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1945.03.12 \u201cWhat a Target\u201d
\nby Silvey Jackson (SJ) Ray (1891-1970)
\n12 x 16 in., ink on board
\nCoppola Collection<\/p>\n
S.J. Ray was a student at the Art Students League of New York and was a World War I veteran. He joined the Kansas City Star in 1915 as an advertising illustrator and became the Star\u2019s editorial cartoonist in 1931. He served in that post until retirement in 1963,<\/p>\n
drawing an estimated 10,000 cartoons. He received honors from the U.S. Treasury Dept. for his cartoons during World War II in behalf of the National War Savings Program.<\/p>\n
The Bombing of Tokyo was a series of firebombing air raids by the United States Army Air Forces during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. Operation Meetinghouse, which was conducted on the night of March 9-10, 1945, is regarded as the single most destructive bombing raid in human history: 16 square miles of central Tokyo were destroyed, leaving an estimated 100,000 civilians dead and over 1 million homeless.<\/p>\n
Over 50% of Tokyo’s industry was spread out among residential and commercial neighborhoods; firebombing cut the whole city’s output in half. \u00a0Some post-war analysts have called the raid a war crime due to the targeting of civilian infrastructure and the ensuing mass loss of civilian life.<\/p>\n
Emperor Hirohito’s tour of the destroyed areas of Tokyo in late March was the beginning of his personal involvement in the peace process, culminating in Japan’s surrender six months later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
1945.03.12 \u201cWhat a Target\u201d by Silvey Jackson (SJ) Ray (1891-1970) 12 x 16 in., ink on board Coppola Collection S.J. Ray was a student at the Art Students League of New York and was a World War I veteran. He … Continue reading