Whilst the US is commemorating  Veterans  Day on November 11th, Europe is marking it as Armistice Day .  They are both remembering all the brave men and women who lost their lives in two World Wars fighting for peace,

We’ve chosen this day to  take a look at Michael Stokes excellent  book My Buddy: World War II Laid Bare  which studies a lighter side of the lives of enlisted young men who became soldiers and sailors.

Most were in their late teens and up to now had never left their homes  in the unworldly parts of traditional middle America.  They were innocent virgins who had been uprooted from the care and comfort of  their parents to rough it up with totally strangers.

They soon learnt that their lives could end at any time on any day  which was the driving force behind them learning a devil-may-care attitude with each other 

They were actively encouraged to form close bonds with their fellow troops, as they  needed to trust and count on each other — their lives depended on it.  It was more than just letting their (very short) hair down but learning to accept public nudity and experiment sexually with each other.

How Stoke managed to collect all these photographs is in itself quite extraordinary as not only were cameras very rare  but it was nigh on impossible to get naked photos developed,

Interesting enough the introduction to the book is written by the infamous Scotty Bowers.  He was  an 89-year-old ex-Marine who pimped ex Servicemen  in Hollywood in the 1950s’  after WW2..

 My Buddy: World War II Laid Bare  by Michael Stokes  is available from  TASCHEN