John Hartzell Spence (February 15, 1908 – May 9, 2001) was an American writer and founding editor of ''

Yank, the Army Weekly ''Yank, the Army Weekly'' was a weekly magazine published by the United States military during World War II. One of its most popular features, intended to boost the morale of military personnel serving overseas, was the weekly publication of a ...

'', a weekly magazine published by the United States military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He is credited with coining the term "

pinup A pin-up model is a model (person), model whose mass-produced pictures and photographs have wide appeal within the popular culture of a society. Pin-up models are usually glamour photography, glamour, actresses, or fashion models whose pictures ...

". Born in

Clarion, Iowa Clarion is a city in and the county seat of Wright County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,810 at the time of the 2020 census. History Clarion is the birthplace of the four-leaf clover emblem used by the 4-H Clubs of America, conc ...

, he studied journalism at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

graduating in 1930, and he then started working with the United Press until World War II when he became editor of Yank. After World War II, he retired to his farm "Gaston Hall" near

Orange, Virginia Orange is a town and the county seat of Orange County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,880 at the 2020 census, representing a 3.4% increase since the 2010 census. Orange is northeast of Charlottesville, southwest of Washington, ...

. ''Happily Ever After'', his book about his farming adventures, was published in 1949. Also in 1949, he became one of the original stockholders in WJMA Radi

in Orange, Virginia. He wrote the memoir ''

One Foot in Heaven ''One Foot in Heaven'' is a 1941 American biographical drama film directed by Irving Rapper and starring Fredric March, Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi, Gene Lockhart and Elisabeth Fraser. The film was adapted by Casey Robinson from the autobi ...

'', which was made into a 1941 film. He also wrote the sequel ''Get Thee Behind Me''. He also wrote ''Vain Shadow'' (1947), a romantic biography of the Spanish conquistador

Francisco de Orellana Francisco de Orellana (; 1511 – November 1546) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. In one of the most improbably successful voyages in known history, Orellana managed to sail the length of the Amazon, arriving at the river's mouth on 24 A ...

. In the introduction, Spence wrote: "Vast stretches of the Amazon River remain today exactly as they were four hundred years ago, when Orellana first saw them. The descriptions of the river in this book are as I myself saw it in 1941, and as you may see it if you will go there now. Within the past decade, a scientific expedition into the upper basin, bearing the most modern equipment known to civilized man, was forced by fierce savages and fiercer sicknesses, to flee the jungle. Yet Orellana, without medicines, maps, or scientific data, without even knowing where he was, transiently mastered the river four hundred years ago, an incredible achievement in the light of modern knowledge."

References

External links

Hartzell Spence Papers
are housed at University Of Iowa Special Collections & Archives 1908 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American newspaper editors Writers from Cedar Rapids, Iowa University of Iowa alumni People from Marion, Iowa 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Iowa People from Orange County, Virginia 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers {{US-journalist-1900s-stub