Today the nation honors men and women who have served our country with distinction. Many World War II heroes lost limbs; many more died. A few donned a swimsuit and posed for the camera.
Like so many Americans, my World War II story is one that is reconstructed from a stray photo or two, burned records and stories that have been passed down so often that it’s hard to separate the fact from fiction.
This is the only story I know about my grandfather’s service. A 1973 fire that burned up records for servicemen “from Hubbard to Z” makes it difficult for me to even figure out what unit he served in.Theodore Duval, Myrtie’s brother who passed away in 2009, remembers driving her to the photo shoot. Their mother explicitly warned him not to let her wear a tight sweater. To his knowledge, Myrtie followed her mother’s orders. But the picture in my album shows the real story.
By today’s standards, the pin-up girl phenomenon seems rather at odds with feminism — though downright tame when compared to the centerfold of a Playboy magazine.John Power, a Destin resident and World War II veteran with the 35th Tank Battalion of the 4th Armored Division who passed away in 2011, said men in his unit used to hang pin-up girls in the turrets of their tank. He said he saw a lot of pin-ups, but his “No. 1 girl” was always his wife that he left back at home.
I will admit the picture feels at odds with the modest, humble woman I knew — a woman who always blocked my parents from giving me the punishment I deserved and raised me to be a Catholic priest. But I also know that my grandmother was love personified, and if her love of country asked that she raise some vegetables in a flower box or show a little skin, I’ll bet she did it.
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