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How Uncle Sam tried to keep his boys on the straight and narrow!


Sabrejet
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This is a very interesting article which illustrates how the US military authorities tried to educate their men about the potential dangers of STD's back in the 40s.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2339094/She-look-clean--1940s-anti-STD-posters-warn-soldiers-booby-trap-disease-ridden-prostitutes.html

 

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I have a copy of the WW2 issue "Soldiers' Handbook" inside of which I found a leaflet warning GIs of the potential dangers of VD. The Army obviously took the view that prevention was much better than cure! In fact, I think contracting an STD was a disciplinary offence, in the same manner as a self-inflicted wound.

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ian, a medic once told me if you're enlisted, it goes in your records as an STD, but if you're an officer, it goes in as a UTI. don't know if that's really true, or if it was widespread or one dispensary doing this on their own, but i found it ironic.

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ian, a medic once told me if you're enlisted, it goes in your records as an STD, but if you're an officer, it goes in as a UTI. don't know if that's really true, or if it was widespread or one dispensary doing this on their own, but i found it ironic.

 

Hmmm....sounds plausible, if slightly unfair. After all, the clap's the clap whatever your rank!! :o

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Garandomatic

I read of a WWI slogan that went "Better a clean bullet than a dirty whore," but I have yet to find an item that says that. I'm thinking it would be a pretty darned cool poster...

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RustyCanteen

One of our members once posted a WWII color photo (the source of which I never found) showing a sailor relaxing on deck while reading a red manual entitled something like "All about girls". It also had a nice view of a painted Navy helmet as I recall.

 

Has anyone else seen the photo or the manual before?

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Back in 1959 or so I was in the head at Camp Pendleton when a young Marine sat on the pot next to me. I asked him, "How long have you had it?" He said, "Had what?" I said, "VD" and he asked why i thought he had VD. "Because, you are sitting on a bright red toilet seat with a sign in bright USMC colors saying 'VD'. He leapt up and dashed into the showers and began scrubbing his bottom with a GI brush. We were in hysterics. Good start to a long day.

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Back in 1959 or so I was in the head at Camp Pendleton when a young Marine sat on the pot next to me. I asked him, "How long have you had it?" He said, "Had what?" I said, "VD" and he asked why i thought he had VD. "Because, you are sitting on a bright red toilet seat with a sign in bright USMC colors saying 'VD'. He leapt up and dashed into the showers and began scrubbing his bottom with a GI brush. We were in hysterics. Good start to a long day.

 

Hilarious!! :lol:

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HILARIOUS Kenneth!! My favorite was the "JUKE JOINT SNIPER". Wow!!

 

When I was a YOUNG Lance Colonel (LCpl) in 1984 at Camp Courtney (HQCO, HQBN, 3d MarDiv), I remember doing the sea bag drag off the bus and being assigned to barracks 4301 (by the softball field, first barracks closet to the company HQ but that's another story). It was of course an open squad bay. My first couple of nights, I heard guys literally SCREAMING in the head and crying. I told my bunkmate (on the bottom rack) that we needed to "get help". He was like "SHUT UP, the guy's only pissing razor blades". He then explained that said jarhead had just returned from a weeks leave in the Philippines. Still didn't get any sleep.

 

On the same matter, enlisted Marines were given ONE opportunity with the STD thing unless they had a hook up (friend as a corpsman or cash). They still had to endure getting their "bore punched" with a rod with a razor blade on the end of it. As a LCpl, this left an ENDURING impression on me. Don't know what officers endured, but I can GUARANTEE none of them got documented or treated like us mere enlisted Marines. On an enlisted Marine's second offense, he was given a "page 11" entry (administrative remarks) and then subsequently NJP.

I have to say that for the next 22 years in the Corps after that, I NEVER saw/heard of another incident. As an NCO, SNCO, and later CWO, I never dealt with any of the issues like that. Maybe it's because the advent of the medical system and the availability of same. But, also, remember, from 1984 to forward, Marines were moved out of the open squad bay (family atmosphere as I called it) to a dormitory style room setting with more privacy.

