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Impact
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Dorian deWindRetired U.S. Air Force Officer andwriter
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Follow Afghanistan , Veterans , War , Freedom Station , U.S. Military , World War I , World War II ,Pin-Up Calendar , The Warrior Foundation , Wounded Warriors , Impact News
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'Pin-up Girls' for a Cause
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Posted: 06/12/2012 6:39 pm
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Pin-up girl image via Shutterstock
Drawings or photos depicting attractive women have probably been part of warriors' most prized
personal belongings since times immemorial.
They accompanied our World War I Doughboy s as folded, crumpled, black-and-white images into
the muddy , stinking trenches in Europe during World War I.
They resided in footlockers, wall lockers and on walls of World War II barracks. They went with our
soldiers into every battlefield in that war and they came to be known as those glamorous, all-
American "pin-up girls." They were even artistically and imaginatively painted in various alluring
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poses on the noses of our bombers and graced the fuselages of other combat aircraft.
World War II "Nose Art" on the famous "Y ellow Rose" B-25 -- U.S. Air Force photo
This tradition never changed, not in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. Only the medium
changed, evolv ing from those black and white drawings and photographs to glossy , glorious, color
photographs, posters and calendars and to the v iv id images on the screens of our troops' laptops,
iPads and iPhones.
The images of beautiful women have given our serv icemen a distraction from the horrors of war,
from the real possibility of death. They have eased some of the loneliness of being thousands of
miles away from home, perhaps even prov ided a reminder of the "girl back home" -- of what home
was.
Just to be clear, I am not referring to the obscene, explicit images that are demeaning to women.
I am talking about tastefully done -- perhaps a little risqué -- photos of beautiful models that will
invariably draw admiring glances from our troops and put smiles on the faces of our military men
at some far-away battlefield, in some remote post -- in some Veterans' hospital.
What if there was an organization that not only would publish photos of its beautiful models for our
military and veterans, but whose models would also donate their time and energy making personal
appearances at military installations and Veterans' hospitals to cheer our troops up, to lift up their
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morale? And what if the same organization would send hundreds of their collections of photos to
our troops deploy ed overseas? Finally , what if such an organization would donate up to 100
percent of the proceeds from its sales of photos to charitable organizations that prov ide much
needed serv ices to injured veterans and their families?
Such an organization does exist and is called "Operation Calendar."
Operation Calendar has been publishing tastefully rendered calendars featuring a dozen stunning
models for the past five y ears and is presently featuring its sixth annual fundraising calendar,
"Camouflage 2012."
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Photography: Brian Phillips - Hair and Make Up: Vanessa Maalea - Model: Melissa - Courtesy of
Operation Calendar
Founded in 2005, the calendar is the brainchild of Italian model Manuela Mezzadri, who came up
with the idea after conversations with veterans about the hardships that wounded veterans and
their families can face when returning from the conflicts.
Mezzadri felt compelled to help and started Operation Calendar, a team effort where most of the
artists and all the models volunteer their talent, energy , resources, and a tremendous amount of
time to make the calendars a reality .
May 2012 calendar model, Manuela Mezzadri. Photography: Brian Phillips - Hair and Make-Up:
Vanessa Maalea - Courtesy of Operation Calendar
Mezzadri speaks highly of the two foundations supported by the calendar sales proceeds and of
Sandy Lehmkuhler, director of the Warrior Foundation and President of Freedom Station.
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Mezzadri say s,
"I am very proud of [her], she makes such a difference for our wounded Warriors! She is the
heart and soul behind the Warrior Foundation and Freedom Station was her idea, her dream,
and she made it happen. Now our wounded Heroes have a place to call home while transitioning
from military to civ ilian life. Some of our models -- and my self -- volunteer for the foundations
and see first-hand the amount of work and time that Sandy and her team put into their cause."
But just how did y ours truly , a 7 2-y ear-old veteran, "get involved" with such a gorgeous collection
of y oung calendar models?
Long story :
As an av id reader and occasional contributor to the Stars and Stripes, I noticed a couple of weeks
ago that topping the list of "most read" articles was "Former airman who posed for Play boy bares it
all to help wounded troops," dated June 6, 2007 .
Out of curiosity , I clicked on the link and was pleasantly surprised by what I read -- and saw.
As the title suggests, the 2007 article features attractive former staff sergeant Michelle Manhart,
who was discharged from the Air Force after appearing in Playboy and who went on to pose for the
calendars published by Operation Calendar. Manhart was on the cover of the 2008 calendar.
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2008 Calendar Cover: Model Michelle Manhart - Photography: Monique Feil - Body Paint: Filippo
ioco - Courtesy of Operation Calendar
At the time of the article Mezzadri called Manhart "an obvious choice for the calendar's cover."
"The fact that she has a military past and is a beautiful woman -- who else better than her knows the
needs of the military and of wounded troops?" she said.
When I asked Mezzadri about the former airman, she said,
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"Not only was Michelle beautiful and energetic at the photo shoots, but she also is 100 percent
behind the cause. Her passion for the calendar and the cause showed -- she attended all the
calendar events and brought a unique energy and enthusiasm that really made a difference."
Way to go, former airman Manhart.
Now the short version:
This septuagenarian (for our y oung readers, that is what a person who is 7 0 through 7 9 y ears old is
called) still appreciates "pin-ups" -- including the modern versions -- but most importantly , I
appreciate organizations dedicated to improve the morale and welfare of those brave troops who
have sacrificed so much for all of us.
One of those organizations is certainly Operation Calendar.
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En ter em a il for Im pa ct a ler ts
Operation Calendar® models with U.S. Marines "in the field" - Courtesy Operation Calendar
Please go to their web site, www.operationcalendar.org, see for y ourself and buy a calendar. It is
for a superb cause.
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pinupstylist
09:20 PM on 06/27/2012
What a wonderful cause; good on you girls!
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