This year marked the seventieth anniversary of the formal end of World War II. Coney Island played a

This year marked the seventieth anniversary of the formal end of World War II. Coney Island played an important role in the war, as the site was temporarily closed to the public and converted into a training ground in May 1942. That month, the press reported that the boardwalk resounded with the “stomp of sentries’ feet.”Shooting galleries and ball tosses, long time amusement staples, became very popular during this period as men who had served or were about to serve practiced their aim on cast iron targets and caricatures of Hitler, Hirohito, and Mussolini. The Parachute Jump was another favorite. Based on a design patented by a retired Naval commander to train paratroopers, the Parachute Jump was an actual symbol of war that became an amusement for the masses. In this photograph by Morris Engel, a seated soldier and his girl are physically intertwined. The likelihood that the man would soon leave to fight for his country adds poignancy to this candid moment preserved by Engel, who joined the Navy in 1941. Meanwhile, the Pepsi bottle beside the couple functions as a commercial flag planted in the sand, declaring this beach to be America. This nationalistic statement could be seen in rides and businesses throughout Coney Island.Posted by Connie H. Choi Morris Engel (American, 1918-2005), Coney Island Embrace, New York City, 1938, Gelatin silver photograph, Orkin/Engel Film and Photo Archive, New York -- source link
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