The History Book Club discussion

*POTENTIAL SPOILERS*

This is the glossary (Part Two) for the SECOND WORLD WAR and The Liberation Trilogy as well as Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith. This is not a non spoiler thread so any urls and/or expansive discussion can take place here regarding this book. Additionally, this is the spot to add that additional information that may contain spoilers or any helpful urls, links, etc.

This thread is not to be used for self promotion.

by Rick Atkinson

all by Rick Atkinson

by Jean Edward Smith

Benito Mussolini




Benito Mussolini was born in Forli, Italy, in 1883. After working briefly as a schoolteacher, Mussolini fled to Switzerland in 1902 in an effort to evade military service.

Mussolini returned to Italy in 1904 and over the next ten years worked as a journalist and eventually became editor of Avanti. Mussolini was active in the socialist movement but moved to right in 1914 when the Italian government failed to support the Triple Alliance. In 1915 Mussolini resigned from the Socialist Party when it advocated support for the Allies in the First World War.

When Italy entered the war Mussolini served in the Italian Army and eventually reached the rank of corporal. After being wounded he returned to Milan to edit the right-wing Il Popolo d'Italia. The journal demanded that the Allies fully supported Italy's demands at the Paris Peace Conference.

After the war Mussolini attacked Vittorio Orlando for failing to achieve Italy's objectives at the Versailles Peace Treaty and helped to organize the various right-wing groups in Italy into the Fascist Party. After a series of riots in 1922 King Victor Emmanuel III appointed Mussolini in an attempt to prevent a communist revolution in Italy.

Mussolini headed a coalition of fascists and nationalists and parliamentary government continued until the murder of the socialist leader, Giacomo Matteotti in 1924. Left-wing parties were suppressed and in 1929 Italy became a one-party state. Mussolini also carried out an extensive public-works programme and the fall in unemployment made him a popular figure in Italy.

Italy controlled Eritrea and Somalia in Africa but had failed several times to colonize neighbouring Ethiopia. When Mussolini came to power he was determined to show the strength of his regime by occupying the country. In October 1935 Mussolini sent in General Pietro Badoglio and the Italian Army into Ethiopia.

The League of Nations condemned Italy's aggression and in November imposed sanctions. This included an attempt to ban countries from selling arms, rubber and some metals to Italy. Some political leaders in France and Britain opposed sanctions arguing that it might persuade Mussolini to form an alliance with Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.

Over 400,000 Italian troops fought in Ethiopia. The poorly armed Ethiopians were no match for Italy's modern tanks and aeroplanes. The Italians even used mustard gas on the home forces and were able to capture Addis Ababa, the capital of the country, in May 1936, forcing Emperor Haile Selassie to flee to England.

Adolf Hitler had been inspired by Mussolini's achievements and once he gained power in Germany he sought a close relationship with Italy. In October 1936 the two men signed a non-military alliance.

In 1939 Italy invaded Albania and soon afterwards Mussolini signed a full defensive alliance with Nazi Germany (the Pact of Steel). However, Mussolini did not declare war on Britain and France until 10th June 1940.

Mussolini already had over a million men in the Italian Army based in Libya. In neighbouring Egypt the British Army had only 36,000 men guarding the Suez Canal and the Arabian oilfields. On 13th September, 1940, Marshall Rodolfo Graziani and five Italian divisions began a rapid advance into Egypt but halted in front of the main British defences at Mersa Matruh.

In October 1940, Mussolini declared war on Greece. Attempts by the Italian Army to invade Greece ended in failure. The war was also going badly in North Africa. Although outnumbered, General Archibald Wavell ordered a British counter-offensive on 9th December, 1940. The Italians suffered heavy casualties and were pushed back more than 800km (500 miles). British troops moved along the coast and on 22nd January, 1941, they captured the port of Tobruk in Libya from the Italians.

By the end of 1941 Italy was totally dependent on Nazi Germany. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Galaezzo Ciano, became increasingly dissatisfied with the way Mussolini was running the country. After a series of heated arguments with Mussolini, Ciano resigned in February, 1943.

At the Casablanca Conference Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt discussed ways of taking Italy out of the war. It was eventually decided to launch an invasion of Sicily, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, south-west of Italy. It was hoped that if the island was taken Benito Mussolini would be ousted from power. It was also argued that a successful invasion would force Adolf Hitler to send troops from the Eastern Front and help to relieve pressure on the Red Army in the Soviet Union.

The operation was placed under the supreme command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. General Harold Alexander was commander of ground operations and his 15th Army Group included General George Patton (US 7th Army) and General Bernard Montgomery (8th Army). Admiral Andrew Cunningham was in charge of naval operations and Air Marshal Arthur Tedder was air commander.

