Operation Magic Carpet

[disneydave]

The image in this post is of detail found on a rare poster designed for the Commander, Carrier Division 24, who was in charge of “Operation Magic Carpet,” the repatriation of American military personnel from the Pacific at the war's conclusion.

 

"Operation Magic Carpet," consisted of a huge fleet of ships that transported tens of thousands of Army, Army Air Force and Navy personnel back home to the United States after Japan's surrender.

 

The text below the insignia, (not pictured in the scan), reads: "The Magic Carpet, the armada assembled immediately following the cessation of hostilities, which virtually constituted a chain of ships from the Orient to the continent of North America, operated for the purposes of returning personnel to the United States."

 

The insignia features Donald Duck dressed as a Sultan wearing a turban in the colors of the United States flag, and Donald's three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie who are dressed in the uniforms of the three branches of the military. The nephews all have happy expresions on their faces, imitating, no doubt, the expressions of countless thousands of men as they realized they had survived and were going home.

 

As an interesting sidenote, the two gold colored stars on Donald's turban signify the rank of Rear Admiral Upper Half. Rear Admiral R.S. Kendall was in charge of the operation. The only other copy of this poster I have seen was signed by the Rear Admiral to a Leutenant.

 

This insignia design was created in 1945 by Disney artist Hank Porter. The full poster measures 19¼ by 12¼ inches. Only two of these posters are known to exist at this time.