they might expect under real conditions. The leaflets on these pages were
among those produced for extended maneuvers involving the 505 th
Airborne Division (c. 1955 ) and include four types of messages:
1. Leaflets dropped by U.S. forces on the enemy.One states, “You are facing
the mightiest nation on earth. The United States Army has never
been defeated. Behind us lies the enormous power of American
production. This war can have only one outcome, your total defeat.”
Another proclaims, “We have gathered our strength. Massed
American forces now begin to roll forward. You are retreating before
the best-trained, best-equipped, most powerful military machine that
the world has ever seen. We will drive you back into the sea. Your
destruction is only a matter of time.”
2 .Leaflets dropped by the simulated “Aggressor” on the U.S. Army.In one
that reproduces the self-assured U.S. leaflet quoted above, the enemy
counters with defiant rhetoric: “crushed: U.S. Forces, What
Happened?” and on the flip side offers its own plan for capitulation.
Among these leaflets is an ersatz dollar bill with the headline
“Attention: This Is a Safe Conduct Pass” that guarantees that all
“aggressor soldiers” treat surrendering troops “with courtesy and
respect.”
3 .Leaflets distributed by the Aggressor designed to demoralize U.S. troops by
focusing on their daily deprivations.One reads, “You could be in town
tonight. Yes, you could be enjoying yourself... instead of being
holed up.” Another leaflet showing a sexy devil of a girl reads,
“Here’s a Real Hot Offer. You Can Have It Made: Plenty of your
buddies are in the Aggressor Rest Camp. There’s no reason why you
too cannot enjoy a hot meal without sand in your tray, a warm bed,
and recreational activities.. .”
4 .Leaflets designed by the Aggressor to terrorize U.S. troops.One reads,
“The Aggressor Is Stalking youDay and Night.. .” and another
states, “With every tick of the clock, with every passing minute, the
Aggressor plunges deeper into your lines.”Crudely printed on cheap paper, usually in black and white,
the typography and art is certainly competent but undistinguished.
Nonetheless, the imagery is suitably menacing. Illustrated in a pulp comic
book style, the Aggressor is not given any explicit national characteristics
(i.e., Soviet or Chinese), but has a curiously alien demeanor. Perhaps it is
the helmet, the most distinctive accessory of any combat uniform, with its
protruding steel top-piece, or the European-styled collar patches (neither of