She was not salacious, and her clothes were neatly buttoned up. She was a young wife on the homefront pining for soldier husband, and her serious and articulate “letters” that appeared alongside her image were about managing money. But she was a big hit with the young men fighting overseas during World War II.
“Margie” was created to encourage soldiers to manage their pay. Her letters informed soldiers about soldiers’ deposits, personal transfer accounts, Class E allotments of pay, War Bonds, and National Service Life insurance. The posters were distributed in posts, commands, and theaters of operation.
She was also a real person. Margie Stewart passed away this May at the age of 92. She was not a soldier, but she gave the men overseas a reason and a reminder to plan for a life with their sweethearts after the war ended.
These posters are part of the holdings of the National Archives and can be found in Record Group 44.
During World War II, Private First Class Desmond Doss was a conscientious objector who refused to carry or touch a weapon. He served as a medic and was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1945 for his heroic action assisting injured soldiers near Urasoe-Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands.
Photograph of Private First Class Desmond T. Doss, 05/15/1945
![Happy 2nd Lieutenant William Robertson and Lt. Alexander Sylvashko, Russian Army, shown in front of sign [East Meets West] symbolizing the historic meeting of the Russian and American Armies, near Torgau, Germany. 04/25/1945
On April 25, 1945, American troops pushing eastward into Nazi Germany finally made contact with Russian forces pushing westward near the Elbe River.
via a People at War: American and Russian troops meet at the Elbe »](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2fb0ltw2K1qhk04bo1_1280.gif)
Happy 2nd Lieutenant William Robertson and Lt. Alexander Sylvashko, Russian Army, shown in front of sign [East Meets West] symbolizing the historic meeting of the Russian and American Armies, near Torgau, Germany. 04/25/1945
On April 25, 1945, American troops pushing eastward into Nazi Germany finally made contact with Russian forces pushing westward near the Elbe River.
via a People at War: American and Russian troops meet at the Elbe »
“I drew an assault boat to cross in-just my luck. We all tried to crawl under each other because the lead was flying around like hail.” Crossing the Rhine under enemy fire at Saint Goar, March 1945.
The photo is undated but was likely taken on March 24-25, 1945 during a series of coordinated Rhine crossings as part of the Allies’ Operation Plunder.
The United Service Organization (USO), a private organization, was founded February 4, 1941 at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The USO’s mission is to lift the spirits of America’s troops and their families.
Marilyn Monroe, motion picture actress, appearing with the USO Camp Show, “Anything Goes,” poses for the shutterbugs after a performance at the 3rd U.S.Infantry Division area., 02/17/1954
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, at his headquarters in the European theater of operations. He wears the five-star cluster of the newly-created rank of General of the Army., 02/01/1945
Eisenhower had been promoted to the new rank on December 20, 1944.
On January 26, 1945, 2nd Lieutenant Audie Murphy climbed atop a burning tank destroyer and held 2 companies of German infantry and 6 tanks at bay, with only a mounted machine gun and field telephone to direct artillery fire, until a counter attack could be mounted. This is just one of several narratives describing his actions which earned him the Medal of Honor.
Just six months earlier then-Sergeant Murphy had earned the Distinguished Service Cross.
Chow is served to American Infantrymen on their way to La Roche, Belgium. 347th Infantry Regiment, 01/13/1945
French Architect and engineer Gustave Eiffel died on this day in 1923.
December 15, 1832 – December 27, 1923
WWII: Europe: France; “American soldiers watch as the Tricolor flies from the Eiffel Tower again”, ca. 08/25/1944
Completely surrounded in the town of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, the 101st Airborne Division held off besieging German forces for eight days until their relief by General George Patton’s Third Army on December 26, 1944. The break in German lines surrounding Bastogne is shown at the center of this situation map from December 27, 1944.
“Situation 1200 hours 27 December 1944 Twelfth Army Group”; Records of Allied Operational and Occupation Headquarters, World War II; Record Group 331
December 26th is National Thank-you Note Day, have you written your thank-yous yet?
THANKS FOLKS, 1941 - 1945
This soldier looks awfully familiar — haven’t we seen him before?
On October 25, 1940, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. became the first African American general in the U.S. Army.
“Brig. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis watches a Signal Corps crew erecting poles, somewhere in France.”, 08/08/1944
Sergeant Alvin C. York, 328th Infantry, who with aid of 17 men, captured 132 German prisoners; shows hill on which raid took place. Argonne Forest, near Cornay, France. 02/07/1919
York, who stated on his draft registration card “…Don’t want to fight,” would later be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions from October 8, 1918.
“…For the first time in history 61 female officers were among the rows of the ‘Long Gray Line.’ 05/28/1980”
President Ford signed Public Law 94-106 on October 7, 1975, permitting women to attend military academies for the first time.
Pigeon Message from the “Lost Battalion,” 10/04/1918
Surrounded by Germans and under friendly fire from their own artillery, First Battalion’s Maj. Charles W. Whittlesay used his last carrier pigeon to send this three-sentence plea:
“We are along the road paralell 276.4. Our artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heavens sake stop it.”
