the U.S. Navy in WWII and Tiki culture

Nice clip, Lucas.

I wish someone could identify the bar! (perhaps just a hollywood set?) the movie shows it very well, including tikis.

I would have to see the whole scene, but at that point in time, at the budget level of that film, it was most likely a set. It was a cinch for Hollywood set designers to put a Polynesian restaurant set together, since the whole construct concept of a Tiki bar was basically that of a movie set.

It's possible....but if you watch the movie, its a pretty big set! The room she sings in is actually huge! Good movie to rent, either way!

Definitely, the Caine Mutiny is a true classic and one of my all time favorites.

On 2013-09-13 08:26, TropicDrinkBoy wrote:
Definitely, the Caine Mutiny is a true classic and one of my all time favorites.

I first read the book while stationed in Pearl harbor. It was strange reading about Ensign Keith's first nights on the caine (sleeping with a huge pipe two inches from his face in his rack-same as I had!) and sharing a very similar experience.

Here is a thread I posted a while ago that might have some relation to this thread's subject:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=22663&forum=6&hilite=shit street

Another great WW2 movie that features a pseudo tiki bar is Jack lemmon's "The wackiest ship in the army"

so I have this really nice grouping from a sailor who was in Hawaii during the war, along with his photos, are some really neat 1940s era maps, x-mas cards, cocktail napkins, and personal effects from Hawaii including a really neat silk scarf which gives the definition of Aloha which was his also, I believe he sent it home to his mother. I just found a really cool wood and glass display case some one was throwing away, which I recued, cleaned up, painted and added all his Hawaiian stuff...... I think it came out pretty nice!

Very cool "one of a kind" display case Pele Paul. What a time capsule! Thanks for sharing it.

[ Edited by: TropicDrinkBoy 2013-10-12 13:14 ]

Fark!

What a find!

:)

Great collection of memorabilia. The color of the frame is distracting from it though.

Great stuff, Paul.

Great job Pele. So many times I have seen these groups of items seperated and sold off. Thanks for saving them and putting the group on display. A true snapshot of a mans life and an important part of our history. Thanks again.

thanks so much guys!!! yea I was lucky when a friend who's a picker brought this to me from the Bay area back in May. had his scrap book, photos and personal effects, including a really cool pillow sham and a few other odds and ends, always wanted somewhere to put them, and noticed the last time I was at trader Sam's they had a display case set up, which gave me the idea!!

went down to visit a good buddy today and along with the item I went to buy he tossed in some extra goodies for free!!! like this!!

Very cool, pele Paul. I was in pearl harbor when they had Westpac in 1986. All the allied countries from the pacific rim had their naval vessels in the harbor during that time. Our small army outpost played a spirited game of soccer against an Australian navy destroyer crew.

Gotta love the Bill the Cat and Opus they carved into the plaque!

In 1943 Ray Harryhausen made a short stop motion film for the army called 'Guadalcanal' which you can watch on the Harryhausen Chronicles DVD.
http://www.warisboring.com/2010/07/21/wib-salutes-ray-harryhausen/

This picture is Harryhausen working on the George Pal creation, Puppetoons.

very cool, thanks guys!!! gotta watch this movie for sure!!!!

found this a week a go at a local store for a whopping 15.00 so I had to buy it, lol

almost forgot to post my new 5 foot long fiberglass sub used in Disney's "The Incredible Mr. Limpid " now to find somewhere to hang it!!!!

Dude! That Mr. Limpet sub is great score!

On 2013-12-31 18:16, Big Kahuna wrote:
Dude! That Mr. Limpet sub is great score!

thanks Big Kahuna! yea it hung in my buddy's vintage clothing and militaria store for over 20 years, and when he moved into a smaller space he gave it to me in trade. I happened on an old German WWII Eastern Front heavy winter coat, which he wanted, so we did some horse trading. Watch for Polo and ralph lauren to copy the coat and nass produce it as fashion lol, who knew? yea, he thinks it may have been used in Operation Petti-coat too, but cannot verify that, no worries, its cool without the story!!! sadly its hanging in my garage, I think the year 2014 calls for a garage re-do, and needs some tiki-fying possibly!!!!

I found a few things, while Christmas shopping.
A "yearbook", if you will, from 417th Bomb Group in the South-West Pacific 1944-45:




I also found these 4 medals, from the Pacific Theater, belonging to a young man named Hansen. Finding things like these just breaks my heart. Is there really no one left to look after these medals awarded to a young man, who left home, to fight for our freedom, in a world so far away? I will mount these, frame them & hang them in The Mauna Kai Lounge. At least, as long as I'm around, Mr. Hansen will not be forgotten.

