Walt Disney Had A Role In WWI That Few People Know About

You may have thought you knew all about Disney and his legacy. There’s the company bearing his name, of course, which still rakes in billions. His theme parks remain at the top of kids’ vacation wishlists, too. Still, there was much more to the man than his cartoons and his business empire.

You see, Disney was alive during an especially consequential period of human history. It just so happens that he was part of a generation that experienced not one world war, but two. And as a patriotic fellow, he wanted to help out in both those conflicts in whatever ways he could.

Given that Disney was just a teenager when the U.S. entered WWI, he hadn’t yet become the famous animator we all recognize. He was still years away from making his name and earning the power and status he would wield in support of the Allies in WWII. His ability to help his country was more subtle and limited than it was in the ’40s. Even so, he went above and beyond to do his part.

While WWII was raging, however, Disney got to work the best way he knew how. He and his company famously pumped out propaganda-filled cartoons in aid of the Allied forces. You may have seen a few of those movies. Perhaps the ones that feature Donald Duck?

Disney’s contribution to the U.S. war effort was arguably more important that time around. It was, after all, far more far-reaching in its scope. People were affected by his war movies, and they may even have made an impact on how wider events unfolded.

Disney had barely any time to think twice. Mere hours after Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army took over some of his studio space in California for its operations. But that certainly wasn’t the extent of his involvement. Even the animator’s own characters were pulled into the fray.

And using those characters, the entrepreneur began to put out what can only be described as propaganda. He wasn’t alone. Major movie world figures such as Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra were brought on board to make films supporting the Allies. Among them, though, Disney was up there with the most influential.

With no time to lose, Disney and his studio launched a 1942 film that drummed up backing for the American war effort. It even won an Oscar. But arguably his most important propaganda films from the period starred Donald Duck. The Spirit of ’43, for instance, saw the loveable character conveying the importance of paying taxes to the American public.

In fact, Donald became somewhat of a figurehead during this period. The New York Times noted how the beloved duck was being employed as an“ambassador-at-large, a salesman of the American Way” both in the U.S. and around the rest of the world.

Donald wasn’t the only Disney character used to push the American way, though, and Walt Disney Productions did more than just make movies. There was also the book The Victory March, which was designed to appeal directly to kids — helped by Mickey, Minnie, and all their animated buddies on the cover.

Besides everything else, Disney’s company also made themed insignia for servicepeople to wear. A whole section was set up to produce these — almost 1,300 of them by the war’s end. The insignia was designed on demand and was provided completely gratis to those who asked.

The majority of the insignia was designed for whole units of military personnel. From time to time, though, folk would get in contact with Disney to make requests of their own. It doesn’t get more personalized than that!

Then, once these orders landed at Disney HQ, they’d be added to the pile. It typically took around a month or so for an insignia request to make it to the top — although, in busier periods, it could be weeks longer than that.

Many of these orders were pretty open-ended, with the people sending them happy to let the Disney artists do their thing. Others, however, were really specific. On occasion, a unit would even include a doodle of the idea they wanted to be immortalized.

As for the Disney artists working on this project? They had their own distinct method for producing the insignia. Generally speaking, a rough draft would be sketched out, followed by a more honed version in color. Then, eventually, the finished product would be created. This meticulously created artwork could then be replicated to appear on any clothing or machinery a unit wanted.

And one Disney character appeared on more insignia designs than any other. No prizes for guessing that it was, of course, Donald Duck — the “salesman of the American Way” himself. According to Smithsonian magazine, he showed up in more than 140 of these patriotic drawings.

Pluto was the second most-seen character, although he appeared on a relatively measly 35 or so designs. Goofy, too, showed up on around 25 insignia — one more than Pinocchio’s Jiminy Cricket.

You may think this all a little frivolous, but it could actually have had a small impact on the war effort. The Americans fighting would have grown up with Disney characters, and if nothing else the insignia would have given them a small taste of home. That could have had a powerful effect on their morale.

But Disney’s decision to produce the insignia and the movies may not have just come out of love of his country. A cynic could say that, given the financial issues facing Walt Disney Productions at the time, it was all a canny business move from the entrepreneur. These wartime ventures boosted his company and its image, after all.

On the other hand, Disney created several of the propaganda films for free. One of them was even funded out of his own pocket. And, of course, the insignia was produced without charge. So, were Disney’s intentions purely patriotic or with one eye on the bottom line? It’s up to you to decide…

Both arguments are probably true in some ways. But what Disney did decades before that, during World War I, is quite another story. And, back then, his motives seem to have been a lot purer. Put quite simply, the teenager wanted to help.

