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“Risque” nose art

“Risque” nose art

Believe it or not, whenever any of our magazines show a scale model or full-size plane with even slightly “risque” nose art, I can practically guarantee that I’ll get a few letters from concerned parents who are upset that they have to censor our publication before giving it to their young sons. Modelers will know that the nose art that comes with most ARFs is pretty tame, and all of the scale models I’ve seen have nose art that appears to be in very good taste compared with some of the more interesting art that adorned some warbirds. In one letter, a mom even explained that she and her husband were protecting their young sons from the modern sexual exploitation of women and were raising them to follow the manners and traditions of the “good old days” when women were treated with respect. No, I didn’t write back to explain that the nose art she was complaining about was drawn in the “good old days” of the ’40s … you can’t argue with crazy. In hindsight, I should have taken the opportunity to share the history of aircraft nose art with her, and encouraged her to use that opportunity to discuss WW II with her sons and what those young men, so far away from home, were trying to create when they painted those “risque” pinup girls on their planes. “Briefing Time” on a B-25 has a great double meaning, and I hope it brought a smile to her crew and was a reminder of the good things waiting for them back home. What do you think?

Updated: July 29, 2015 — 11:42 AM


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  1. I often wonder “what have we become?’
    Seat belts, bicycle helmets, automatic car door locks and headlights that take away our need to think, (maybe that,s why the contemporary human is losing the ability to think),and the FDA’s allowable amount of ecoli in the food we eat.
    Please bring back the GOOD old days.

    1. I completely agree. I am in my late 20’s and constantly shake my head at the amount of coddling/lack of reason going on in society on a daily basis. RIP Common Sense. God Bless our service men and women. Never forget where we came from…..And most of all never forget the Good ‘Ol Days….and yes, I see the irony in the fact that I’m not that old. (There are still a few young people out there who can see the forest for the trees!)

  2. Back in the late 60s there was a similar complaint about a girl in a bathing costume standing beside a drag racer in a British hot rod magazine.
    I was so incensed that I wrote a long reply. Among other things that I said was that they must cover their son’s eyes when they travelled anywhere because there were far more revealing posters stuck on wall everywhere.
    I also pointed out that making such a big deal out of hiding things would only make their son more interested in finding out what they were hiding and why.
    I could make some more comments but they would probably result in this reply being deleted.

  3. The B-25 “Briefing Time” can be seen in Reading,PA at the MAAM (Mid Atlantic Air Museum”) in all her glory.

  4. Debra, great piece.

    With all possible respect for the servicemen, things aren’t what they used to be and perhaps never were. Pining for a simpler life is admirable, but I doubt raising children to a naive and idealized view of the past is going to prepare them well for life outside the walled garden…

  5. These parents that are so scared their precious sons might see a breast or a butt are the same parents that let their kids watch movies and play video games that are full of violence, murder and crime. When was the last time a lady on the nose of a plane hurt anyone?

    “Johnny stop looking at that airplane and get back in the living room and finish your game of Grand Theft Auto before dinner, you have 3 more hoes to kill and 4 more cars to steal before you get to the next level”

  6. Let history be what it is. War is bad. But don’t censor it.

  7. If a parent is going to worry about obscenity, they should look at the greater obscenity of war itself. es, I know that WWII was a noble cause for our side, but it sure as hell was an obscenity for the Germans and Japanese. Remember Hari Seldon’s dictum “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent”.

  8. The only thing I seem to take away from your post is that you have no regard for people who may disagree with you. Even if this mom was wrong about the “good ole’ days”, calling her crazy because she want’s to raise her sons to be gentlemen is is also wrong. Two wrongs don’t make a right, but three rights make a left.


    1. Keith. 3 left make an extreme right, which by your own comment is obviously where you stand. Debra was merely pointing out how ignorant and sometimes borderline ridiculous some people can be when it comes to history and other vital things. Our hobby is inspire by the real planes that they are model after, if in the process of recreating a “SCALE MODEL” of a piece of history like these “SCALE MODELS” are and that includes a pinup with a beautiful lady on it so be it. “It is what it is”

      1. “Crazy” is a very good description. As parents it is our responsibility to guide our children and teach the values they need. Not to be like China and sensor it from them. The outside world does not care what our values are as parents and our children need to recognize that and be able to adjust their view point. Without exposure to it how can they learn from it. Our society wastes so much time making up for the lack of accountability of individuals and parents. I agree with Debra that this parent is “crazy” to think the world needs to adjust to her view point. She is out numbered 4 billion to one.

