On this day in 1941, Norman Rockwell and The Saturday Evening Post introduced the Willie Gillis character, a sort of Middle American everyman whose experiences throughout World War Two, and after, would be a popular cover illustration topic.
Today in World War II History—October 4, 1941
These illustrations are within the copyright period, and so I can't put it up, but the first illustration showed a diminutive Gillis followed by a tough-looking collection of soldiers as he carried a package marked "food". Over time, Gillis would appear as a boyish looking soldier trying to look older, to a combat soldier depicted in one cover as serving in India. After the war, he'd appear in a couple of illustrations, including one in which he's attending college, looking much more mature and muscled than he did on this day in 41.
Rockwell contributed a lot of war themed art during World War Two and by this time he had become the premier American illustrator. Arguably, that position was occupied by J. C. Leyendecker during World War One. Leyendecker was still living at this time, and still illustrating, but he was no longer the most notable illustrator as he had once been.
HMS Lady Shirley
The HMS Lady Shirley, a converted fishing trawler, would sink a German U-boat on this day off of the Canary Islands. The ship was mistaken by the U-boat as to status and distance. She was thought to be damaged by the U-boat crew and thought to be further away, a mistake made due to the ship's small size.
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