World War II - Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. The battle of Guadalcanal was the first major land offensive by American forces against Japan. It lasted from August 1942 to February 1943. Afterwards, Guadalcanal became a major Allied base for further action against Japan.
This photo of soldiers washing in a stream on Guadalcanal, taken by LIFE photographer Frank Scherschel, was published in LIFE on Feb. 8, 1943. Note that in this and other published photos, bare butts in a family magazine didn't bother anyone.
An uncredited 1943 photo of a soldier bathing on Guadalcanal. Note the water wheel that someone made out of shovels. Ingenious, though its purpose is unclear.
This is one of a series of photos called "Swimming Hole Guadalcanal" taken by LIFE photographer Ralph Morse. This one was published in the March 1, 1943 issue.
Another in Morse's "Swimming Hole Guadalcanal" series. This one was not published.
Nor was this one, from the same series. It looks like the soldiers are washing their jeep.
This rare color photo was taken by Frank Scherschel as part of a series called "Visit to South Pacific Island Base & Arrival of Convoy at Guadalcanal."
That photo was published on this page from the July 7, 1943 issue of LIFE magazine. The caption reads: "Two naked American soldiers, after breakfast of five bananas, slosh around in the mud trying to free their jeep." The magazine article doesn't say which island this is, possibly because of wartime secrecy, but it's either Guadalcanal or one of the neighboring islands.
LIFE wasn't the only family magazine that published photos of male butts. This photo, titled "Luxury in Guadalcanal's Jungle," appeared in the January 1944 issue of National Geographic.