  9. It’s absurd to be censoring a painted on (or stuck on as it may be) drawing of a woman clad in scanty clothing because one or two individuals find it offensive. With every turn we take in today’s society there are far more risque images being thrown at our children. It’s not like the WWII nose art images are full spread indecent. I guess whoever feels it necessary to censor these images from their children must never take their kids to the beach or a swimming pool, or perhaps they themselves never get dressed in a bathing suit or bikini. Our society has been turned on its head with regard to individual rights and as such has interfered with the rights of the masses over the individuals rights. If a parent is soooooo easily offended and up tight about this, it’s the parent’s responsibility to shield their child, not the greater society.

  10. As a 23 year Air force Vet, I get really burned up with people who want to change history because they are prudes. It is a scale aircraft and scale includes the proper markings of the day, like in yesterday not today.! If a picture on the side of a model airplane offends you, get a black marker and censor it, or just get over it.
    Viet Nam vet.

  11. The voice of sanity. Thank you. This reminds me of complaints that came in a few years ago about using the Swastika on scale models of WWII German planes. Just because we may not like it (BTW I love WWII nose art) it doesn’t change the past. Swastikas and nose art are history. They are fact, There are too many other things in this world that should offend us. I agree with you. This is a good opportunity to tell your kids about the war and its horrors. Not to shield them form it.

  12. Like you said Debra, you can’t argue with crazy. You’d be wasting your breath.

  13. so what is wrong with parents doing their job. If they dont want their kids to see this stuff then as a parent it is their responsibility to either shield them form it or explain the history behind those things that they may find offensive. No one ever said that being a parent was going to be easy. When people stop being PC and so sensitive and call a spade a sspade, the world will be a better place. If the nose art makes you as a parent sit down and talk with your children……..then something good has come of it.

  14. Whenever I run across a person of radical opinion I try to remember to just smile, nod my head and go on about my business. Trying to change an extremists opinion is like tring to take meat from a tiger’s mouth. A person convinced against their will is of the same opinion still.

  15. I guess the Right will soon tell us that the Liberals put all that ““Risque” nose art” on the planes.

  16. I remember when some model magazines pointedly reduced cover and ad art that objectified women, in response to complaints from equality minded readers. Some of that was probably good, but as you point out, this is not just art, it’s history. There will always be folks for whom too much restraint is not enough; they want to deny nature. Speaking as a sometime adolescent male, I’m pretty sure if a boy never sees any leg, at some point ankles will drive him wild.

  17. This is one of those things that really gets under my skin. These crazy parents that think everything should be customized for their spoiled kids. It’s simple, control whatever you don’t want your kids see and don’t expect someone else to do it for you. Here’s the kicker, trust me they find plenty more then nose art to look at on the internet. Finally, do we have to live in a controlled glass bubble and isn’t that what is wrong? You can’t filter everything, it’s called life.

  18. History is what it is. If the nose art depicted on the plane(s) are true to the full scale aircraft, then let it be. Show it, just like you show the guns, landing gear and cockpit. They are all part of the plane.
    Nose art is, was, part of the plane, which flew in the war, and is part of any restoration. Leave it as true to the full scale as possible.
    If you start trying to edit history, what is next? What historical event will be down played or simply listed as, “did not happen”. This is an extreme statement, however it starts small and then the scope expands to include more and more. I am tired of the powers to be, editing and trying to make something politically correct for the time.
    Are these, who are complaining about the nose art, also complaining about the catalogs which show men and women in undergarments? What about the TV commercials for birth control, condoms and other natural monthly events? Lets not forget about the art hanging in the museums and galleries. Watch a TV commercial. I see many every evening that show more skin and suggestive behavior than you will see on a painted rendition, not an actual photograph or real person, of what the pilot had named their plane, back in 194X. Get a life.. There are so many other issues that we need to correct, Look at the economy and how disjointed Washington DC is from society.
    Leave the nose art as it was painted on the full scale.

  19. Debra,

    You are right, you can’t argue with crazy. You also do not have to respond to it in a way that would enlighten them. Mostly just a thank you for your comments will do. Engaging with them is usually ends up being a waist of your time.

  20. The WWII service men’s pinup of Miz Russell was not popular because they admired her cashmere sweaters. This lady is why some folks like clergymen get caught with pornography. Time to lighten up. Personally, my B-25 is properly adorned.

