This lesser-known Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving painting graced the cover of the November 28, 1942 Saturday Evening Post. Note the menu for a brigade dinner at Ft. Ethan Allen, Vermont.
Rockwell lived in Arlington, Vermont and often used Vermont people and settings for his subjects. The real-life identity of this bedraggled Army cook is not known.
The ’71st Brigade’ wasn’t the famed Devil’s Brigade (forerunners of U.S. Army Special Forces) wasn’t posted at the Fort until spring of 1943, according to Wikipedia:
“After amphibious training at Chesapeake Bay in April 1943, they traveled to Fort Ethan Allen near Burlington, Vermont, in May 1943. They received rubber raft training on Lake Champlain and endured 50-mile hikes at Fort Ethan Allen.”
But I digress! Happy Thanksgiving to all of the cooks and the thankful people they’re cooking for.
– Guy Page