John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29th 1917
photo: “The Loneliest Job” by George Tames
Happy BirthDay J.F.K.!!
Before December 7th, 1941, few Americans felt that their country belonged in the war. Isolationism was a popular sentiment across the political spectrum, and the nation had remained almost entirely unscathed by the carnage happening on the other sides of the Atlantic and Pacific. America was happy to lease large amounts of war materials to its allies, but that was about as far as most people were willing to go. Then Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Even though it was a near fatal blow to the U.S. Pacific fleet, it was to prove one of the costliest mistakes Japan could make. The sleeping giant had been awakened and the U.S.’s full entry into the war was a foregone conclusion. To galvanize the rage that Americans felt, the government produced one of the most stirring propaganda posters ever made, “Remember December 7th.” A haunting image of a tattered American flag resolutely swaying against a burning black sky, it perfectly captured the emotion of its intended audience. And more importantly, it inspired more than one able-bodied man to visit the local recruiting office.
