Photoshopping the War Dead: Stogie Retouches Another Sailor Pic

Yesterday I heard that Photoshop CS4 has just been released for sale. I immediately went online, paid $200 for the upgrade, and downloaded it. I just hope my wife doesn't check our bank statement for awhile - but I had to have it. There's two things a man needs in this old world, a stash of good cigars and the latest version of Photoshop. That philosophy has served me well and I'm not about to change.

CS4 is very cool and even easier to use that CS3. I went to oneternalpatrol.com and downloaded another sailor's picture in need of some work. This time I chose that of a very handsome guy (we have so much in common) named John Joseph Carano. Carano was from Akron, Ohio and was killed on November 7, 1944 when his sub, the SS Albacore, hit a mine off Northern Japan. He was only 18 years old.

Carano is wearing an old-style Navy hat. These hats were all wool, Navy blue and had a black ribbon that ran around the base with gold lettering that said "U.S. NAVY." These were winter wear hats; the white dixiecup hats were used in the summer and are now used exclusively.

I wanted to buy one of these blue sailor hats for a souvenir and to use as a model for Photoshopping sailor pics, but I couldn't find anywhere I could buy one -- not even a reproduction. But I found one on E-Bay and bought it very cheap, along with the sailor's uniform who owned it.

I've put a higher quality photo of another sailor on this post as well (see bottom photo), a sailor named Boo who died on the SS Grunion so you can see what these hats looked like. I think they were quite handsome.

.Update: I did some online research and learned that these hats were officially known as "flat hats" and unofficially as "Donald Duck" or "Cracker Jack" hats, as Donald Duck wore one and one was featured on the Cracker Jack box. They originated in the Civil War and for years bore the name of the ship on which the wearer served. In 1941 the Navy realized that it was stupid to advertise the whereabouts of their ships, so all hat ribbons were changed to simply bear the name "U.S. NAVY." The hat was phased out in 1963 due to a lack of materials for construction.

...

Currently the U.S. Navy plans to replace its traditional blues and whites for a common-looking khaki uniform that resembles that of the Army. The white dixiecup hats will be replaced with garrison hats. The last time they messed with the Navy uniform it was devastating to morale (in the 1970's) and they changed back to the traditional Cracker Jack uniform in 1983. But the brass hats never learn. The traditional Navy uniform has made the American sailor unique and a stand-out in his appearance and has added to the mystique of the U.S. Navy. Let's hope they don't make the same stupid mistake again.

I found a couple of Militaria sites online that sell the Donald Duck hat and I ordered a second one. I guess I had better buy a dixiecup too, while I still can.

Maybe the Obamunists are right: our best times really are behind us.