''Yank, the Army Weekly'' was a weekly magazine published by the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

History

The idea for the magazine came from

Egbert White During World War II, Egbert White (1894–1976) had a major role in establishing newspapers for US soldiers that were written and edited by enlisted men, not by the Army top command. He had served with the Stars and Stripes newspaper during World ...

, who had worked on the newspaper Stars and Stripes during World War I. He proposed the idea to the Army in early 1942, and accepted a commission as lieutenant colonel. White was the overall commander, Major Franklin S. Forsberg was the business manager and Major Hartzell Spence was the first editor. White was removed from the Yank staff because of disagreements about articles which had appeared. Soon afterward, Spence was also assigned to other duties and Joe McCarthy became the editor. The first issue was published with the cover date of June 17, 1942. The magazine was written by

enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States ...

(EM) soldiers with a few officers as managers, and initially was made available only to the US Army overseas. By the fifth issue of July 15, 1942, it was made available to serving members within the US, however it was never made available on the newsstands for public purchase. YANK's circulation exceeded 2.5 million in 41 countries with 21 editions. The last issue was published on December 28, 1945. Joe McCarthy remained the editor of Yank until the official closure of the office on New Year's Eve 1945.

Trimmingham letter

The magazine's April 28, 1944 edition included a letter from a black corporal, Rupert Trimmingham, complaining that white German prisoners of war were being treated with more respect than black American soldiers. The reaction to the letter was strong and immediate. In a follow-up letter published 28 July 1944, Trimmingham said that he had received 287 letters, 183 from whites, supporting his position. The editors reported that ''Yank'' had received "a great number of comments from GIs, almost all of whom were outraged by the treatment given to the corporal." The same year, the letter inspired a short story by Robert E. McLaughlin, "A Short Wait between Trains," and in 1945, a one-act play by Ruth Moore.

Artists and photographers

Sketch artists such as Robert Greenhalgh, Victor Kalin and Howard Brodie worked on the magazine, which also featured the " G.I. Joe" cartoons by

Dave Breger Irving David Breger (April 15, 1908 – January 16, 1970) was an American cartoonist who created the syndicated ''Mister Breger'' (1945–1970), a gag panel series and Sunday comic strip known earlier as ''Private Breger'' and '' G.I. Joe''. The ...

and the '' Sad Sack'' cartoons by Sgt. George Baker. The cartoons of

Bil Keane William Aloysius "Bil" Keane (October 5, 1922 – November 8, 2011) was an American cartoonist most notable for his work on the newspaper comic '' The Family Circus''. It began in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Kea ...

Family Circus ''The Family Circus'' (originally ''The Family Circle'', also ''Family-Go-Round'') is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and, since Bil's death in 2011, is currently written, inked, and rendered (colored) by his son, Jef ...

were featured in "Yank," and artist and author Jack Coggins spent over two years with the publication, first in New York, then in London, producing illustrations and articles in more than 24 issues. John Bushemi was a photographer, who photographed the Pacific War and provided covers for ''Yank''.

Revival

In 2014, the 1st

Stryker The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. I ...

Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division,

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor, Ft. Bliss h ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, revived ''Yank'' as the official publication for the brigade. Each cover of the 1/1 ''Yank'' features Soldiers from the brigade recreating a cover photo from the original ''Yank'' magazine.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Weekly magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1942 Magazines disestablished in 1945 Military magazines published in the United States World War II and the media United States Army publications