Existing comment:
The Artists:
Walt Disney became personally involved with the military insignia work of the studios and committed to their success. He created a special six-person team of artists and animators to work the requests, in addition to their other wartime duties.
Leading the effort was Mr. Hank Porter, who was responsible for many early insignia designs. Among his most notable creations was the eagle with boxing gloves for the American Eagle Squadron in the Royal Air Force. This insignia transferred with the unit when it was incorporated into the U.S. Army Air Forces as the 334th Fighter Squadron. Porter was one of Walt Disney's very best and trusted artists, being one of the very few that were authorized to sign the Disney name to a finished product. He continued to be the leader of the insignia project through out the war.
Also on the team was Mr. Roy Williams who, along with Porter, created one of the most famous of all Disney insignia, that of the Flying Tiger. Originally done for the American Volunteer Group in the Chinese Air Force, the insignia continued, with modifications, to be widely used in the China-Burma-India Theatre and continues to this day as part of the heraldry of the 14th Air Force. Williams gained significant notoriety and popularity after the war as a permanent member of the television series, "The Mickey Mouse Club" and he was also the inventor of the "Mouse Ears."
It is common that the work of studio artist's remain anonymous and their creations unattributed. We are most fortunate to know that along with Hank Porter and Roy Williams were the talents of Bill Justice, Van Kaufman, Ed Parks and George Goepper. While many Walt Disney employees contributed ideas for insignia, the actual burden of creative energy and artistic accomplishment in producing the over 1,200 designs during WWII was primarily born by these six individuals. |