From the WWII battlefield to Donna Reed

During World War II, while being miles away from home, many American soldiers sent letters to their favourite actresses, asking them for pin-up photos and telling them about life on the war front. (It was during WWII that the term "pin-up" was coined, with soldiers literally pinning up photos on lockers and walls of barracks.) For the soldiers the pin-up actresses were a symbol of home, a reminder of what they were fighting for. For the actresses who posed for pin-up photos or wrote letters to lonely soldiers, it was a way to contribute to the war effort. The pin-ups were a huge morale booster for the troops, so it's no surprise that the creation and distribution of photos, magazines and calendars was encouraged by the US Army.

Probably the most famous pin-up actress during WWII was Betty Grable. Her now iconic photo (see left) was distributed to the troops in large numbers, five million copies having been provided by Grable's studio 20th Century-Fox. Other famous, sexy pin-up girls included Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner, Hedy Lamarr and Jane Russell. For a lot of soldiers, however, their favourite pin-up was not the sexy, sultry type but the type they'd most like to come home to. A farm girl from Iowa, Donna Reed belonged to the latter type. She was the girl next door who, according to biographer Jay Fultz, "probably came closer than any other actress to being the archetypal sweetheart, wife and mother".

Donna Reed's wholesome, ordinary girl image prompted many a soldier to write to her and confide in her, as if they were writing to a girl back home. After Reed's death in 1986, it came to light that she had kept about 350 letters from soldiers, secretly hidden in a shoebox. Reed's daughter Mary Owen, who made the letters public, said that her mother had never mentioned them. Still, they must have made an impact on young Donna, who was only 20 years old when America entered the war, about the same age as the majority of the soldiers.

One of the letters Donna Reed had kept in her shoebox was from Lieutenant Norman Klinker (as shown below). In April 1943, 24-year-old Klinker wrote to Reed after he had received a reply from her to an earlier letter. Stationed in North Africa, Klinker commented on his life on the front lines ("One thing I promise you - life on the battlefield is a wee bit different from the "movie" version"). The letter is especially poignant knowing that Klinker did not survive the war. He was killed in action in Italy on 6 January 1944.

Source: The New York Times

Transcript:

MISS DONNA REED
2304 S. BEVERLY GLEN
LOS ANGELES
CALIFORNIA

LT. N.P. KLINKER
91ST ARMO. F.A. BN.
APO 251, c/o PM, NYC
April 12th, I think

Dear Donna,

Have just received your letter from the eight of December. And believe me or no, it was the first piece of mail I have received in the past two months. By the sound of your tale, life in the old U.S. is not quite as fine as it used to be. But I honestly feel that it is better than eating the same 3 meals out of the same 3 C-Ration cans for a month or three.

We have been in action for some time here in North Africa, you see. Quite an interesting and a heartless life at one and the same time. One thing I promise you - life on the battlefield is a wee bit different from the "movie" version. Tough and bloody and dirty as it is at times. There is none of that grim and worried feeling so rampant in war pictures. It's a matter-of-fact life we live and talk here. And here for the first time no one has the "jitters." 

I hear you have done your part and done got married. Congratulations and good luck! See you in your next "pic."

Sincerely,

Norman Klinker

P.S. Can hardly wait for four years tho - no "pics" here.

This post is my contribution to THE WORLD WAR II BLOGATHON, hosted by MADDY LOVES HER CLASSIC FILMS and CINEMA ESSENTIALS. Click HERE and HERE to read all the entries!