My Buddy: World War II Laid Bare

by Dian Hanson (Editor)

Every harrowing day for a serviceman during World War II was potentially his last. To help bolster troops against the horrors of combat, commanders encouraged them to form tight “buddy” relationships for emotional support. Many war buddies, together every moment, and depending on each other to survive, formed intimate friendships. When they weren’t fighting side by side, they relaxed together, discharging tension in boisterous―sometimes naked―play. The full extent of nude horseplay among men during World War II can’t be known, as cameras were rare and film hard to process, but some men did document this unprecedented male bonding in small, anonymous photos mostly kept hidden away until their deaths. Los Angeles photographer Michael Stokes has spent years searching out these photos and building an archive of over 500 images. His collection includes soldiers and sailors from Australia, England, France, Italy, Poland, Russia, and the USA, cavorting on the sand in the South Pacific, shivering in the snow of Eastern Europe, posing solo in the barracks, and in great happy groups just about everywhere. These images show men barely out of boyhood, at their physical peak, responding to the reality of battle by living each day to the fullest―a side of the war never before made public. The introduction is by Scotty Bowers, an 89-year-old ex-Marine and author of Full Service, the best-selling memoir of his sexual exploits in Hollywood, and how the war forever altered his attitudes about gay and straight, just as these photos may alter our attitudes about World War II and war buddies.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, LGBT, History, Queer, Gay, Art

319 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2014

About the author

Dian Hanson (born November 2, 1951) began her publishing career as an American pornographic magazine editor, historian, and occasional model, helping found the 1970s hardcore journal Puritan, then moving on to Partner, OUI, Adult Cinema Review, Outlaw Biker and Big Butt, among others. She was most famously the editor of Juggs and Leg Show sexual fetish magazines from 1987–2001.

Reviews

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love working in a large public library because sometimes a book will pass through my hands and I’ll become intrigued, even though it’s on a topic I never would have considered reading about. This is definitely one such book. In fact, it’s probably the most “outside of my orbit” book I’ve ever picked up.

This is a documentation of an aspect of war (WWII mostly) and the military that I had absolutely NO knowledge of: nude photography and military personnel. First of all, who on earth took all these photos of the soldiers? And why are all these soldiers frolicking around naked during wartime? And posing naked for photos? Are they some sort of homoerotic statement? And, and….? I just had so many questions that needed to be answered, and this book did indeed answer them. It also gave me insight into the whole “buddy” system that’s used in the military, and how important those relationships become to the soldiers.

Educational and mind blowing. In a good way.

[Garrick Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

In recent years, the ranks of men who served during WW2 are becoming thinner. As each passes away, his children or grandchildren are starting to discover the private photographs that we all keep. A large number of intimate wartime photographs are starting to see the light of day and in our freer, less judgmental society, families are happier to share such intimate photographs.

This collection of photographs is the tip of the iceberg. Every day new shots of men and their buddies seem to surface either for sale on Ebay or on online forums. The book is handsomely produced, and well designed, with English, French, and German translations of each of the sections of text. How I wish that more specific information about each of the photographs had been included. Impossible, I'm sure, but I can't help to think how much that might have enhanced this volume.

[Frederic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding documentation of a relatively scarce and not well known genre: nude photography of and by military personnel. As developed in the text, these were not intended as homoerotic statements but as horse-play and the realities of life in the field. Although the title is specific to WWII, there are also images here from WWI, Korea, and Vietnam, and also period advertisements related to the theme. And the usual Taschen and Dian Hanson attention to detail and production quality.

[Charles Houser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected a little more from both the pictures and the text. I don't think much meaning can be extracted from snapshots taken of and by war combatants at play and rest, but it's gratifying that the assembler of this volume doesn't seem compelled to over-analyze it. Homoerotic, for sure; homosexual or gay, for most of the subjects and their peer (pun intended) photographers, probably not. Best photo is on the cover.

[Tinker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book could have had more text but I still learn new things about buddy system in the military. This aspect of the war is something I have not read anything before. Interesting documentation of the military life in the wartime.

[Xavier · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 well they sure laid bare!

[Dade Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing collection

[Mills College Library]

940.548 M9952 2014

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This title is a good read for any other servicemen who have served in close quarters with their "brothers in arms". I cannot even imagine the lifes-saving bonds forged while in the service during wartime. It gives a new meaning to the terms buddy...and NOT in a romantic sense. These relationships transcend all others... The best quote that typifies this is " he who takes up arms against mine enemy is my brother"

Mos Def a very good read.

(Thanks Sony or a great gift)