when a frozen Milky Way was contraband,

when old bicycles were reassembled from

used parts to be sold as new, we put up with

the war on display in far-flung THEATERS.

It was also fought on our HOME FRONT,

Uncle Sam reminded us from billboards that

admonished those who could read: "LOOSE

LIPS SINK SHIPS!" and the Brown Bomber

assured us (and reminded the Deity, too) that

"GOD IS ON OUR SIDE." Thus we lived

for THE DURATION while people died in

the Battle of the Bulge, on Monte Casino,

Guadalcanal, Okinawa. And since LIFE

schooled us that "A PICTURE IS WORTH

A THOUSAND WORDS" (but continued to

massage all pix with captions), we caught our

breath with pride at the clutch of Marines

pushing hard to plant OLD GLORY on a rise

in Iwo Jima, sure that the boys would grunt it

out to conclusion (though that part was not in

the picture). Of course, these men made up

the "GREATEST GENERATION" (though

no one knew that then). Then there was the

"Enola Gay," leaving Tinian, with its secret

payload aimed at Tokyo, but diverted else-

where. Yet no matter, of course, for it gave

us peace, with its assurance of untold power.