tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post3224266392588977585..comments2024-03-28T20:35:00.265+11:00Comments on ART and ARCHITECTURE, mainly: 1942 - American soldiers, Australian women, nylon stockingsHelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-46141461905961452082014-12-18T09:48:38.533+11:002014-12-18T09:48:38.533+11:00Nasir
welcome aboard. Do you have an interest in ...Nasir<br /><br />welcome aboard. Do you have an interest in Australian history in WW2?Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-18169574362724405532014-12-17T10:54:04.308+11:002014-12-17T10:54:04.308+11:00Dina
It is usually estimated that one million Ame...Dina<br /><br />It is usually estimated that one million American servicemen trained in Australia before going to battle or had R & R here between Jan 1942 and the end of the war in 1945. Most did not stay here for long, but the impact was enormous.<br /><br />Your own mother showed how terrible it was to have husbands, brothers and old school friends thousands of ks away. I cannot even start to imagine their anxiety.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-9244535685278441072014-12-17T10:44:18.662+11:002014-12-17T10:44:18.662+11:00Parnassus
symbols are normally just symbols, not ...Parnassus<br /><br />symbols are normally just symbols, not really something substantial. But these symbols (nylons, dancing, chocolates, orchids etc) lasted and lasted. My mum is 91 and still talks with affection about the American soldiers who showed the local girls how to have a fun time.<br /><br />Yes rationing regulations for food and clothing were mandated across Australia in May 1942. But I agree with you, it was way more than just a shortage.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-1085166277676014542014-12-17T04:27:02.917+11:002014-12-17T04:27:02.917+11:00Interesting about the history of nylons. But the o...Interesting about the history of nylons. But the opening paragraphs about your mother and grandmother are the most heart-warming!<br /><br />I didn't even know that American soldiers trained in Australia. <br /><br />In my late mother's yellowing scrapbook that she kept as my American father went off to war, pasted on one page I see brown wrapping mailing paper with Mom's Chicago address. She wrote on the page "Five pairs of silk stockings from Brazil! (What a thoughtful husband!)"<br />That was on May 14, 1944. The next page has a telegram informing that her bomber pilot husband is missing in action, his B-24 shot down while bombing the oil fields of Ploesti.<br />(Later he was found in a prisoner of war camp in Bucharest; the air crews were liberated several months later.)<br />Dinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03461925401870320466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-79348552204507718142014-12-17T02:32:04.275+11:002014-12-17T02:32:04.275+11:00Hello Hels, It's funny how a feminine fashion...Hello Hels, It's funny how a feminine fashion accessory like nylon stocking became one of the basic symbols of World War II, at once signifying privations at home for the war effort, the ultimate black market item, and the U.S. soldier's trading stock (along with cigarettes and chocolate).<br /><br />Perhaps the nylon frenzy denoted more than just a shortage--the underlying wish was for the previous simpler peacetime conditions, remembering when the question "Are my seams straight?" was a serious consideration.<br />--Jim<br /><br />PS: I'm sure that feminists would factor in a desire to return women to their pre-war roles of domesticity and femininity.Parnassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08958901307538141468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-22435203251789090022014-12-17T00:57:00.696+11:002014-12-17T00:57:00.696+11:00Sydneysider
I like Deborah Burrow's comments....Sydneysider<br /><br />I like Deborah Burrow's comments. The Diggers were a poor bet when it came to showing a girl a good time, because the Yanks did earn a lot more money. American soldiers in the lower ranks earned twice the amount of their Australian counterparts - a US private earned the same as an Australian captain. In the higher ranks the disparity was even more pronounced. These differences in pay scales AND their stylish uniforms (with zippered flies!). <br /><br />My own dad told me that the Australian men looked daggy, in comparison. His view was that even the lowest ranks in the American army dressed like officers.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-79786287682620887352014-12-17T00:51:53.210+11:002014-12-17T00:51:53.210+11:00Andrew
I was never sure how much to believe of mu...Andrew<br /><br />I was never sure how much to believe of mum's stories from WW2, but I have since heard many of the details repeated by other women of the same age. The Australian women all seemed to have been mesmerised by the Americans' presents and the dancing!Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-4060703481153913662014-12-16T21:59:46.718+11:002014-12-16T21:59:46.718+11:0015,000 Australian women married American soldiers ...15,000 Australian women married American soldiers and left Australia and their families. My dad didn't like the Yanks being here. Over paid, over sexed, over here.Sydneysidernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-34631410154753338262014-12-16T19:41:40.536+11:002014-12-16T19:41:40.536+11:00Typo, take 2.
The anecdote about your mother remi...Typo, take 2.<br /><br />The anecdote about your mother reminds me of my teen age girlfriend who the nuns told to not talk to the boys through the cyclone wire fence, dividing the boys and girls. Apparently they would become pregnant from such an action. Hmm, difficult but possible.<br /><br />A bit out of left field Hels, but a terrific post. Where would we be without nylon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-26641707678154821382014-12-16T19:40:26.777+11:002014-12-16T19:40:26.777+11:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com