On 10th July 1943, the 8th Army landed at five points on the south-eastern tip of the island and the US 7th Army at three beaches to the west of the British forces. The Allied troops met little opposition and Patton and his troops quickly took Gela, Licata and Vittoria. The British landings were also unopposed and Syracuse was taken on the the same day. This was followed by Palazzolo (11th July), Augusta (13th July) and Vizzini (14th July), whereas the US troops took the Biscani airfield and Niscemi (14th July).

General George Patton now moved to the west of the island and General Omar Bradley headed north and the German Army was forced to retreat to behind the Simeto River. Patton took Palermo on 22nd July cutting off 50,000 Italian troops in the west of the island. Patton now turned east along the northern coast of the island towards the port of Messina.

Meanwhile General Bernard Montgomery and the 8th Army were being held up by German forces under Field Marshal Albrecht Kesselring. The Allies carried out several amphibious assaults attempted to cut off the Germans but they were unable to stop the evacuation across the Messina Straits to the Italian mainland. This included 40,000 German and 60,000 Italian troops, as well as 10,000 German vehicles and 47 tanks.

The loss of Sicily created serious problems for Mussolini. It was now clear that the Allies would use the island as a base for invading Italy. A meeting of the Fascist Grand Council is held on 24th July and Galaezzo Ciano gets support for his idea that Italy should sign a separate peace with the Allies. The following day Victor Emmanuel III told Mussolini he was dismissed from office. His successor, Pietro Badoglio, declared martial law and placed Mussolini under arrest.

On 29th July 1943, Adolf Hitler had a meeting with Otto Skorzeny about the possibility of rescuing Benito Mussolini, imprisoned high in the Abruzzi Apennines. Skorzeny agreed and on 13th September he led an airbourne force of commandos to the hotel where he was being held. Mussolini was soon freed and Skorzeny flew him to safety.

Mussolini now set up the Salo Republic, a fascist regime in German-occupied northern Italy. His first was the arrest and execution of five of those who had voted against him on the Fascist Grand Council, including his son-in-law, Galaezzo Ciano.

On 18th May, 1944, Allied troops led by General Wladyslaw Anders (Polish Corps) and General Alphonse Juin (French Corps) captured Monte Cassino. This opened a corridor for Allied troops and they reached Anzio on 24th May. The German defence now began to disintegrate and General Harold Alexander ordered General Mark Clarkto trap and destroy the retreating 10th Army. Clark ignored this order and instead headed for Rome and liberated the city on the 4th June.

After the capture of Rome Pietro Badoglio resigned and Invanoe Bonomi formed a new government. In an attempt to bring the country together Bonomi's government included left-wing figures such as Benedetto Croce and Palmiro Togliatti.

The Allied armies now pursued the German 10th Army and took Grosseto (16th June), Assisi (18th June), Perugia (20th June), Florence (12th August), Rimini (21st September), Lorenzo (11th October) until being held on the Gothic Line in the northern Apennines. The arrival of winter weather meant that a renewed offensive did not begin until 9th April, 1945.

On 23rd April the 8th Army began to cross the River Po at Mantua. German resistance now began to collapse and Parma and Verona were taken and partisan uprisings began in Milan and Genoa.

With Allied troops approaching, Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, attempted to escape to Switzerland. They were captured at Lake Como by Italian partisans on 27th April, 1945. The following day they were shot and their bodies displayed in public in Milan.
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Hmmm. He and Hitler both became Corporals. During wartime. The earlier armies sometimes got things right.

Not sure what you mean Peter?

Sorry for being unclear. Getting advancement in an army is usually pretty easy during wartime. Yet these two only made it to corporal, implying a notable lack of fitness for advancement.

Don't we all wish that others sorted things out as well. Understood now.

Pacific Fleet




The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to the United States Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, with large secondary facilities at North Island, San Diego Bay on the Mainland.

A Pacific Fleet was created in 1907 when the Asiatic Squadron and the Pacific Squadron were combined. In 1910, the ships of the First Squadron were organized back into a separate Asiatic Fleet. The General Order of 6 December 1922 organized the United States Fleet, with the Battle Fleet as the Pacific presence. Until May 1940, the Battle Fleet was stationed on the west coast of the United States (primarily at San Diego). During the summer of that year, as part of the U.S. response to Japanese expansionism, it was instructed to take an "advanced" position at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Long term basing at Pearl Harbor was so strongly opposed by the commander, Admiral James O. Richardson, that he personally protested in Washington. Political considerations were thought sufficiently important that he was relieved by Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, who was in command at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Pacific Fleet was formally recreated on 1 February 1941. On that day General Order 143 split the United States Fleet into separate Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic Fleets.
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Thanks.

