ON THE COVER: Life’s Cover on Our Cover

 

PHOTO BY PETER STACKPOLE

The January 12, 1942 Life Magazine cover photo by photojournalist Peter Stackpole, features U.S. Army Sgt. Wallace Harry Musch (foreground), unidentified at the time, on duty in the Pacific Coast Defense against potential Japanese attack on the United States.

“Life’s Cover” description reads: “American soldiers last week were serious about the art of camouflage. In the Philippines improper concealment for men or guns meant death. On the Pacific Coast, which daily expected Japanese raids, all gun positions, personnel and planes were carefully hidden from air observation. This week’s cover shows three American soldiers, serious and tough, walking under the camouflage which hides their big coastal gun.”

Author Mary Ann Frericks, who researched and wrote the article, “The Musch Family, Part I — Military History,” on pages 16-17, bought the magazine online from eBay.

Although we had access to Frericks copy, we also googled the issue online and found it at: http://oldlifemagazines.com/the-1940s/1942/january-12-1942-life-magazine.html, among many others.

Permission to use the Life Magazine cover photograph was generously given by the Life Picture Collection.