Just my 2 cents. Sorry for rambling on!!

.

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Mein Gott, Pat! That's a high strike rate!! :o

Ian, how true, it was probably better to stay in the barracks back then and play checkers, would definatley not hit the town without my wet weather gear. :lol:

vdposter.jpg

 

 

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Maybe the military should come up with an STD ribbon?! Bronze stars can be added for multiple infections awards ? ;)

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D.A.T.

 

Interesting article. I found it insulting though that these "vets" get disability pay. I am 100% "Disabled" thru the VA and think it's wrong to get disability pay for STD's. I personally know one Marine that took an RPG to his side (he was a LAV Driver in 2003 during Gulf 2). Had scars from his shoulders to his ankles, had PTSD, a colostomy bag, etc. The criminals at the VA gave this young Marine 30% disability. And oh yeah, he had at least 2 purple hearts. I eventually stood with him and behind him and got him a lawyer and we got him 100% DAV. Rather insulting for people to get benefits for STD's. Just one person with 23+ years of service opinion.

SF

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ChuckyD,

I'm with you 100%, what started out as a humoress, for me, thread, changed after I found that article on Vets getting benifits for STD's, I couldn't believe it at first. I was never in combat, thank God, but if I was, and then wounded, recieved a Purple Heart with no compensation, and some other GI gets a dose of clap and gets paid for it, well, there is something definately wrong, to say the least.

Good job you did on helping the young Marine get the 100% disability he more then deserves.

Also hope you're doing okay and hanging in there.

Pat

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Maybe the military should come up with an STD ribbon?! Bronze stars can be added for multiple infections awards ? ;)

 

If that were so, one of my buddies in Korea earned himself the Medal of Honor! I swear he had a list and would gleefully check off afflictions as if he were on a treasure hunt. :o

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El Bibliotecario

An old NCO who had joined the Air Force in the late '40s told me the AF maintained a prothylactic station in downtown San Antonio. Troops who reported for treatment after exposure had their names recorded in a log. If they subsequently contracted VD, no punitive action was taken against them. But troops contracting VD who had no record of visiting the pro station were subject to disciplinary action.

 

In the early '70s I was in 2d Inf Div at Camp Casey, Korea, next to Tongduchon, referred to by the troops as TDC. The joke was, "TDC tonight, VD city tomorrow." But no punitive action was taken against infected soldiers even if they were repeat offenders, and I believe most EM sensibly went on sick call and got treated. As I recall (not from personal experience) tetracycline was the medics drug of choice. I would speculate that by now Korean bugs have developed an immunity.

 

As for the officers, I recall a hilarious officers call in which the Bn commander stood up, walked over to the chaplain, and with a big grin put on the chaplain's cross-adorned cap. The gist of his lecture was that officers who wished to patronize prostitutes should take the bus down to Uijongbu, so they wouldn't be seen by the troops.

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After World War II, the military’s mission was the occupation of the defeated Axis powers. Occupation duty was tedious and boring. Soldier’s morale and morals was at an all time low. In response to this, on 12 September 1947, CH (MG) Luther Miller started The Chaplain’s Hour. A weekly publication addressing the moral issues of the time.

One such issue was sexual immorality. Venereal Disease (VD) was a significant concern with the military leadership. In 24 January 1947 Secretary of War Robert Patterson noted the cases of VD was at a 30 year high. In response Chaplain Martin H. Scharlemann, an instructor at the chaplain school wrote Citizen and Morality Talks. These documents were supplements to the Chaplain’s Hour and were later turned into the Chaplain’s Character Guidance Lecture Manual. In March 1961 the Department of the Army published FM 16-100, Character Guidance Manual.

The Chaplains’ Sex Morality Lecture was written by Chaplain Scharlemann and was published in 1948. This lecture combined many of the “talks” from the Chaplain’s Hour.

 

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