Vintage Muscle Men

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Military Men Day

Today is Military Men Day on the blog and we start with one of a group of photos made at the same time from multiple angles by a lucky photographer. I've already posted several of these, some of which were given to me by Dee Exx, and others which I found on my own. The guy near front right seems to know exactly what's going on and seems to be enjoying it.

Barracks Hijinks I

One of these four French soldiers was apparently shy. We'll see some more barracks hijinks later today.

Small unit

That may be the smallest portable military shower unit that I've seen.

Guadalcanal

This is from one of the Ralph Morse photos made for LIFE on Guadalcanal.

Those are U.S. Marines enjoying a wash up in a river. I'm sure they swam, too.

Swimmers

Although I'm not certain, I think these men using the deck of a ruined boat as a swimming

platform are World War II Germans. An enterprising photographer took several

different views of them, and I have posted the others in the past.

Dumptruck Driver

He could drive my dumptruck any day.

Barracks Hijinks II

Our second boisterous barracks group members have cleverly

covered their crotches . . . to varying degrees of success.

Repeat

I came across a cleaner copy of this photo of three men carrying their boots,

so I'm repeating it. They seem to be taking their dogs along for a swim.

Delousing

These German troops are waiting their turns at a portable delousing station.

Verdun

These French soldiers enjoying a swim had been rotated out of the front lines at Verdun,

a vicious 1916 battle of attrition that many consider the worst episode of a truly awful war.

Monday, April 28, 2025

Dave Martin Photos Provided by Cambria

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Doyle Brewer

Doyle Brewer was a Bay Area bodybuilder who posed

for Dave Martin in the Hayward Hills near Oakland in 1955.

Craig Bondy

Dave Martin found Craig Bondy at Stanford U in 1969

when he was on the swimming, football, and tennis teams.

Glen Wolf

Cambria provided me with several photos of Glen Wolf, a poor student who was on the verge of dropping out of San Jose State when Dave Martin photographed him in 1956.

Peter Lederer

This is Peter Lederer, a cyclist who posed for Mr. Martin in the Russian River Valley in 1953.

Lance Kendrick

It was 1965 when Dave Martin photographed Lance Kendrick, a football,

rugby, and baseball star at Menlo College in Atherton, California.

Larry Crawford

This is Larry Crawford, a Chico State football player from 1952.

Tony Farrell

When I posted a different photo of Tony Farrell a few weeks ago,

Cambria generously provided this one from 1952 and another.

John Gledhill

We get a big smile from John Gledhill in this photo.

Perhaps he really enjoyed football . . . or posing nude.

Al Emerson

The last Dave Martin photo in today's series is Al Emerson as photographed at Crystal Springs Reservoir in 1954. Many thanks again to Cambria for his generosity and research skills.