  21. There are always people that will complain, if the wish to censor what their kids read it is their business. Nose art is part of history and if you are doing a scale aircraft it is part of that aircraft. Lately many manufacturers of rtfs and arfs have been leaving off the swastika emblem on WWII German aircraft making them historically incorrect. Sensitivity should not change history

  22. I feel sorry for children who grow up with overprotective parents. It’s no wonder kids can’t deal with reality when they get older, and then rebel as teenagers. I’m only 30, and I am thankful my parents let me taste the “real world” when I was young. They shielded my older sibilings, and talk about rebellion! I was quite studious and also a varsity athlete, and was allowed to view anything but full nudity or violent murder as a kid. And, I didn’t get into a fraction of the trouble my older siblings did. Nose art doesn’t have pornographic images, but instead representations celebrating beautiful female form, so what’s the problem? Even the bible celebrates sex (in a way) in Song of Songs. This doesn’t even go that far. It’s a picture of a beautiful woman. I’m sure those children will be miserable and indignant when they realize how much their parents are hiding from them.

    I’m surprised this kids’ closed-minded parents let them read anything. They probably burn more books than they read.

    Having said that, I say, keep scale planes scale, keep printing scale nose art in your articles, and if parents want to censor their children, then by all means let them! Why is it necessary for them to write you a letter telling you about it? So what? Good job parents. At least you’re paying attention to your kids. Even if I think you’re being a little ridiculous and over-conservative, I’m at least glad you’re parenting. Just don’t harass everyone else because you don’t agree with something. Stop buying the magazine if you have that big of a problem with occasional cartoon babes on the front of an airplane.

  23. I share your opinion. It carries extra weight because you’re a woman. You can’t argue with crazy. I started flying RC when I lived in Switzerland, and went to Germany occasionally for RC contest and expos. The Germans had (and still do) a real hangup about putting swastikas on their planes. They really get upset. (Touches a nerve.) But putting a swastika on a scale plane doesn’t mean you accept what the Nazis stood for. Nose art was an affirmation that these guys going into combat wanted to live not die, and what better symbol for choosing life over death than an attractive woman?

  24. just don’t understand why this country is getting more and more prudish. All the world travelers I have spoken with agree that the USA is by far the most prudish country they have visited, surpassed only by some Middle East countries. It is perfectly ok for children to see gory violence, but not the beauty of our bodies??? I just don’t understand that mentality. I have a 5 year old daughter, and she is NOT going to grow up to be a prude, nor to think the human body is something “dirty”. I wish we could go back to the good old days of the RC Modeler covers with beautiful models in bikinis! Down with prudes! Show us more lovely models and all the “nose art” you want! And I will happily let my daughter see them any time she wants. It is nothing to hide.

  25. Like what has already been said there will be people that will complain. Nose Art, country markings (Including the Swastika) are there for historical purposes and represent history. They should be there and displayed properly, be it on a model, a real plane in a magizine article or wherever. Debra you just keep doing what you are doing. We start changing or forgeting history of any kind because a few are offended we will be doomed to live it again.

  26. I am very disturbed that so few who object to reality and history can have such a profound impact on the majority.

    We the majority need to be more active in speaking up and standing up for History and our way of life. The Art and Swastikas were very real in the past as they are real today.

    Keep History alive, let us not forget the past but learn from it.

  27. Let’s look at the world these men, brave soldiers, lived in. There was the threat of death and destruction all around. This job of theirs was a life-or-death situation. Any tension-reliever available to them should be understood in context of the circumstances. If they told jokes, had a couple of drinks at the officers’ club, painted nose art that gave everyone a lift, let it be. They were brave, honorable, God-fearing, country-saving men. Let’s be adults of proper perspective.

  28. Why don’t we quit worring about the 1% who seem to think that redacting the truth will provide a Utopia. This isn’t just a USA publication, it’s global. There’s more “Smut” on display at the local grocery store. Let’s tell them they can use a black marker all they want before they allow thier “so sensitive children” to see the truth.

  29. Nose art on warplanes is a part of history. It served the crews as a way to both personalize their aircraft and to remind them of what they were fighting for. It brought levity and lightness to an otherwise dark and deadly endeavor. Yes, some of the artwork was indeed very risqué.

    I don’t blame parents for wanting to protect their kids from the excesses of this day and age, but they need to step back and remember that the nose art they are so offended about is part of a different age, one where young men put their lives at risk daily in defense of freedom. Rather than censor it they should sit down with their kids and discuss with them what it was and why it existed, how society differed then and most importantly what those men and their aircraft were trying to accomplish.

