Memorial Day began after the Civil War as Decoration Day, so all of the material in Colliers revolved around that conflict. The long prose piece was "Light Bread and Apple Butter." A young Union soldier befriends a southern mother and her children when he helps her with chores, and she gives him apples for his fellow soldiers. The poem was "Barbara Friechie," the old woman in Baltimore who holds out a tattered American flag to the fighting men.
Continued the Looney Tunes shorts during breakfast. Termite Terrace made three types of cartoons during the war years. "The Draft Horse" is an example of a character-based short, in this case a one-off. The title character is badly disappointed when, despite a comic physical, he's unable to join the Army's cavalry corps. He learns just how scary war is - and how everyone has a job to do, even if it isn't on the battlefield - when he gets caught in the middle of war games and ends up fleeing home. We also have "Hollywood Canine Canteen," with its dog caricatures of sailors and soldiers having a good time and of popular celebrities of the era, including ones like radio comedian Ish Kabibble and bandleader Kay Kyser who aren't as well-known today.
The second type of short are sketch comedies revolving around life in the barracks or on the home front. Warners started with these before the US even entered the war; the barracks spoofs "Rookie Revue" and "Meet John Doughboy" came out in October and July 1941 respectively and make fun of the peacetime draft. My favorite is "The Weakly Reporter," on life in the cities and suburbs during the war. I love the woman who fixes a whole factory with her one bobby pin!
The third type are allegories on how we got into the war, and how we planned on winning it. "The Duckinators" uses barnyard fowl to parody the rise of the Axis dictators and how the US finally got involved with their destruction. "Fifth Column Mouse" uses mice and a cunning cat to depict how many countries were easily duped by the Axis powers and how they fought back.
For once, I made it to work just on time. Good thing, too. We were busy as heck for most of the morning. The carts kept vanishing no matter how often I brought them up front, and I had to sweep and put cold items away, too. I never did get to the trash. Thank heavens the weather was stunning today, breezy, sunny, and warm, without a cloud in the searing blue sky. You'd never know how much it's been raining lately.
Since I wasn't planning on doing anything fancy for dinner, I treated myself to lunch and a treat out. Picked up a slice of mushroom pizza, a slice of sausage, and a Diet Pepsi at Phillies Phatties. Enjoyed them in peace and quiet while listening to Spanish-language news on Telemundo. Everyone must have gone to Common Grounds, which was far busier. Got a slice of rich, buttery crumb cake and a Peach Matcha Sparkling Drink - matcha green tea with peach syrup in soda. Oh, yum. It was all so sweet and tasty.
When I got home, I took the laundry downstairs and I finished out the Looney Tunes, then moved on to the Disney wartime shorts. Donald Duck appeared in far and away the most war-related shorts. His first, "Donald Gets Drafted," has him lured by the Army posters that promise glamour and an easy life. He gets neither when Sargent Pete singles him out as incompetent, then makes him stand to attention on an ant hill! "Sky Trooper" continues Donald's longing for the glamorous life of a pilot. After he fails the physical, Pete sends him up with the paratroopers...then regrets it when they both end up tumbling out of the plane.
My favorite of the Donald wartime shorts is "The Vanishing Private." Donald follows Pete's orders to make a cannon "hard to see" a little too literally when he douses it with an invisibility paint. After he ends up in it too, "the little man you can't see" leads Pete on a wild chase all around the camp! "Fall Out, Fall In" gives us Donald's attempt to pitch his tent among the loud snores of his troop mates. He's "Commando Duck" who is sent to a (heavily caricatured) Japan to wipe...no wash...out the enemy.
Donald's most famous wartime short is "Der Fuher's Face." This surreal nightmare, with Donald as a worker in a heavily stylized Nazi Germany, won an Oscar for its wild, creative, terrifying depiction of Nazi propaganda and abuse. Even the title song was a huge hit for comedy orchestra Spike Jones and His City Slickers.
Donald wasn't the only Disney character who went to war. "How to Be a Sailor" has Goofy learning about sailing through the years, then about modern sailing, including semaphore. The "modern" segment ends very obviously with Goofy and war footage. "Victory Vehicles" is a World of Goofy short depicting many different alternatives to cars during the war years. (And Leonard Maltin is right - the song "Hop On Your Pogo Stick" is rather catchy.) Like Bosko, Mickey got involved with World War I in "The Barnyard Battle." Unlike Warners' first star, Mickey's fight with Hun cats is portrayed more humorously, including him using piano keys as bullets in a machine gun.
Partially due to the financial trouble they were in during most of the 40's, the Walter Lantz Studio at Universal didn't dive into war propaganda as often as the other studios at the time. Like Donald, Woody Woodpecker wants to be an "Ace In the Hole" and fly a plane, but his bulldog sergeant has him shaving horses. He definitely regrets it when Woody does finally manage to get in the air. The first in a series of jazz-based Swing Symphony shorts was "21 Dollars a Day Once a Month," This one is another spoof of the peacetime draft, featuring a toy army singing about military life. (Ironically, it was released exactly a week before the US entered the war, making it perhaps more timely than Universal intended.)
The Pink Panther would be one of the only major animated characters to join the Vietnam War in "G.I Pink." Unlike Donald, who was swayed into the Army by the glamour of war, Pink is attracted by the power. Cranky drill sergeants, land-mine-riddled obstacle courses, and angry mascot dogs makes him wish he'd stayed home.
Switched to my America the Beautiful record set after "G.I Pink" ended and I finally remembered to put the laundry in the dryer. This two-disc Reader's Digest collection of patriotic music was released in 1986 in conjunction with the reopening of the Statue of Liberty after her multi-year restoration. We get everything from "The Grand Canyon Suite" to "American Patrol" to Kate Smith singing "God Bless America." The most unique is probably a medley of George M. Cohen hits performed by the Boston Pops, with the audience singing along to the most familiar songs.
Worked on my fanfic while the record was on. Edited and updated Mr. Eldridge and Scott discussing how magic was banned in Wennaria and how finding the remaining Guardians may be the key to driving them out of their land. Scott would search for them, but he's busy with many other activities, including being involved with the Rebel Society. Betty finally says she'll do it. Scott is worried that she's not ready, but Mr. Eldridge thinks it'll be good for her to get out and use her powers in the wider world.
I also added a flashback sequence, depicting how Scott got into trouble in the first place. As in the show, he was a sailor and thief who lied about being friends with the late King Victor in order to get a cushy job. Not only does Betty find out and turn him away, but Pruitt figures it out too...and he wants more than just to throw Scott in the dungeon...
Watched Match Game Syndicated during dinner, after I brought my dry clothes back upstairs and put them away. Sweet game show host Bill Cullen and lovely and witty Lee Merriweather joined in this week. Brett and Charles spent the week sniping at each other, while Betty was more reluctant to answer a question that involved flattening a cat.
Finished the night after a shower at YouTube with a later Family Feud Armed Services tournament. With the US entering another war, this time with Iraq, in 2003, Freemantle revived the Armed Services tournament for the Richard Karn Feud in 2004. This wasn't quite as comprehensive of a battle - there was no final game, and the Coast Guard didn't play - but it did produce some memorable episodes. Once again, the Marines just outplayed everyone, though they didn't do as well at the Fast Money.
Salute those men and women who fought and died in the Iraq War with these later Armed Services Feuds!
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