“WWII War Paint”

Collectors Weekly is showcasing some absolutely stunning hand-painted bomber jackets from WWII, and the (often) kids who wore them:

“I’ve talked to people who, when they got back from the war, hung their jacket up in the closet because they wouldn’t dare ever wear it in public again,” says John Conway, co-author of Schiffer Books’ American Flight Jackets and Art of the Flight Jacket. “When you’re a teenager and you’re 3,000 miles from home, having a naked lady painted on the back of your jacket is not that big a deal. But you wouldn’t want your mom to see it.”

There’s some interesting stuff on the personalization of military garb throughout the ages, too, and on “blood chits.” Really, I learned a whole lot. And then I started reading about old condom tins and forgot to make dinner.