A coupla pieces of sheet music:

Three snapshots, taken by servicemen:

A copy of Leatherneck magazine with a killer piece of cover art:

There are major changes in store for The Mauna Kai Lounge, in 2014. These pieces will be integrated into the layering, as the revamping progresses.

lovin' that cover of the Life magazine!!!!!! tooooooooooooooooooo cool!!!!!

That's actually a Marine magazine called The Leatherneck.

On 2013-12-31 18:49, Big Kahuna wrote:
That's actually a Marine magazine called The Leatherneck.

Right, I have several of those magazines but none with a USMC and Desi Arnaz on the cover!!!! lol

one of my Fav pieces of art from Leathernecks.....

On 2013-12-31 19:06, Pele Paul wrote:

On 2013-12-31 18:49, Big Kahuna wrote:

That's actually a Marine magazine called The Leatherneck.

Right, I have several of those magazines but none with a USMC and Desi Arnaz on the cover!!!! lol

that's actually Claude Akins on the cover not Desi :tiki: :)
http://ultimateilovelucy.wikia.com/wiki/Desert_Island

episode also notable for singer Joi Lansing - who incidentally also did a music video with some jungle motifs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbv8p1YfJbI

[ Edited by: martian-tiki 2014-01-02 23:49 ]

LOL OMG That's FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Pele Paul, I'm not sure what movie this is from, but I thought you would like it.

wow!!!! I love it!!!! looking to sell my house so I can buy one with a bigger backyard!!!! no joke I meet with a realator on Monday!!!! thanks for the pic it gives me ideas!!!!!

Hey BK, that 417th yearbook is an awesome find. I haven't seen one of those. As fate would have it I did some research for a buddy of mine. His grandfather was with the Sky Lancers 417th. He was a pilot and flew the A-20 Havoc in New Guinea among other theaters during the war. He had a photo album showing the huts they slept in and even had a complete bar in a hut made totally out of bamboo. Those guys were bad ass bomber drivers during the war. His grandfather took out an enemy ack-ack site in the mountains of New Guinea even as his A-20 took direct hits and lost an engine. He got his plane and boys back to base safe. Thanks for posting the book. Here is the logo for the group.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2014-01-18 04:46 ]

That logo's on the first page. Do you know his name?

If I remember right his last name was Morely

I'll check the book, in a few.

Hey, Trav!
I found an Erving Morley from Vicksburg, Michigan on the roster of the 675th!

[ Edited by: Big Kahuna 2014-01-18 17:07 ]

On 2014-01-18 17:05, Big Kahuna wrote:
Hey, Trav!
I found an Erving Morley from Vicksburg, Michigan on the roster of the 675th!

[ Edited by: Big Kahuna 2014-01-18 17:07 ]

Thanks, that's him. Would have loved to talk with him but he passed away in 1968. Unfortunately my buddy grew up never meeting his grandfather. The 675th Bomb Squadron attached to the 417th Bomb Group was his squadron. Thanks again.

Here's the logo for the 675th.

Lt. Morley was one of only eight men, in the bomber group, to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross: for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. Trav, he undoubtedly received this for the very mission you described.

Here's some shots from the various Officers Club pages:

[ Edited by: Big Kahuna 2014-01-18 19:00 ]

Cool photos, Rick !

Thanks, Sven! You know I love this stuff!

If you're in the KCET Los Angeles viewing area tonight at 9pm on Globe Trekker they're exploring various sites of WW II battles in the Pacific.

http://www.kcet.org/shows/globe_trekker/globe-trekker-special-world-war-ii-in-the-pacific-1.html?utm=fb

You can also buy the DVD on Amazon.com.

-Lori

[ Edited by: tikilongbeach 2014-02-18 18:34 ]

wow that's some great photos!!! thanks for sharing

From an online auction description:

A piece of WWII trench art from the Pacific Theatre. This shield-shaped badge is made of clear celluloid with carved coconut form suspended from brass ring at center and cut-out aluminum upper case letters along top reading Coconut/Bombers, with twisted wire on back for mounting, 1.75" x 2" long.

Coconut Bombers was considered a derogatory term, mainly used by American military commanders to refer to the New Zealand troops fighting in the island-hopping campaign of the Pacific theatre during WWII. This term was much resented by our Allies, especially as they and the Australians had been the only effective forces that the Japanese Imperial Army had to contend with during the early part of the war in the Pacific.

Not a very PC flight jacket. Lt. Ken Strong, who’d been an artist for Walt Disney, created the Pacific Islander character Asterperious for the 319th Bomb Squadron. The jolly roger with cross-bombs was the insignia for the 90th Bomb Group.

Close up of the image. It's from a WW II photo album.

Great stuff, Lori!

Found another WWII "yearbook". This one's from the 58th Seabees battalion, stationed on Vella Lavella with Pappy Boyington & The Black Sheep.