Our theme this month celebrates the military ahead of July 4th.

Prior to America entering the war the Army Navy Program had a relatively happy cover. The cover illustration was done by the famous illustrator Percy Crosby. Crosby is best known for his cartoon character Skippy, who is featured on the cover. Skippy and Crosby were honored with a US Stamp issued in 1997.

The 1941 program is an historic one as well. There is a classic bow shot of the U.S.S. Arizona on page 180 with the following caption: “A bow on view of the U.S.S. Arizona as she plows into a huge swell. It is significant that despite the claims of air enthusiasts no battleship has yet been sunk by bombs.” Tragically, on December 7, just one week after this game was played, the Arizona was sunk by bombs dropped by Japanese aircraft with a great loss of life.

1942 featured a cover designed by Lon Keller showing men in action:

1943 is the rarest of the wartime programs:

1944 injected a little humor back into the cover:

1945 shows the famous Victory program being painted by a cadet and midshipman:

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