Though the war was nearing its end in mid-1918, it still loomed large in the American consciousness. Certainly, Disney was thinking a lot about it. But at the time, he was still just a kid. His ambition to make movies had not yet been realized, even though he’d invested in a proper camera with a buddy.

The young dreamer’s brothers had joined the military to fight, too. Ray and Roy Disney were members of the Army and the Navy respectively. And Walt was left captivated by Roy’s uniform — not surprising, given his penchant for costumes.

Walt also enjoyed Roy’s letters home. They were, according to the animator himself, filled with “blowing bugles and... patriotism.” And despite being only 16 at the time, he had known what he had to do. “I just had to get in there,” he later reflected.

Disney tried to join the Navy first, but you had to be at least 17 to do so. That didn’t put him off for good. Along with his buddy Russell Maas, he applied for enlistment in Canada’s armed forces. But this ploy failed because Maas had pretty bad eyesight.

Yet again, though, the two teenagers jumped right back up on the horse. They started scheming — and this time, their plan would prove a winner. Joining the Red Cross Ambulance Corps was their new goal, but this wasn’t simple either. They had to have parental permission before they could get going.

But before the boys could even ask, their parents learned their secret. Disney’s dad Elias wasn’t happy, and he was firmly against granting his son permission to sign up. According to The Walt Disney Family Museum, Elias remarked to his youngest boy, “I might be signing your death warrant!”

Disney’s mom Flora, on the other hand, was far more sympathetic to her son’s wishes. She apparently told her husband, “Three of my sons have left this family in the middle of the night. Walter’s determined to go, Elias, even if he has to sneak out like his brothers. I’d rather sign this paper and know where he is.”

Elias still wasn’t convinced, however, and furiously said, “Forge my name if you want, but I won’t sign.” Amazingly, that’s exactly what Flora decided to do. But there was still one small issue: Walt was too young to go. No matter, as he was able to perform a little forgery himself, altering the date on his birth certificate to 1900 rather than 1901. He was putting his artistic talent to use — albeit in a rather shady manner.

Disney’s effort paid off, and in September 1918 he successfully became part of the Red Cross Ambulance Corps. But things didn’t exactly start off well. During his training in Chicago — where he was learning to operate and fix up ambulances — he ended up catching a nasty dose of the flu, which forced him back home. By the time he was better again, his pal Maas had been sent over to France.

Disney was then sent to another base for training — this time in Connecticut. And, incredibly, there he met a teenager who would also go on to become the head of a vast business empire. His name was Ray Kroc, and he would later find success as the head of McDonald’s.

During this period, World War I came to an end. At first, it seemed the young man’s aspiration to represent his country wouldn’t come to pass. But the Red Cross still required men to drive their ambulances, which meant Disney still had a shot. And sure enough, he was among a group of 50 people picked to head to France. He got there on December 4, 1918 — a mere day before he turned 17.

Delighted as he may have been by his dream of service finally coming true, Disney was in for a rude awakening. The conditions in France were grim. Food and shelter were both lacking, and Disney apparently had to ward off the cold by covering himself in newspapers!

Disney wasn’t well-traveled at this point in his life, so it all must have been a bit of a shock. Still, he experienced a lot in France, seeing various parts of the country and getting into adventures of one sort or another. It was a formative time for the boy who would grow up to be one of the world’s best-known businessmen.

As for his duties with the Red Cross? Disney did what was required. With the war now over, he wasn’t pressed into intense service. The dangers, certainly, were less severe by this point in time. Nonetheless, Disney drove a lot.

And whenever Disney wasn’t behind the wheel or exploring France, he was drawing. In snatches of time between jobs, he came up with new characters and ideas — even sending a few of his works off for potential publication. Then, before too long, it was time to apply for a discharge to go home.

The return journey wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. Disney was aboard the SS Canada, which ran into trouble with low fuel supplies and a bad storm. That made the crossing pretty dicey, but in the end the ship emerged unscathed. She landed in New York, and Disney was soon back in Chicago.

Disney had come back from Europe as a new person. He’d developed a lot abroad, and he was now set on realizing his dream of becoming a cartoonist. His dad wasn’t exactly happy about this decision, but Disney was set on it. As we all know now, he made the right decision.

And while Disney hadn’t spent a huge amount of time in France, the experience still changed his life. The man himself later reminisced about the trip, saying, “The things I did during those ten months I was overseas added up to a lifetime of experience... I know being on my own at an early age... made me more self-reliant.”