Kiwi Medals

In the great tradition of “a serviceman and his backpay are soon parted” we bring you tiny novelty underwear. As the demobilisation of the US Forces got underway from September 1945 these troops, soldiers, sailors and airmen were shipped through a small number of West Coast ports on their way back through the system and ultimately home to civilian life. Along the way enterprising merchants attempted to siphon as much of the serviceman’s demob pay as possible and this little item is just one example of the methods they used. I find it kinda interesting because beyond the obvious puns being used here, it also plays to the fear of the cuckold and the “Dear John” letter that servicemen endured.

This entry was posted on January 28, 2017 at 1:49 PM and is filed under Toys with tags Novelty Items, United States, Victory 1945, WW2. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.