“Christmas Eve in the Pacific,” aboard USS LST-770.
Drawn by Coast Guard Combat Artist, BMC John J. Floherty, Jr. NARA 26-G-12-14-44
Official caption:
The Star of Peace gleams hopefully over the guns of war in this Christmas drawing by Coast Guard Combat Artist John J. Floherty, Chief aboard a Coast Guard-manned LST “Somewhere in the Pacific.” A gunner stands his lonely vigil, his eyes alert for signs of the enemy. His thought drifting over the thousands of miles of restless sea to his loved ones at home. Coast Guardsman Floherty’s home is Port Washington, N.Y.
Floherty, 37 at the time of the above work, has several other scenes of Iwo Jima and Okinawa scenes that are far less peaceful, digitized in the National Archives.
A skilled commercial artist, cartoonist, and painter, Floherty studied at Columbia University, the Art Students League with George Bridgman, and at the Grand Central School of Art with Harvey Dunn. He was a member of the Society of Illustrators and had studios in New York City and Northport, Long Island. He passed away in 1977, at age 70.