Troopship
(Coronet Magazine, 1945)
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“It is a singular fact that [the] supposedly civilized Americans in these times deny the Negroes the opportunity to engage in respectable jobs, the right of access to the restaurants, theaters, or the same train accommodations as themselves and periodically will run amuck to lynch Negroes individually or to slaughter them wholesale – old men, women, and children alike in race wars like the present one.”
What Radio Tokyo was referring to were the multiple race riots that broke out in Detroit and seven other municipalities during the Summer of 1943.
Throughout the course of the Second World War the Radio Facsimile Transmitter (Radio Fax) was used by the Allied Armies to transmit maps, orders and weather charts across God’s vast oceans. War correspondents used the technology to transmit articles and images to their editors.
Mr. John Nystrom of New York City drove a 32 year-old Model T Ford. Judging by the writer’s tone, we can guess that not many cars from 1909 were around to see Roosevelt’s third term. The Flivver (as she was nicknamed) had 250,000 miles on her (no mention as to how that was known) and still got 20 miles per/gallon, with a top speed of 48 miles per/hour. We can assume that Mr. Nystrom went to his rewards some time ago, but his car is probably still out there being written about.
Unlike his many predecessors, FDR used to encourage the American people to write him with their thoughts. At times, the President used to boast to Congress concerning the volume of his mail in favor of his programs, but the mails did not simply deliver stamped envelopes:
“Almost anything you can think of has arrived as a gift at some time or another – dogs, sheep, eagles, baby chicks, toads, alligators. Mr. Roosevelt has never received any lions, but Calvin Coolidge got two, from Johannesburg…”
This article said it all honestly and without flowery metaphors – plainly stating the facts that if American military personnel were not provided some wholesome distractions, they would simply loiter around barrooms and whorehouses during their leisure time and become a drag on society.
Inasmuch as the Roosevelt administration believed that the integration the armed forces was far too risky a proposition during wartime, it did take steps to insure that fair hiring practices were observed by all industries that held defense contracts with the Federal government; during the summer of 1941 a law was passed making such discrimination a crime.
The attached editorial from Collier’s Magazine applauded the President for doing the right thing.
When General Marshall listed the numerous advantages that the U.S. Army enjoyed during the war (you can read it here), he included on his list the Willys Jeep. The Jeep and the Two and Half-Ton truck, he believed, contributed mightily to the mobility of American Forces in most theaters. The two articles attached herein go into some detail about the strengths of the Jeep, but concentrated primarily on the improvements made in the vehicle as Jeep prepared for its launch in the civilian market place.
“Soldiers respect for this weapon traces to two things. It fires .45 caliber slugs as a cyclical rate of 600 to 700 per minute. An enemy struck by a carbine or riffle bullet can keep coming – as Japs have shown. A man struck by a Tommy Gun slug is stopped dead in his tracks. A burst of fire can cut a man in two.”
“Soldiers respect for this weapon traces to two things. It fires .45 caliber slugs as a cyclical rate of 600 to 700 per minute. An enemy struck by a carbine or riffle bullet can keep coming – as Japs have shown. A man struck by a Tommy Gun slug is stopped dead in his tracks. A burst of fire can cut a man in two.”
These are the letters written between April seventh and ninth, 1865, by Union General Ulysses S. Grant (1822 – 1885) and his Confederate counterpart, General Robert E. Lee (1807 – 1870), that established the terms of surrender and cleared the way for that famous meeting near Appomattox Courthouse.
Newsweek reporter Vera Clay was not slow in accepting the U.S. Army’s invitation to don the khaki uniform and learn what goes into the training of a WAAC. In the company of fourteen other women reporters, she took the train to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and for the next six days, the group began to learn about all things WAAC.
An article from 1947 concerning the ugly war fought by the visionaries who brought Israel back to life.
Click here to read a 1917 article that predicted America’s unique bond with Israel.
Katherine Dunham (1909 – 2006) was an African-American dancer and choreographer, producer, anthropologist, author and Civil Rights activist – enjoying throughout the decades one of the most successful dance careers a dancer could ever hope for. Attached is a profusely illustrated review of her 1945 production, Tropical Revue. It implies that much of the audience came away recognizing her originality and genius – while others simply thought she was a burlesque artist.
Ernest Boyd (1887 – 1946), all-around swell guy and significant literary figure in 1920s New York, took a hard look at German Expressionism and its wide influence on other Teutonic arts in the early Twenties. He paid particular attention to the German critic Hermann Bahr (1863 – 1934), who coined the term, Expressionism, and had much to say about the movement.
“In 1934, Adolf Hitler boasted: ‘In my Ordensburgen a virile youth will be developed from whom the world will recoil in terror – a violent, dominating, intrepid, brutal youth indifferent to pain and knowing no tenderness or weakness.'”
Nice.
German-born reporter Johannes Steel (1908 – 1988) was not an amateur when it came to identifying Fascists, he could spot them a mile away. In 1946, with Asian and European Fascism soundly defeated, he turned his attention to his adopted homeland and wrote this article concerning his disturbing observations.
Click here to read about Christian Nationalism.