U.S. Army Training Films
During and after World War II, the U.S. Army produced training films on a number of subjects. Above is a clip from a film called Personal Hygiene, stressing the need for cleanliness in combating parasites such as lice. Note that modesty was not a consideration in these films made for an audience of all-male soldiers.
This is an extract from a 1944 film called Louse Borne Diseases, about how the Army treated lice on soldiers in the field in World War II.
What was in the "insecticide powder for body crawling insects"? The cans of insecticide never listed the ingredients, but early in the war, it was a mixture of pyrethrins. In 1942 the remarkable effectiveness of DDT as an insecticide was discovered. It began to replace the insecticide powder in the little cans after the fall of 1943, so the insecticide in this 1944 film is most likely DDT.
24 comments:
So how do they deal with this in "today's" mixed military? Young men today don't even strip in a men's locker room, let alone take a shower.
For a hygiene film, it didn't cover the issue of the foreskin, or was circumcision mandated for all men?
When I was drafted in November 1970 (Cleveland Ohio), I was expecting to be nude for my physical, but the staff told us to wear only our underpants. The staff was upset when one guy showed up with no underwear, and someone had to loan him a spare pair.
Oh my. I’m sort of speechless. So glad to see these and just to know they exists. They are thorough and not shy, which I like.
Wow.
Interesting that the comments, so far, are about nudity, and not DDT or other insecticides being sprayed on your sensitive skin parts.
@ esoart - My physical in Cleveland in 71 everyone was naked - start to finish.
Oh, how wonderful. DDT, eh? How many illnesses were caused by that?
It wasn't mandated, but some unscrupulous doctors liked to pretend.
What I wonder is when the lice started to resist it. Which is the main reason we don't use DDT today; it's worthless against modern bugs.
It's evolution, baby!
Hundreds and hundreds of nude men, all on complete display. Great clips!
Yes, at one time DDT was common. Some people THINK that it was banned, and it is not as common BUT it is still around. Some of it's replacements are also bad. I really enjoy seeing these photos and films of naked military men, ESPECIALLY when they are examined!!! When I was in the Army in the middle 1960's, I never thought about it, but now I really love seeing and thinking about all of those nice penises! I can look and enjoy WITHOUT getting in trouble for maybe looking too much, and that wouldn't have been the case if I were actually there.
I wonder if there were any bad reactions to the DDT.
Thanks for a fascinating and thought-provoking post, Larry. Your exceptional research skills are on full display.
@Anon - Circumcision was certainly not mandated. I don't know why the film did not cover foreskin hygiene.
@UtahJock, nakedswimmer, Gerald, and SickoRicko - Regarding DDT, at the time DDT was a wonder chemical. It is remarkably toxic to insects and remarkably non-toxic to humans. Its use, particularly against disease-carrying mosquitos, undoubtedly saved many lives. After WWII, it played a role in eliminating malaria in Europe, North America, and many other parts of the world.
However, it also came into use as an agricultural insecticide, and this widespread use was toxic to birds and fish. In 1962, the book Silent Spring documented the environmental harm of widespread use of DDT. In particular, it causes bird eggshells to be thin and breakable, leading to the near-extinction of the bald eagle and some other birds. in 1972 the EPA banned it for most uses in the U.S., and it has been banned for agricultural use in most developed countries. However, DDT is still used in some countries such as India for insect disease control inside houses, where it is unlikely to affect fish or birds.
Nakedswimmer is right that lice became resistant to it. It 1965 the U.S. military stopped using it and started using lindane.
DDT is considered a “probable carcinogen”, but it would take continuous exposure, such as in some agricultural workers, and even then the evidence is not conclusive. So the use in WWII was probably not harmful to the soldiers, and it definitely killed the lice.
Thanks for the update regarding DDT.
The opening of the 1st film clip is "The pens is examined...". That might include the foreskin.
The message in these films is still valid today.
@Anon and jimboylan2 - Regarding the foreskin, I went back and looked at another WWII military training film that I found called Sex Hygiene.
It shows the symptoms of syphilis, gonorrhea, and other sexual diseases. It has many shots of penises, including uncircumcised ones, but they were rather gross, showing sores or pus, which is which I didn't use this film in my post.
(about DDT, if you think that up until thirty years ago, asbestos was widely used in construction. Then it was discovered that it is carcinogenic ...
I remember my Dad telling me that they had the guys skin their cocks back so they could see if the heads were clean. He would have me do it, so one day, when I was 16 or so, I grabbed his dick and skinned it back. After that, we checked each other about once a week.
Note that I consider all alternative medicine (which circumcision definitely was by this time) "unscrupulous".
@Xersex - Several studies have been done to evaluate the cancer risk of DDT exposure. Some studies found a correlation, i.e. more cancer due to DDT exposure; other studies found no correlation. That's why I said the evidence is not conclusive, and why DDT is now considered a "probable carcinogen", but only probable, not definite.
In the first film (hygiene inspection), why did it take three uniformed officers to inspect the nude soldiers? There always seems to be a lot of "extras" around to "observe" the totally stripped men. Just sayin'.
In the first film, I am surprised the penis inspection is just a quick look from afar and then "next guy". Would have expected some handling to inspect under scrotum, retract foreskin etc in a real exam. Wonder if this inspection was done for purpose of making movie or whether the exams were really that superficial.
I wonder if the soldiers in these films volunteered to participate or rather were ordered to participate. Their faces were shown, and they were required to show full-frontal nudity, as well as rear nudity. Different times, different culture, of course, but I still would like to know how the soldiers were approached about the whole thing.
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