Disney Insignias in World War II: A Little Magic Goes a Long Way

Sometimes when you’re in the thick of it, small details speak volumes. For thousands of soldiers in World War II, Disney insignias shouted hope, confidence and encouragement. Perhaps they ignited a little magic too.

I recently had the opportunity to visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. If you ever get a chance to explore this gem, you should. The museum’s impressive collection covers the earliest (frightful!) versions of manned aircraft to modern day rockets and everything in between. You can even board President Kennedy’s plane or view the lunar command module from Apollo 15. It’s a lovely way to stretch your legs on a rainy summer day or, in this case, a bitterly cold one in January.

While wandering through the massive World War II hangar in the museum, I came across a small but interesting display on Disney insignias. (Disney finds me even when I’m not looking for it!) The display included an artist table with looping video showing Disney-inspired insignias. There were also two cases of existing insignias and posters explaining their significance. My family was on their way to the next hangar, so I skimmed the display, snapped a few photos and made a note to explore this topic more thoroughly when I got home.

You may have heard the history of Disney’s war efforts before. They are plentiful. Walt Disney served as an ambulance driver with the Red Cross at the conclusion of World War I in Europe. During World War II, Disney devoted the majority of his studio’s resources toward producing instructional films for the United States and their allies. One of the most famous ones depicts Donald Duck learning the importance of paying his taxes. Other projects trained new enlistees, recruited volunteers and encouraged the general public to support the war.

The Disney studios received just enough compensation for these films to cover the cost of producing them. It also enabled the company to keep hundreds of artists employed, despite the declining ticket sales at theaters during the war.

Unlike the films, however, Disney insignias did not generate income for the studio. Walt Disney donated his artists’ efforts as a way to support the war. It was a remarkable gift and one I did not know much about until encountering the display at the museum.

According to the Air Force Museum exhibit and a book I tracked down later entitled Disney Dons Dag Tags by Walton Rawls, Disney studios created over 1200 insignias during World War II.  Most of these insignias featured characters from the Disney cartoons and films that were popular at the time. All of them were designed to inspire confidence and support in a tremendously difficult time in our history.

DESIGN DETAILS

Films like Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Fantasia and Bambi provided hundreds of design ideas. The Disney artists often matched the personalities or roles of their fictional characters with the very real responsibilities of the military units requesting the insignias. Jiminy Cricket, who served as Pinocchio’s conscience in the classic film, adorned a few designs created for chaplains. Flower, the bashful skunk from Disney’s Bambi, appeared on insignias for chemical warfare units. Dumbo the flying elephant decorated more than twenty different aircraft unit emblems.

Of course, Mickey Mouse and his friends offered considerable inspiration too.

The most popular character featured on the Disney insignias overall was Donald Duck. The loveable, confident duck with a fiery temper and passionate determination appeared in over 200 different designs. He was the star in several of the Disney produced films during the war too. Birds in general were popular design elements for the military applications due to their natural connection to aircraft.

Pluto and Goofy were the next two most popular choices. These friends of Donald appeared on roughly 100 insignias combined.

Interestingly, Mickey Mouse was not a popular choice. The iconic character (and inspiration for this blog!) appeared on just 35 Disney insignias during the war. Mickey did not have the right “temperament” for use in wartime memorabilia, according to Rawls’s book. The insignias that did sport the beloved mouse were mostly limited to cheerful efforts at home such as the one shown above.

REQUESTING AN INSIGNIA

All of the military insignias were created by request. Troops in the United States as well as Allied countries like Great Britain and Canada, wrote personal letters to Disney’s studios to start the process. Some gave details on exactly what they wanted. Others described their unit’s responsibilities and left the creative interpretation to Disney’s team.

Once Disney’s team supplied the artwork, the individual units transposed the designs in numerous ways. The majority of units adapted the insignias into patches to adorn clothing. Others used the designs to decorate letterhead or dinnerware. Some transferred the original insignias into larger scale designs (with varying levels of artistic success!) to bolster tanks, planes and other military equipment.

Design Team

Remarkably, just six men created all 1200 designs. Henry Porter led the group. Roy Williams worked with him and later became famous as a permanent member of The Mickey Mouse Club.  The remaining four members of the team included: Bill Justice, Van Kaufman, Ed Parks and George Goepper.

Modern Day Insignias

After the squadrons approved their insignia, the designs were supposed to be submitted back to the War Department for approval. Some were. Many were not. As you can imagine, the War Department was overrun with responsibilities at the time. Many units used the insignias whether they were officially approved or not.

A few years after the war ended, the United States military issued new standards for unit insignias. Units with Disney designs that had received approval were permitted to stay in use. Those that had not been approved were not.

Lasting Impressions

So why should you care about Disney insignias? Most of the designs are over sixty years old and not all that famous.

Well, for one, each insignia represents a unique snapshot of history. I already mentioned the artists tried to match the personalities of their cartoons subjects with their real life units. Understanding these relationships sheds light on the people that served all those years ago.

Second, the designs at a purely observational level are just lovely pieces of art. It’s a chance to see familiar characters and the broad range of Disney’s talents in a new way.

Third, and I confess this one is silly, looking through the insignias reminded me of a Disney trivia game. So many of the designs feature obscure characters from classic films. Flipping through the designs provides a chance to guess the movie in which they appeared.

Is that a crow from Dumbo? One of the odd donkey-boys from Pinocchio? Something I’ve forgotten from Fantasia?

You get the idea.

In all seriousness though, the insignias represent so much more.

It’s hard for me to really imagine what it must have been like for the soldiers in World War II. I also can’t fathom the difficulty of waiting so desperately for them to return home. There just aren’t enough adjectives in my vocabulary. While I can certainly relate to the joy of encountering a Disney character on a rough day, I can’t fully absorb what it must have been like to see those characters against the backdrop of war. I don’t want to overstate their importance, but I don’t want to understate it either.

Final Thoughts

The Disney’s insignias did more than just brighten a soldier’s day. They were a tangible representation of national support. Their personalized styles helped to recognize the contributions of individual units. They also helped to build camaraderie among its members. These Disney characters were extremely popular in the culture of the 1940s, and reminded many soldiers of home. Disney understood that a small gesture from his team, such as sketching a design, could bring comfort and encouragement to those he’d never meet.

What about you? It’s a new year and a new start. What unique gifts do you have that could serve as an encouragement to others?  I think we all know someone that could use a phone call, a favor or a smile. Many of these gestures cost us nothing but reward us greatly. Why not start the year off doing something completely unexpected for somebody else?

You can do it. Add a little magic to the world.

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Resources and additional reading:

Disney Dons Dog Tags by Walton Rawls; Disney During World War II by John Baxter; The National Museum of the United States Air Force; The Walt Disney Family Museum