Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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ll-IIIKIKKKKIRIIISKKKKKKUCEKUIIIII-lil-K Humor has been very much alive, l10t only here, but all over the world during the war. Naturally most of it has arisen out of the situations of war. We find interesting diferences, how- ever, among the various countries as to the types and targets of war humor. For instance, the Americans and the British have the admirable quality of being able to laugh at themselves while the Russians used the enemy as the chief target. The Germans often ridi- culed themselves but most of their self- ridicule was unintentional and the oc- cupied countries, of course, used the Germans as targets for their satire. Americans usually tell jokes satir- izing the home front, conditions in the service, or draft boards and selec- tees. The British do this also but their humor is more polite than ours. A11 example of our humor concern- ing our home front is the following. It satirizes the first-aid courses taken by many people during the early days of the war. At a crowded Broadway first night early in the season, a member of the audience was suddenly overcome by the heat, and fell to the floor of the lobby in a dead faint. 'Step aside, cried a stout lady officiously. I am a first-aid student and I know how to give him artificial respiration. ' ' Her husband blanched with fear and pulled her by the arm. For Heaven 's sakesf' he implored, Hdonit do that to a sick man. C The British have a more courteous way of exhibiting such humor. Here is an example of ho wa Briton satir- ized the rising costs of hotel rooms in America. A young officer of the British Mer- chant Marine had put into port at New York. Members of the British Mer- chant Marine are provided with very little pocket money for shore leave and this oificer was no exception. Never- theless, he decided to put up at a famous Park Avenue hotel. When he registered, he neglected to inquire what the daily room rate would be. On the morning of his departure he was pre- sented with his bill. He gazed at it a moment and then sought the cashier. Am I correct, he asked, 'tin as- suming that suggestions from your pa- trons are welcome? They certainly are, said the cash- ier. Hasn,t everything been going satisfactorily ? I' ' Everything has been fine, agreed the officer, but I have noticed that you have a sign posted in all your rooms which reads, 'Have you left auything?' May I suggest that you alter the phraseology of the signs a bit so that they read, 'Have you any- thing left?' Army cooking has been the butt of many jokes connected with Army life. Ilere is an example of one of these. Outside the mess hall of Fort Devens a private approached an officer and saluted. Looking very disgusted hc said, Lieutenant, I have a complaint

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was in close contact with Allied Head- quarters. As the underground struggled on- ward, the British began dropping them guns, food, and ammunition. It even- tually became so important as a source of information about German move- ments, that a map of France was kept at Allied Headquarters in London with red dots indicating where patriots were trained, supplied, and ready for the signal of D-Day. Credit must be given to the French people who risked everything to keep their liberty. They fought for four long hard years while being hunted and living without adequate food and shelter. Their valor will always be an inspiration to freedom-loving people. Joan of Arc's answer to one of her judges as to whether or not she hated the enemy is significant of France's unconquerable spirit: I don 't know, she said, but I know they shall be turned out of France except those who shall die there. - HUMOR IN WORLD WAR II By Chester Bowen UMOR is a great thing. W'ar, the most harsh and abominable busi- ness in the world, cannot eradicate it. Although the whole world has been engaged in war, effecting great con- flagrations in some places, unprece- dented sacrifices and grief in others, and the devastation of some of man's greatest achievements, still humor has managed to survive. Perhaps it is not amiss to ask why it has been able to survive amidst all these adverse condi- tions. It may be that people deem it necessary as a means of escape in such tragic times or perhaps it is so much a part of the nature of some people that even the horrors of war are not sufficient to repress it. Although some morose cynics may think it unpatriotic to laugh while such calamity is present in the world, most people feel the same as Bennett Cerf, the nationally known humorist, who says, We will die if We must, sacrifice everything, but surely and nobody will begrudge us a hearty laugh or two in the doingfl And thanks to the fact that most people agree with him, humor has played an important part in raising morale during the war and in that way helping the war eiortg for it is a known psychological fact that people will work more willingly and accomplish more when their morale is high.

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to make. Just taste this. He put a spoonful of a certain liquid to the Lieu- tenant 's lips. The Lieutenant tasted the liquid and said, What's the matter with that? I think that is very fine soup. The private replied, Yeah, that's what l told the mess sergeant. He said it was coffee. Selectees and draft boards in the United States have been the subjects of innumerable jokes also. One of the old chestnuts pertaining to these is the one told about the determined selec- tee who approached his draft board officer with the remark, They can't make me fight! To which the draft board officer re- plied, Maybe not, but they can take you where the fighting is and you can use your own judgment. The following one satirizes the ex- aminations, or lack of examinations. which the draft board oficers were giving selectees when men were badly needed. A young man, classified in 1-A, was examined by the local draft board's doctor. Does this mean I'm in the Army? he asked. Me, with my bad eyes? You're in, said the doctor, un- less they flunk you at the Army Medi- cal Office at Governor's Island. How bad must my vision be before they flunk me at Governoris Island? asked the nervous selectee. The way they 're taking 'em now, said the doctor, if you can find Gov- ernor's Island, you're in! British War humor is similar to ours in directing its darts at home front shortages, high prices, and travel con- ditions. However, as was mentioned before, Britons are more polite in lampooning these things than Ameri- cans are. They are also a little more indirect although the satire is still easily apparent. The following is an example of a Briton's treatment of the food shortage. An English officer, home on leave, went to a fashionable West End res- taurant, expecting to sit down to a hearty meal. He gave his order to the waiter as follows: UI should like a porterhouse steak drowned in mush- rooms, with some delicately browned toast and plenty of butter. The waiter retorted, Pardon me, sir, are you trying to order or just reminiscing? ' ' But there was one subject about which the British could joke that Americans, never having experienced bombing, could not. Being bombed is not usually considered conducive to the display of humor but the British, with their indomitable spirit, managed to see the lighter side of the blitz at times. For example, a middle-aged London woman one day early in 1942, during a lull in the Luftwaffeis activi- ties, told Mrs. Vincent Sheean, wife of the famous author: You know, I think a lot of us here really miss the blitz. Those nasty Jerries certainly took our minds off the war.