  30. If you want to see really risque bomber nose art visit the CAF Museum in Midland TX. Some of them are very graphic and realistic!

  31. The folks that are complaining need to sit down and give a little history lesson to those who they don’t want to see the nose art. If it were not for those men and women from the Armed services we might not even be here able to have the freedom to read these magazines.

  32. The truth is that most young boys are the kind of kids that their parents don’t want them to associate with. I have never seen any nose art that came close to the stuff my contemporaries wanted to look at. And, that was in the 1950s. We are far to hung up on a kid seeing some anatomy than the real obscenities or war, bigotry, unbridled greed, and destruction of our environment. I worry a lot more about breathing air and drinking water that will poison me than so called obscene pictures.

  33. nose art is art not porn…….. wake up up and look around you.

  34. This reminds me of the group of parents who complained to the cable company that they should censor what is on tv yet a very small fraction of them used the parental controls . Raise YOUR child that is not our responsability .
    I personaly would like to see more , I am getting ready to paint my own plane and could use some good ideas . You provide lots of ideas and tips . What is next ? Don’t give any soldering tips because my child might burn themselves ?

  35. It’s art and history, it would be irresponsible journalism to censor it. Would they ask an art museum to paint over the “naughty bits”? Maybe you should ask them that when they complain.

  36. These people should get a life. The nose art on WWII aircraft was put there by 17 to 25 year old boys who were thousands of miles away from home and girlfriends/wives and didn’t know if they would live long enough to get home. This art helped to keep them sane. Check out some art work all the way back to the Greeks. Do we now want to dress the statue of David in the Vatican or Adam & Eve in Michangello’s work in the Sisteen Chapel?

  37. Was watching a documentary on the Military channel, about the Doolittle raid, while reading this item, and noticed one of the B-25 s in the video was the “Briefing Time”. I did a double take, cross checking to verify this coincidence. I have always been a fan of nose art, which usually reflected a link to home.

  38. Todays’ kids are a lot smarter than some of their parents give them credit for.These self-righteous parents are the ones with the problems—or guilt– not their kids!
    Walk through any mall and read the “T-shirt” art passing by.Sit down one evening and watch a so called “family” program on cable tv.
    I am in 100% agreement with you!! If those narrow minds would have taken time to research a bit of history;they might have realized that painting nose art on the sides of aircraft helped to keep morale
    and our American fighting spirit high!! Pilots and crew had something to fight for——Freedom !
    Some people would even complain if you hung em’ with a new rope.

  39. all they need to do is put a frame around it and then its considered art……and safe

  40. Please, Please stop the madness, with all the bad TV programing and music that our kids see and hear today, I hardly think that WW II nose art is going to hurt them. Nose art is part of history, something our youth today is lacking in. HISTORY.


  41. Todays’ kids are a lot smarter than some of their parents give them credit for. It’s the self -righteous parent that has the problem–or guilt,not the child There is a lot more to be concerned about today than what is historically depicted on the side of an airplane.If those narrow minds did a little research before jumping head first into moral frying pan; they might realize that those ‘risque’ paintings were part of what kept up the high morale and fighting spirit of our pilots and crews during war. There are many fathers and grandfathers that made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom today.
    There are some people that will even complain if you hung em’ with a new rope.

  42. If someone is so concerned about their children not seeing suggestive parts of a women’s body then they need to lock them in a closet. I admire any parent who wants to protect their children but we can’t protect them from everything. Their children will see much worse that anything they will see in “nose art” at the local shopping mall. I’m a 23 year retired Air Force vet and while I don’t condone a lot of things that could be considered inappropriate viewing for children, nose art isn’t one of them. I respect their views but sometimes people just have an ax to grind.

  43. It always amazes me that such prudes were able to procreate in the first place if they are so offended?

    How would they feel if people exlaimed “look at those dirty sex maniacs “so blatantly being in public with their offspring

    1. Now that is FUNNY…. (and I don’t care who you are..)

      It’s got’a be tough to be a PRUDY PARENT and trying to explain /or not explain the ‘oppsite gender’ (remember can’t say SEX here)

      Maybe the PRUDIES will have the HOLEY CHURCH explain SEX..

  44. Uneducated and ignorant are words that come to mind about people who send in those letters.

    1. I agree completely. Ignorance seems to be a great problem these days.

  45. I am glad to see that there is general agreement that aircraft nose-art is real art, with a solid historical context, and should not be censored any more stringently than the the nude paintings left to us by any of a number of renaissance painters 🙂

    I do, however, have to point out that our “concerned mother” is entitled to her opinion, and to her choices regarding how she parents her children. While this is the case, I also believe her point of view is seriously misguided. Sharing the facts of life with your children while you still have SOME credibility with them (which we usually lose during the teenage years, and don’t regain until their late 20’s, if ever) is probably your best chance to launch them equipped to deal with the real world.

