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Paul Tibbets and the Enola Gay (Yank Magazine, 1945)

A one page interview with Paul Tibbets (1915 – 2007) and the crew of the 'Enola Gay' as they recounted their historic mission over Hiroshima during the closing days of World War Two. Paul Tibbets remained in uniform long after the war and eventually retired as an Air Force General. When he died during the fall of 2007 it was revealed that he preferred there not be a memorial service, nor any marker identifying his grave in order to deprive protesters of a staging ground. His ashes were sprinkled over the North Atlantic.

Anticipating Video Communications... (Literary Digest, 1927)

This jazz-age magazine article is about the creation of what we have come to call video communication; that is to say, the electronic compliance between telephone and video screen working in complete harmony in order that both participants can view one another during the conversation - and although one-sided, this did take place as early as 1927 when future President Herbert Hoover, in Washington, addressed an audience in New York (they were not viewed by the former). The following segment from the article shows that back in the day, "television" was a verb:

"To television a speaker's face from Washington to New York, for example,the light starts from carbons of an automatic arc lamp. In front of the lamp is a disk with fifty holes around it's edge..."

The article continues for a page and a half using such terms as "film of potassium", "vacuum-tube" and "photoelectric cell" among other fifty-cent words that made us want to go watch M-TV.

General Sherman Recalls His War Record (The Atlantic Monthly, 1911)

The 1866 comments of General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) to Colonel Samuel M. Bowman, concerning the book Bowman was assembling, entitled "Sherman and His Campaigns". General Sherman recalled his thoughts on such matters as the causes of the the Civil War, the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the struggle for Kentucky, the use of the railways in war, the Great March, the political talents of President George Washington, and his days at the Louisiana Military Academy. General Sherman wrote of his correspondences with General John Bell Hood, the surrender of General Joseph Jonnston, as well as his memories of Generals Halleck and U.S. Grant. Interesting remarks were also made concerning the Union loss at Bull Run as well as their victories at Vicksburg and Shiloh.

Unique Memories of the Vicksburg Siege (Literary Digest, 1912)

It must have been "Take Your Son to Work Day" that compelled General Ulysses S. Grant to bring his oldest son, Frederick Dent Grant (1850 – 1912), to the 1863 siege of Vicksburg - or at least that was our conclusion after we read this interesting interview with the man. Published shortly after his death, Fred Grant (who also grew to become an Army General) recalled those days he spent with the Federal Army as a thirteen year-old boy, witnessing much of war's cruelty which he quite often took in his stride. He had a unique, privileged position during the battle and was able to roam where ever he pleased:

"Young as I was, my camp life was of such nature, I saw much of the hardships, the self-denials, the sufferings and labors of both privates and officers, that my proudest moments are when I am recalling my associating with the old warriors of the Eastern and Western armies, the veteran comrades of my father."

The Gathering Storm: 1860 (The Southern Rebellion, 1867)

A printable chronology of important events that took place during the month December, 1860. This month was a busy one for Secessionists, with all sorts of gatherings, hand shaking and back-slapping; the elected representatives to the U.S. Congress from the state of South Carolina resign, while U.S. Army Major Robert Anderson (1805-1871) gets a sense of what is coming down the pike and removes his troops from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter.

It was Pure Chance that Wrote the Charles Lindbergh Saga (Literary Digest, 1927)

"Truth is stranger than fiction is an old writer's saw that the pen plodders know and the general reader doubts. But that truth and fiction may be one and the same thing in comes to light in the story of Charles Lindbergh's flight. No fiction writer could have contrived a story more perfect and right in it's details...In an few short days an unknown lad has become the hero of the world. His name is on the lips of more people than any under the sun. His face etched in more minds than any living human. The narrative question of the story, 'Will he make it?' is on everybody's lips, from President to beggars."

The Eight World War One American Cemeteries (Literary Digest, 1923)

Written five years after the Armistice, this is an article about the eight U.S. W.W. I cemeteries that were erected in Europe (with the help of German P.O.W. labor) and the money that was set aside by the veterans of The American Legion to aid in the upkeep of these memorials:

The American flag is still in Europe, even tho the last Doughboy has left the Rhine. It floats over eight cemeteries, six in France, one in Belgium and one in England...It is the high honor of the American Legion to represent the American people in the fulfillment of the sacred national obligation of decorating the graves of our soldiers abroad on Memorial Day. The Legion pledges itself always to remember and honor our dead on foreign soil on the day when the heart of all Americans is thrilling with reverence for them."

The Unknown Soldier (The Atlantic Monthly, 1927)

James Truslow Adams (1878 – 1949) made a number of interesting remarks in this article in which he opines that one of the maladies of the modern era was the creation of a cult that celebrated "the common man":

"Man has always delighted to honor the great...But now for the first time whole nations, and those the most enlightened, have come to honor the man of whom we know nothing, the Unknown Soldier. As a matter of unfortunate fact, the particular body may be that of one who fought the draft to the last ditch and was a slacker in service. That, however, is of course wholly irrelevant; for it is not really the Unknown Soldier who thus receives the almost religious adoration of his people, but the Common Man, for that is what he is intending to typify..."

Who Was Tougher: The Germans or The Japanese? (Yank Magazine, 1944)

By the end of 1943, U.S. Major General Joseph Lawton Collins (1917 - 1987) was one of the few commanders to have given battle to both the Japanese in the East and the Nazis in the West. In this two page interview with Yank correspondent Mack Morriss, General Collins compared the fighting abilities of both enemies:

"The Jap is tougher than the German. Even the fanatic SS troops can't compare with the Jap...Cut off an outfit of Germans and nine times out of 10 they'll surrender. Not the Jap."

The Lengthening Silhouette on Broadway (Stage, 1933)

In his review of contemporary Broadway costume design for the Fall of 1933, this fashion journalist asked a pressing question: "What is the well-dressed play wearing these days?" There was much talk of Chanel, Schiaparelli and the House of (Elizabeth) Hawes as he heaped the praises high for the the rag-pickers who clothed the actresses for such productions as "Men in White", "Undesirable Lady", "Her Master's Voice" and "Heat Lightning".

"The fashions in the plays are vivid, authentic, and wearable. They have sprung from the gifted brains and fingers of the cream of the crop of designers, Schiaparelli and Chanel in Paris, and our own industrious Americans who, themselves, are becoming hardy annuals. The silhouette is lengthening into slim height but even in sports clothes corners are rounded and curves are accentuated..."

Click here if you would like to read another article about Elizabeth Hawes and the fashions of the 30s and 40s.

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