FORT BENNING, Ga. -- The idea came while Tess Crosby was planning her Halloween costume as a pinup girl. Wanting to create a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project, Crosby hit upon a plan for a 1940s-style charity pinup calendar.
"The idea clicked that in World War II, pinup girls were a show of support to the military and were very uplifting for morale," she said. "And that was it."
Crosby began working on the project in September. Creating the calendar is a way to rally public support for wounded warriors, she said.
"Our community and every community is impacted with the effect of these multiple deployments," she said. "I think everybody focuses so much on supporting the troops who are deployed, and that's a necessary thing ... but what happens with the guys who come home who need some support'"
Crosby found 11 other women to pose for the calendar, many of them wives of Fort Benning Soldiers.
In keeping with the nostalgic theme, the backdrop for the calendar features restored World War II planes at the Dixie Wing Commemorative Airfield in Peachtree City, Ga. One calendar model wore an original nurse's uniform used in one of the airfield's museum displays, Crosby said.
The public will have the opportunity to meet several of the "pinup girls" Dec. 5, in Columbus, Ga. Dressed in full costume and make up, they will autograph calendars from noon to 3 p.m. at Commandos Military Supply and from 7 to 9 p.m. at Scruffy Murphy's, where free food will be served.
Calendars will be available at both locations for $20 each, Crosby said. All the money goes directly to wounded warriors.
Sarah Myers, wife of Sgt. Jacob Myers, who is currently deployed with the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, said working on the calendar helped her keep her mind off her husband's deployment, his first since they married last year.
"I thought it was something really wonderful to do to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, (and) the calendar was something to look forward to the first couple weeks while he was gone," she said. "All of us girls got together and did our photo shoots and had a really good time. It brought us together as a community."
Sarah was allowed to pick out her outfit for the calendar - a white dress with black polka dots and red trim.
"It was very classy, and I felt it represented the 1940s style," she said. "I would recommend the calendar to anybody. It would make a wonderful present; it isn't something you see every day."
Crosby received her first shipment of calendars Thursday. The final result' "Glamorous," she said, and very tasteful.
"I'm so relieved," said Crosby, who coordinated with Sarah Caudel of Dixie Pin-Up to create the calendars. "We're just very, very excited to write that check (to the Wounded Warrior Project) at the end of the year. That's the big thing."
For more information visit www.dixiepinup.com.
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