Folies Bergere at Dutch Harbor
November 11, 1943Dearest Reader,
In November 1943, my father was stationed in the Aleutian Islands, at Dutch Harbor, one of the most remote and strategically important American outposts of World War II. From there, he mailed home small pieces of memorabilia so my mother could glimpse the life he was living at the far edge of the continent. Among those keepsakes was a program titled: Folies Bergere de Dutch Harbor, dated November 11, 1943.
Dutch Harbor had become a major military installation after the Japanese attack on the Aleutians in 1942. Though the U.S. regained control of the islands earlier in 1943, the environment remained harsh: relentless wind, cold rain, fog and isolation. Thousands of servicemen were stationed there. The Aleutian campaign was sometimes called the “forgotten battle”.
November 11 marked Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of World War I. The armistice had taken effect at 11:00 AM on November 11, 1918, ending what was then called “the war to end all wars”. By 1943, that hope had long vanished. American servicemen fighting in World War II still paused to commemorate the earlier conflict.
Inside the program, the words read: “Welfare and Recreation Department presents Folies Bergere de Dutch Harbor – Introducing Dutch Harbor’s First Armistice Day Program”.
The Welfare and Recreation Department was the military’s organized effort to sustain morale. In isolated postings like Dutch Harbor, this work was essential. The department sponsored athletic competitions, movie nights, musical performances and variety shows. It provided diversion and connection in places where men were far from home.
The title “Folies Bergere” was a playful borrowing from the famous Parisian cabaret Folies Bergere, known for its elaborate costumes and chorus lines including stylized nude and semi-nude female figures. Soldiers across the world adopted glamorous European names for their base productions. The cover image of a nude woman posed on a boat fits this escapist fantasy.
For my father, sending this program home was a way of saying: This is where I am. This is what life looks like here. It carried the date, the place, the humor, and the spirit of camaraderie that sustained him.
This program is a snapshot of November 11, 1943: a group of young men stationed at the edge of the Pacific, commemorating the end of one war while fighting another, finding music and laughter in a remote outpost, and sending pieces of that life home to the people they loved.
Dr. Nancy Watson
Washington
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