Mike Wesley Nott

WWII Fathers See Their Babies For First Time - 1943-1945

It's mid-1943 and the country had been at war for about a year and a half and many thousands of servicemen had left their homes -- many with their wives expecting a new son or daughter. About this time, The Sacramento Bee newspaper took on the project of photographing new mothers, with their babies, and sending two prints -- one large and one wallet size -- to the new father. The photo of mother and baby also was printed in the newspaper as a regular feature that lasted nearly to the end of the war. Those babies will now be 66-70 years of age. How do I know this? At a recent estate sale, I picked up a scrapbook full of newspaper clippings, all neatly pasted in place, that told the story and included 446 Sacramento Bee clippings showing mothers with their new babies. Although the clippings are not individually dated, the birth dates of the babies pictured seem to end in early summer 1945. Whether the collector tired of the project or The Bee ended the series, I do not know. It is a fascinating service The Bee provided -- which is shown by several articles from servicemen who received the photogaphs.

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