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Joseph Blackburn and Wartime Art |
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Ongoing
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Pfc. Joseph
Blackburn was a draftsman and artist in
civilian life and a sign and camouflage
painter in the military. With the 5th
Marine Engineer Battalion, he served in
the Pacific from 1943 – 1946. He sent
hundreds of letters and drawings home,
but it was the artwork on the outside of
the envelopes that attracted the most
attention.
Mr. Blackburn said that a censor once
asked him to leave room in his drawings
for a “passed by the censor” stamp so
the censor didn’t have to stamp over the
picture and ruin the artwork. Perhaps it
was a censor who gently removed a word
from an envelope displayed here dated
December 30, 1944, rather than blacking
it out.
Joseph Blackburn’s family saved over
three hundred of his drawings, many made
with color pencils he brought from home.
They depict his pride in the Corps and
homesickness, plus fondness for
receiving mail, being “on leave” and
pretty women. Pictures of directional
signs indicate his unit’s transfer;
drawings of him disguised as a tree or
outhouse depict his duties with the
camouflage corps. Mr. Blackburn’s
parents said they could almost tell what
the letter was going to say by the
artwork on the envelope.
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