More Soldiers Sleeping

A sequel to this post (from almost two years ago now-- where does time go?). I always find photographs of soldiers asleep very touching. This photograph of a young soldier asleep in a WWI trench, in fact, is partially responsible for getting me so into old photographs. The emotional effect, for me, comes partly from the sense of sheer exhaustion you get from the men's poses, conveying the physical pressures of war, but even more so from the contrast between relaxed, sleeping, usually very young faces, and the context surrounding them-- the conditions and military apparel you see in the photographs as well as the wider wartime context the photograph fits into. Asleep, these men don't look like hardened soldiers off to fight for their lives; they look like young men who should be sleeping somewhere much better, not caught up in a war at all. 

© IWM (TR 1520)

A British lieutenant sleeps in the hay during fighting in Italy, 1944. Source

Larry Burrows, LIFE © Time Inc.

An American soldier asleep in Cambodia, 1970. Source

LIFE © Time Inc.

British soldier sleeping in a shallow foxhole in the Libyan desert, 1941. Source

Dream a Little Dream

People sleeping in days gone by (a part two; part one is here).

A soldier sleeping in the waiting room at Pennsylvania Station, NYC, 1943 (by Alfred Eisenstaedt, unsurprisingly). Source

No caption. Source

A woman sleeping in a train's observation lounge car, US, 1945. Source

Soldiers Sleeping

One of my (and your) favourite posts is soldiers sleeping in World War One; today, more of these touching wartime moments of peace.

Paul Schutzer, LIFE © Time Inc.

Exhausted American Marines sleep in a train after intense fighting in the Vietnam War, 1965. Source

 © IWM (NA 1326)

British troops sleep in a trench in Tunisia, c. 1942. Source

© IWM (A 4207)

A gun crew aboard a battleship catch some sleep while they can, WWII. Source

George Strock, LIFE © Time Inc.

Soldiers sleep in a crowded bunker [as noted by the caption; it looks more like the back of a truck], Texas, 1941. Source

© IWM (Q 2997)

Two British artillery men sleep on a limber in France, near Ypes, 1917. Source

George Silk, LIFE © Time Inc.

American soldiers sleep in a dugout during a lull in the fighting, Anzio, Italy, 1944. Source

Margaret Bourke-White, LIFE © Time Inc.

B-17 bomber crewmen catch some sleep before receiving the day's orders, England, 1942. Source

© IWM (B 14958)

A British soldier sleeps in a foxhole in Germany, 1945. Source

Carl Mydans, LIFE LIFE © Time Inc.

Finnish soldiers sleep during a break in the Russo-Finnish war, 1940. Source

© IWM (F 4580)

A British scout car driver sleeps in his vehicle in France, 1940. Source

LIFE © Time Inc.

Two sleeping Marines share their foxhole with a Okinawan boy, Ryukyu Islands, 1945. Source

© IWM (A 2126)

Stokers nap in between watches on a battleship, 1940. Source

© IWM (C 342)

RAF airmen sleep in their billet in France, c. 1940. Source

© IWM (A 437)

A British sailor sleeps by the ship's wheel, WWII. Source

Carl Mydans, LIFE © Time Inc.

American soldier sleeps on rocks during the advance towards Rome, 1944. Source

John Dominis, LIFE LIFE © Time Inc.

US Marines sleep after a meal, Thailand, 1961. Source

Carl Mydans, LIFE © Time Inc.

A soldier sleeps on a break from action in the fight for Southern France, 1944. Source

More Soldiers Sleeping

Sleeping in Former Days

A rather fun way to explore collections is to come up with a keyword and see what you get. The Flickr Commons is especially good for this; you really get a whole range! 

These photographs, of course, come from me feeling tired one day and thus looking for pictures of people sleeping. Not much more to say!

People napping in Battery Park, NYC, on a hot day c. 1910. Source

Portrait of a couple (June Christy and Bob Cooper), c. 1947. Source

A dragoman asleep on his camel (his 'ship of the desert', in the caption), sometime between 1860 and 1920. Source

Americans sleeping in the London Law Courts, c. 1917-1918 (sadly I'm not sure why). Source

A woman sleeping on a sofa on the street after a fire in Hartlepool, UK, 1922. Source

Man sleeping in a tent. The very best part of this photograph is that this is the same fellow seen wearing a newspaper around his neck in the former post on silliness! (for just that photo, see here)   Source

Sailors sleeping on the flight deck of the USS Lexington, 1943. Source

Asleep on a fallen column from the Temple of Palmyra, Syria. 1860-1920. Source

Sleeping on the Western Front

Another very touching post, returning to World War One. Some of the photographs that move me the most are the ones that show soldiers asleep, looking so peaceful and often so young amidst the debris of war. I feel so sad for them; they shouldn't be there, they should be home in bed.

This is one of my favourite photographs from World War One. I find it incredibly moving. This miserable, military setting contrasted against this young and beautiful man, looking so peaceful in his sleep. Source

As the National Library of Scotland's description says, you'd think these men were dead except for the caption which says they're asleep. Sheer exhaustion...! Poor guys. Source

Asleep in the mud amongst ammunition. Source

Australian soldiers asleep in a front line trench. Source

Exhausted German prisoners of war. Source

These photographs, possibly more than any other, remind me that these soldiers were just people, just very young men doing what they could. So, so sad.