As troops sailed home from the fighting of WW2, transport ships published “newspapers” to pass on information and help pass the time of the travelers. The S.S. Marine Cardinal published White Caps for those she was taking home. Here’s the “Chaplain’s Corner” from the 2 January 1946 issue, urging the war-weary troops to make the world a better place as they return home.

“After a great convention had left a certain city, a man passing by the convention hall, saw a delegate’s badge in the gutter. ‘The show was over’; this was the aftermath. And now that the war has ended, what will be its aftermath——a badge in the gutter or war’s destructive energies turned to constructive use:

“The answer lies with the millions who like yourselves are returning home. You can make the world just about what you want it to be if you do not toss aside the idealism, cooperation, and comrades which led our forces onto victory.”

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Here’s a scan of the original article (author’s collection).

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Author unknown, White Caps, 2 January 1946 (author’s collection).

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