    I wish our “concerned mother” well… even if her point of view is unlikely to produce the results she seeks. It is a shame that she doesn’t feel comfortable discussing the implications of art and history with her children…

    I have no reason to believe that her children are more likely to grow up to be gentlemen than anyone else’s children… My own feeling is that by making these things “dirty”, she is only reinforcing the “objectification of women” that she finds so objectionable…

  46. Roy, now that’s a very “lofty” reply that educates no one

  47. It’s really sad to see people so ignorant about their own history. It’s just as sad to see this very response column censored when exercising the freedom of speech our countrymen fought so hard for.

  48. I have also been blasted for a FW-190 with a swastika on the tail. I tried to explain that it was historically accurate. It didn’t matter. They called me a Jew hater and left.

  49. Reading all of these responses, why is the vocal minority dictating to us the majority what is right and what is wrong. I thin we all need to take a look at what we are and who we are and get back to some form of reality.


  50. It is what defines this society we live in today. Selfishness and individuality. The way people decide what is “right” and “wrong”. Every single person has a right to figure for themselves what is “decent” or not and then carry that belief into raising they’re children. There is no right or wrong way when it comes to what a parent believes. What is wrong is the selfishness we as a society have developed. People believe that they have a right to demand what will make THEM comfortable, and who cares about the rest of the human race.
    Once there was a man who believed in something very strongly and convinced an entire nation that he was on the right track. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of jewish men, women and children were tortured and murdered in the name of this “belief” Adolf Hitler had. This one man poisoned an entire nation and nearly took control of this world of ours. If not for those brave men and women of the allied forces giving they’re lives in sacrifice, we very well could be living in a dark and sorry world.
    One opinion is as valuable as a million, but it is only an opinion. Nose art is history and personally I think it is disrespectful and selfish to ignore it’s value as far as what it meant to those flying in the planes they were painted on. It’s high time we as a people stop focussing on such trivial matters and start worrying about things that really matter. What good does it do to raise your child with shielded eyes if they wont have a world to call they’re own anyway? Polution, economy, natural fuel waste. Does any of that register with any of you? Talk about wasting time!

  51. The parents complain about things about history, but the problems start with the parents. They ignore what their daughters wear to school (tight jeans, short skirts, drink sugar loaded drinks and high calorie & fatty foods)., then they wonder why the girls gt raped. They let their kids go to school with shorts, etc. when the morning weather reports calls for rain or snow. When I was a kid, I did not watch much TV, but got out and played, rode bikes, etc. Kids today walk around with a phone in their ear or stay inside and play games on the computer. They need to build planes and fly them outside.

  52. Debra

    Tell those people to get a life and look around them. I look forword to the proper art on my airplanes so they look right for the time period they flew in. If this upsets Mom and Dad while it is on the ground I tell them to wait a minute and see it while it is in the air, now is it art or a thing of beauty flying?

  53. Coddling and over protecting isn’t good in the long run to me. But parents get to make those decisions for themselves, right or wrong.

  54. Cool you just gave me another favorite saying, “you can’t argue with crazy” is right up there with “you can’t fix stupid!”

    I agree with an earlier post that said when we start becoming less PC the world will be a better place. Walking around on egg shells because you might offend some special interest group does nothing but cause greater separation among people. And, it empowers the minority to control the majority

    Why should a few dictate to to rest what is acceptable?

    Thank you to our serviceman past and present

  55. Guys like my Dad were in a war zone – no women. They could do what they wanted with their airplanes. Most of the birds didn’t last 10 missions anyway. Neither did the men. They had to clean up the really raunchy stuff before an airframe cycled back to the states, which rarely happened anyway. I understand the ladies concern, and respect her wishes to raise her son as she sees fit. But in the 40s, some of the nose art was considered risque, wasn’t publishable, and only fit for “over there”. Yes, they were different times. If it is really nasty, find some other nose art. I want to attract the little kids to the hobby/sport and we need to make all the friends we can get. Send her a pack of balsa wood gliders for her really little kids and some sheets from fiddlersgreen paper airplanes and some guillow plans. Make her a friend. Where I am its hard enough to get airspace and later hours, we need these people on our side.

