Pin-ups of Yank, the Army Weekly

Yank, the Army Weekly was a weekly magazine published from 1942 through 1945 and distributed to members of the American military during World War II. Yank included war news, photography, and other features. It had a circulation of more than 2.6 million. One of its most popular features, intended to boost the morale of military personnel serving overseas, was the weekly publication of a pin-up photograph.

A feature story in Parade published in 1945 noted: "Excellent war reporting and photography, serious discussions of postwar problems and the now famous Sad Sack cartoons have made Yank welcome on far-flung battle lines. But the page most often torn out and tacked up for future reference on barrack walls and foot lockers is the one bearing the official insigne, 'Yank Pin-Up Girl.

Yank pin-ups were distributed to locations worldwide where American soldiers, sailors, and Marines were serving. In 1944, the Associated Press published a report that pin-up pictures from Yank were discovered on display on the wall of the chief's hut in a remote jungle village in Burma. According to an account published by the Central Press, American pilots in the Pacific planned to drop Yank pin-up photographs to Japanese soldiers with the inscription: "Eat your hearts out . . . Here's what we are fighting for."

The models


The women who posed for the pin-ups included both famous and unknown actresses, dancers, athletes, and models. Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth, the most famous pin-up models of World War II, both appeared in Yank pin-ups. Grable appeared in June 1943 wearing a patriotic outfit standing in front of a large drum, and Hayworth in November 1943 in a black dress seated on steps decorated with musical notes and again in July 1944 wearing a two-piece bathing suit.

Other famous actresses featured as Yank pin-ups included Lauren Bacall (November 1944), Ava Gardner (September 1943), Ingrid Bergman (April 1944 and March 1945), Gene Tierney (February 1944 and March 1945), Jane Russell (January 1943, March 1943 (credited as "The Best-known Eyes in the Army"), and September 1945), Susan Hayward (October 1945), Donna Reed (April 1943 and November 1945), and Lucille Ball (July 1943 and March 1945). The women included as Yank pin-ups included at least two African-Americans: pianist and singer Hazel Scott (March 1943) and singer/actress Lena Horne (July 1943). A few women appeared three times as Yank pin-ups. They included actresses Ramsay Ames, Dusty Anderson, Anne Gwynne, Dolores Moran, and Jane Russell, big-band singer Janet Blair, and swimming champion and actress Esther Williams.

The models featured as Yank pin-ups included one man. In the May 30, 1943 issue, Yank featured a cover photograph of a soldier with the caption: "Pin-up for WAACs. This dog-tagged Dorothy Lamour is S Sgt. Charles Gardocki, and he's sweating out the war somewhere in the Pacific. Hirsute, h'ain't he?" In the issue dated August 24, 1945, published less than two weeks after Victory over Japan Day, Yank featured the Statue of Liberty as its first non-human "pin-up girl".

The following is a list of the women (and one man) featured in Yank pin-ups: