LIFE Goes to War
"Though we did not plan LIFE as a war magazine, it turned
out
that way."
-Henry R. Luce (Wainwright 121)
While LIFE magazine was in the creation process, people such as Dan
Longwell, a pioneer of the magazine and later a second editor,
encouraged Luce to get a move on his new picture magazine. Longwell saw
the opportunity to capitalize on the coming conflicts such as Italy's
predicted assault on Ethiopia. (Wainwright 121)
"A war, any sort of war, is going to be a natural promotion."
Dan Longwell to Henry Luce, 1935 (Wainwright 121)
Excerpts and Pictures from some Wartime Magazines
Dec. 15, 1941
WAR
JAPAN LAUNCHES RECKLESS ATTACK ON U.S.
IN DESPERATE GAMBLE ON
VICTORY OR SUICIDE IT STRIKES FIRST BLOW AT HAWAII
Dec. 22, 1941 - U.S. Goes to War
by George A. Douglas
caption from a picture in the Dec.22 issue:
These 30 Americans... were killed in action in
Japan's surprise bombardment of Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7. They are only a few
of the total casualties, now estimated at 3,000, and their names are
among
the last to appear in a public casuality list for the war's duration.
Speaking for the Army and the Navy, President Roosevelt declared last week
that hereafter radios and newspapers should refrain from announcing
complete lists of dead or wounded, for such lists would give useful
information to the enemy.
March 16, 1942 - Infantryman
by George Strach
excerpt by St. Clair McKelway:
He learned that his rifle must not be cleaned from the
muzzle... He found out how to lay out his pack for inspection, how to
clean
spots from his clothes... how to carry wounded and injured. He
discovered,
too, that every soldier should know how to make his
will.
Other Images
left: "Marine on Saipan" - 1944 Eugene Smith
--A marine during the
final days of the Saipan Invasion
right: "V-J Day in Chicago" - August 14,1945 - George Custer
--A jubilant crowd holds up newspapers proclaiming Japan's surrender on
Chicago's State Street.
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