World War II took American boys to far-flung places and some rough
duty. For many, mail came infrequently at best, and at times it held
only a Dear John letter.
The troops were desperate for some link to home, some reminder of
what they were fighting for.
Betty Grable and her million-dollar legs were the perfect balm for
what ailed ’em, and this 1942 pinup of the easygoing girl with
oodles of back-home charm, and other assets, made the war seem a
little more bearable.
Sexy pinups later grew to poster size, perhaps most memorably in the
endlessly reproduced portrait of Farrah Fawcett.