  56. Remember too that the mighty B-24, “The Strawberry Bitch”, sits in all Her Majesty at the U.S.A.F. museum in Ohio.
    Reading stories of bomber groups (BG) from WWII, nose art had to be approved by the High Command before it could be used. Some of the entries were disapproved because the were to risque. Most were approved so live with it and the history behind it.
    Long live the “Nose Art” tradition .. .

  57. The Nose Art of WW2 aircraft was part of the times. There is/was a whole new generation of Nose Art on aircraft in the Iraq war too, and it is even finding its way onto UAV predators. Pin Ups in the magazines of the 1940s spurred the growth of the Nose Art back then. imagine what modern nose art could be like if you take the internet as your inspiration. There’s nothing on the noses of WW2 airplanes that can compare….; history and art leave it be and don’t be such a prude when it comes to such harmless things as that. Especially if you see it on a beautiful RC warbird.

  58. Nose Art as with (in a recent article) swastikas was part of another era. Part of history. C’est la vie. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. But, there is always someone or some group who will find it offensive.

    I just took a break from another build and went to get a coffee. My wife was watching “Holiday Inn”. A classic that is watched by many this time of year. Again, certain scenes and “terminology” are a sign of the times. That movie must just shock the cr*p out of the woman with the young sons. I’m sure they’ve seen/heard much worse on the internet.

    Happy Holidays/Joyeux Noel

  59. It is incredible how history repeats itself. I remember RCM being called on the carpet for having pretty girls on the cover of that magazine, and it generated a lot of banter back and forth. But this is America! That is the beauty of this country. If there is something you don’t like to see, DON’T LOOK! It is just that simple As far as protecting your children, I think you are going at it incorrectly. It’s not possible to change the world. Just tell them (the kids) your feelings and let them decide on their own. If they truly respect and love you, they will comply. If they don’t? Well…. Keep up the good work Debra, us normal people appreciate your efforts.

  60. Oh please! Do we really need to protect our sons eyes from this picture or those of a similar nature? The answer is no and nature is what it is.

    As long as we don’t show something disgusting, and the female form is anything but, then it should be fine. I remember finding a Playboy magazine in the wardroom of a ship my father was on and I did just fine in life thank you.

    We have so much more to worry about with our young boys. Keeping them away from guns when they are not supervised, educating them properly, including manners, making sure they are emotionally stable when they are between 16-23 are the top of my list.

    Our young boys seem to be more and more at risk and this is not something we should be afraid of.

  61. History is history, nose art, swastica’s, rising sun’s and all. Sticking your head in the sand won’t change it. I agree, “you can’t argue with crazy.” I just wish people would learn the real lessons of history and stop focusing on imagined injustices. I’m tired of watching the same mistakes again and again.

  62. Nose art is one thing and mostly accepted but some of the advertising of airplane models with female models goes beyond decent and should be frowned upon by advertisers and publishers. My own personal feeling is that the airplane be it real or a model is all the beauty that is needed and to put a female scantly dressed in the picture is distracting to say the least.

  63. It is faux outrage. Give me a break. Compared to what society deals out to people and kids today this is so tame. When you understand the historical context, it is even more sad. This nose art brought a little humanity and joy to the men fighting in these horrendous wars. Now we are becoming so politically correct, that the Marines must remove the “don’t tread on me” jack insignia from their uniforms because it’s associated with the “radical” Tea Party. All this while folks applaud the likes of Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga, etc. whose acts border on out and out pornography and words would be considered treason 20 years ago. Sad indeed.

  64. Here is my go to answer to issues like this.
    “Your morality is not mine, I have my own.”

    1. Well said Harold.

  65. As a modeller I want my WW plane to be as close as possible to the real thing. Nose art was a fact of life and risque or not I would put it on my model as accurately as I am able to get it. I believe in not judging the past under our current perceptions or standards. The past was what it was. One can learn from it but not change it. I can’t even imagine what was in the minds of those young men when they were going to war barely past their adolescence. It seems to me that if nose art was risque or not was the least of their concerns when your day was basically killing or being killed. In fact maybe that pretty woman on the nose was the only thing resembling some form of humanity on a flying machine that was basically designed for killing. My utmost respect and admiration goes out to them for what they did for all of us here.

  66. 99 people think it’s normal but you keep hearing from the vocal minority of PC folks. Forget them.

  67. These heroic pilots were going on missions that had a very low survival rate. If nose art made their day, it should be celebrated not censored. Thanks for another great article Debra.


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