Transcript Women Depicted in World War II

Women Depicted in U.S. Air Force
World War II Artifacts
National Museum of the United States Air Force
Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
Anne Proescholdt
Luther College Concert Band Tour
October 2010
Mrs. Aldaflak Bomber
Jacket
Note the play on words, Mrs. Aldaflak’s
bare buttocks, and the number of
bombs dropped by this person (or
squadron).
Mrs. Aldaflak Bomber
Jacket Description
Note that jacket artwork was done by
squadron members.
Queen of Hearts Insignia
Note full nudity and sexual pose. The
insignia was painted on both bomb
squadron jackets and aircraft.
The Knockout Drops
Bomber Jacket
Note the play on words, the naked
woman in the wineglass, and that the
drops of wine turn into bombs.
The Knockout Drops
Bomber Jacket Description
Note that this description refers to the
artwork as “appropriate” for the
nickname of the squadron.
Women Airforce Service
Pilots (WASP)
This was one of the artifacts
“honoring” women’s service in the U.S.
Air Force during World War II.
Women Airforce Service
Pilots (WASP)
This was one of the artifacts
“honoring” women’s service in the U.S.
Air Force during World War II. Note the
name of their aircraft.
Strawberry Bitch Bomber
Note that the name of this aircraft says
it all…
Strawberry Bitch Bomber
…but that pictures are louder than
words (this is the opposite side of the
aircraft).
Shoo Shoo Shoo BABY
Bomber
Is this aircraft teasing us with a jazz
ballad and a topless woman?!
Moon Light Serenade
Aircraft
“Moonlight Serenade” was a popular
song composed by jazz legend Glenn
Miller in 1939. Miller was a renowned
trombonist and led his own jazz band,
The Glenn Miller Orchestra. He joined
the war effort in 1942 and formed and
directed the U.S. Army Air Force Band.
Bockscar Bomber
This aircraft dropped the atomic bomb
on Nagasaki, Japan.
Bockscar Bomber
Description
The Bockscar dropped the “Fat Man”
on Nagasaki, Japan.
Little Boy Atomic Bomb
This is the (demilitarized and repaired)
atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima,
Japan.
Little Boy Atomic Bomb
Description
The “Little Boy” was the atomic bomb
dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
Remembering What War Does:
A Plea for Peace
Peace Memorial Park
Hiroshima, Japan
Anne Proescholdt
Luther College Concert Band Tour
June 2010
Atomic Bomb Dome
Just one of the countless horrific
consequences of the “Little Boy.”
Children’s Peace
Monument
This statue, based on the true story of
Sadako Sasaki, is dedicated to the
forgotten victims of war: children.
Memorial Cenotaph
The cenotaph contains the names of
those who were killed by the “Little
Boy.” Note the Atomic Bomb Dome in
the background.
Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Museum
The museum contains an
overwhelming amount of memorabilia
and pictures of the bombing and its
effects. It stands as a memorial,
educational institution, and plea for
peace and the destruction of all
nuclear bombs.
Author’s Statement
The objectification of women has plagued the world for centuries, but I was dumbfounded to find the explicitly demeaning
artifacts I found in the National Museum of the United States Air Force’s World War II wing. If ever there was a way to quite
literally turn women into objects! And objects of killing, no less! (Especially when it was primarily men who organized and
carried on with it!) My disgust only increased as I gawked at the puny exhibit in tribute to the women of the U.S. Air Force in
World War II. I was more or less livid by the end of my visit at the museum, as I did not find even a placard attempting to explain
in an “historical and educational manner” the offensive images of the past—let alone apologizing and outlining the steps that
the U.S. Air Force has since taken to advance the status of women. Perhaps I did not look hard enough—but the very fact that no
admission of any wrongdoing garnered a feature in the first place speaks volumes.
In fact, few consequences of war beyond U.S. victory were memorialized in the World War II wing. Talk about a contrast when
put up against the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum!
After having visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial just a few months prior, I found it extremely difficult to stand before the
Bockscar, the aircraft which dropped the bomb on Nagasaki. As creepy as it was to stand in the Bockscar’s presence, I made
myself spend at least ten minutes inspecting it from every angle—as if trying to find a sign of at least a little American guilt
hidden under a wing or inside of the cockpit. Later, I mentioned my discomfort to a fellow band member. He responded in the
same way that the National Museum of the United States Air Force exhibit had: "But it ended the war, Anne! That was a good
thing!" Sure. But, I still do not understand why so many innocent people had to die in order to do so. I doubt that anyone wants
to die of a nuclear attack, but I certainly would not want to survive long enough afterward to live out my resulting nightmares, as
the survivors of Hiroshima did. To this day, I cannot shake from my mind the mental image of an exhibit in the Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Museum depicting wailing children made of wax, surrounded by rubble, their clothes in tatters, flesh literally dripping
off of their bodies. If ever the United States is attacked with a nuclear warhead, I will run toward the bomb. I am convinced that
it is better to vaporize instantly than to melt a slow and painful death.
My Japanese home stay families are far from villainous. They are some of the kindest people I have ever met. People are people
everywhere you go in the world. What choice do we have but to treat each other as such?!