#world war2

Nebraska native John Falter enlisted in the U.S. Navy during WWII and spent much of this time designing posters. This 1942 "Fight for Freedom!" poster features the quote "This World Cannot Exist Half Slave and Half Free" a paraphrased quote from Abraham Lincoln's “House Divided” speech from the Illinois Republican State Convention on June 16, 1858.

The original quote was: I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.

Learn more on our Digital Artifact Collection: https://fdr.artifacts.archives.gov/objects/31560/fight-for-freedom

Follow along throughout 2024 as we feature more #TheArtOfWar posters from our Digital Artifact Collection.

~Requested~ Hey, can you do a one- shot where 1940′s Bucky has some time off from the war and is at home the reader who is also his wife and that he has nightmares and the reader comforts him and they fall asleep in each others arms.

Its been a few days since your husband, James Buchanan Barnes (Bucky) returned safely home to you from the war. Ever since he has been back, he seems different. He started having nightmares. You guessed that his nightmares started happening when he was in the war. It makes sense, When Bucky was away from you, he would always write you letters.

 With each letter he sent, he seemed more and more effected by what was going on around him in the war.

In the very first letter he had sent to you, he explained to you how it felt to kill someone for the first time.

“Oh how I missed you so much, (Y/N). I wish I could hug you and kiss you one more time. And have you tell me that everything is going to be alright. I feel so sick right now. Having to kill our enemies. I know that it is wrong to feel bad about killing them but i can’t help it. This guy probably had a life before the war. He probably had a family.  He was just doing what he had to, to serve his country and keep his family safe. Just like what I am doing He was no different to me, so why did I have to kill him? He would have done the same if the situation had been reversed, and he would probably be sending  and receiving letters from his family. Now the only letter they will receive is one of condolence.”

Your heart broke thinking how hard it was for  Bucky in that moment, squeezing the trigger, and watching the bullet hit the enemy solider. And is now being reminded of that every time he goes to sleep.

One third night of Bucky being home you couldn't sleep, so you decided to make the most of it by grabbing your American Literature  book and heading on into the kitchen to try to get some late night reading done. As you were reading, you couldn't help hearing the whimpering coming from down the hall, followed by  thumping and screaming. Thinking that there was an intruder in your home, you jump from your seat, grabbing the Louisville slugger bat from behind the counter and bolted down the hallway, looking for where the thumping and screaming was coming from. You followed the noises to the door of the bedroom that you Bucky shared.

Without a second thought, you open the door and quickly stride into the room, looking around for the intruder. But there was no intruder. There’s only Bucky, crying and screaming and violently tossing and turning in bed, as if he was fighting someone.

Your heart drops at the sight Bucky. You dropped your bat and rushed over to Bucky, trying to wake him up from his nightmare.

“ James,” you began cautiously, jumping onto bed to go to your husband. “James , honey, please wake up” You grab his shoulders and began shaking him.

Heavily breathing, Bucky opens his eyes, shooting up into a sitting position.

“(Y/n)?” he’s panting and looking at you.

“It’s me. you were having a nightmare, James” you say.

You see the tears falling down his face.  Without a second thought, Bucky wraps his arms around you tightly and buries his face into your chest, sobbing.

“it’s okay now. It was only a nightmare” you said, trying to comfort Bucky.

“I know but it felt so real.” he said, still sobbing into your chest.

“Sweetie, what was your nightmare about?” you asked him.

“I-it’s usually dark when it starts,  Like I can’t see or hear anything for a while then all of a sudden, I was back on the Battlefield, fighting those Nazis. The Nazis that I shot and killed, they had you held captive with a gun to your forehead”... just when I started to save you, I couldn't move my feet. Like I was glued to the ground or something.... Then the same Nazis laughed as i couldn’t get free and pulled the trigger on you. I had to watch as they killed you.”

You sat there in shocked at what Bucky told you about his nightmare. Bucky looked at you, teary eyed.

“I thought I lost you (Y/n).... I thought I’ve lost you to those Nazi’s that I have killed” His voice crackled.

You gave Bucky a kiss on the lips, ”you are never going to lose me, James. Like you always say “I’m with you till the end of the line, pal” you say, brushing off strands of his hair. he smiled back.   “Can you sing to me, (Y/n)? Just until I fall asleep” Bucky asked. ”Of course, my love. What song do you want me to sing?” you asked. ”The one that you sang at our wedding.” he said. You smilled at him, as you two made yourselves confortable in your bed, his arms still wrapped around you and yours wrapped around his. You began singing:

Once there was a way, To get back homeward.

Once there was a way To get back home.

Sleep, pretty darling, Dot not cry And I will sing a lullaby.

Golden slumbers, Fill your eyes Smiles await you when you rise Sleep pretty darling Do not cry And I will sing a lullaby.

Once there was a way To get back homeward

Once there was a way To get back home

Sleep, pretty darling Do not cry And I will sing a lullaby.

You finished singing your song, and Bucky calmed down. he let your song play through his mind asthe two of you fell asleep in each others arms.

The Focke-Wulf Fw-190 is a single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft that was developed by the company during the Second World War. The Fw-190 was designed as a replacement for the Messerschmitt Bf 109, which was the main fighter aircraft of the Luftwaffe at that time. The Fw-190 was designed to be a sturdier and stable aircraft than the Bf 109, with a wider undercarriage that made it easier to taxi, land and take off.