Military Humor

Comedian Bob Hope (right) with dancers Harold and Fayard Nicholas in a dance step aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga (CV-14), December 1965
Comedian Bob Hope (right) with dancers Harold and Fayard Nicholas in a dance step aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga (CV-14), December 1965.

Today in WW II: 17 Jul 1936 General Francisco Franco stages a military revolt in Spain precipitating the Spanish Civil War. Nazi Germany supports Franco. More ↓
17 Jul 1944 Protected by the Royal Canadian Navy, the largest shipping convoy of WW II embarks from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
17 Jul 1944 Disaster at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine, CA, where the munitions ship SS E.A. Bryan, explodes killing 320, injuring almost 400 more, many of them African-American stevedores.
17 Jul 1945 Potsdam Conference with Truman, Stalin, Churchill [17 Jul-2 Aug].
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

Military Humor

Humor has always been a part of military life. Outside the military, humor about the services can be an acknowledgement of the special nature of the military community and how much civilians owe to those who serve. Unfortunately, humor can also be used negatively to denigrate the purpose and life of the military.

Within the military, under the stress of military operations or training, spontaneous humor is a way to deal with the pressure and form bonds of common experience. As one man put it when facing the USMC Basic School’s obstacle course, "It takes a sense of humor and sarcasm."

Therefore, there is a huge body of humorous stories -- both long and short -- and cartoons, as well as songs and shows by comedians, all with the military as the theme and subject matter. To find examples, at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, the Library has dedicated a big section to humor, both Political, and Literary, much of which is military related.

Military Jokes from Readers Digest

There is no end to military jokes, a species that goes back to ancient times. Readers Digest has a long tradition of including "Humor in Uniform" military jokes in every issue, many of them collected at this link.

More Military Humor

Military Jokes. Military jokes and army humor, ranging from jokes about the Air Force to jokes about the Navy.
Military quotes, mottos, jokes and humor. This site is possibly the largest collection of military quotes and mottos on the internet. Famous and infamous, over 1500 quotes and 400 mottos, historical and modern.
The Lighthouse Joke is an old Navy story. Not true, but a good story.
Sad Sack Net Comics, The Official Sad Sack Comics Web Site, honors the comic strip creator George Baker who worked for Disney before going into the Army in 1941. He created Sad Sack, the bewildered civilian trying to adapt to Army life (usually failing). Sergeant Baker was put on the staff of Yank Magazine where his cartoons were immensely popular.

Recommended Book of Miliary Humor

Find More Information on the Internet

There are many fine websites that have additional information on this topic, too many to list here and too many to keep up with as they come and go. Use this Google web search form to get an up to date report of what's out there.

For good results, try entering this: military ~humor. Then click the Search button.