Bernard Baruch





Bernard Baruch, in full Bernard Mannes Baruch (born Aug. 19, 1870, Camden, S.C., U.S.—died June 20, 1965, New York, N.Y.), American financier who was an adviser to U.S. presidents.

After graduating from the College of the City of New York in 1889, Baruch worked as an office boy in a linen business and later in Wall Street brokerage houses. Over the years he amassed a fortune as a stock market speculator.

In 1916 he was appointed by Pres. Woodrow Wilson to the Advisory Commission of the Council of National Defense, and during World War I he became chairman of the War Industries Board. In 1919 he was a member of the Supreme Economic Council at the Versailles Peace Conference and was also a personal adviser to President Wilson on the terms of peace.

As an expert in wartime economic mobilization, Baruch was employed as an adviser by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, although he did not hold an administrative position.

After the war Baruch played an instrumental role in formulating policy at the United Nations regarding the international control of atomic energy. The designation of “elder statesman” was applied to him perhaps more often than to any other American of his time.
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by Bernard M. Baruch
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by Bernard M. Baruch
(no image)Bernard Baruch, Portrait of a Citizen by William Lindsay White (no photo)

Dewey Short





Dewey Jackson Short, a Representative from Missouri; born in Galena, Stone County, Mo., April 7, 1898; attended the public school, Galena High School, and Marionville (Mo.) College; during the First World War served in the Infantry; was graduated from Baker University, Baldwin City, Kans., in 1919 and from Boston (Mass.) University in 1922; attended Harvard University, Heidelberg University, the University of Berlin, Germany, and Oxford University, Oxford, England; professor of ethics, psychology, and political philosophy at Southwestern College, Winfield, Kans., in 1923, 1924, and 1926-1928; pastor of the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, Springfield, Mo., in 1927; elected as a Republican to the Seventy-first Congress (March 4, 1929-March 3, 1931); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1930 to the Seventy-second Congress; resumed his former professional pursuits; delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1932; unsuccessful candidate in 1932 for nomination to the United States Senate; elected to the Seventy-fourth and to the ten succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1935-January 3, 1957); chairman, Committee on Armed Services (Eighty-third Congress); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1956 to the Eighty-fifth Congress; congressional delegate to inspect concentration camps in Germany in 1945; Assistant Secretary of the Army from March 15, 1957, to January 20, 1961; was president emeritus, National Rivers and Harbors Congress, and a lecturer; resided in Washington, D.C., where he died November 19, 1979; interment in Galena Cemetery, Galena, Mo.
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by David McCullough

Hank Greenberg





Hank Greenberg was one of the great sluggers of the 1930s and 1940s. A fearsome batsman who hit 40 or more homers four times during his 13-year major league career, he retired with a .313 BA and a 41 percent OBP. He easily rates as one of the Tigers' greatest players of all-time, and has his life-size sculpture featured at Comerica Park.

Greenberg lost more prime years than most to service for his country, as he originally went in during May 1941 and stayed in after Pearl Harbor through part of the 1945 season. He was still quite good when he returned in 1945, so it is clear that he could have hit at least 100+ more home runs if he had not missed the time. He was married to Carol Gimbel, whose family owned a chain of department stores. Hank and Carol's son Steve worked for Major League Baseball in the Office of the Commissioner for many years.

He was the first player to hit 25 home runs in a season in both major leagues (Johnny Mize joined him 3 years later). He was also the first player to win the Most Valuable Player Award at 2 different positions,a s a first baseman and as an outfielder.

He was drafted on May 7, 1941, at age 30, and reported to Fort Custer, Michigan, but was discharged on December 5, 1941 under the law releasing men over 28 years of age. He re-enlisted on January 30, 1942 and was discharged on June 15, 1945, as a captain with the 20th Bomber Command. He was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation and 4 battle stars. In 1947, Greenberg became the first major league player to earn more than $80,000 in pure salary.

He reached base in 18 straight playoff games, a Tigers record until Miguel Cabrera broke it in 2012.

After his playing career, he became General Manager of the Cleveland Indians from 1950 to 1957 and the Chicago White Sox from 1959 to 1961.

Notable Achievements
5-time AL All-Star (1937-1940 & 1945)
2-time AL MVP (1935 & 1940)
AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1940)
AL OPS Leader (1940)
AL Runs Scored Leader (1938)
2-time AL Total Bases Leader (1935 & 1940)
2-time AL Doubles Leader (1934 & 1940)
4-time AL Home Runs Leader (1935, 1938, 1940 & 1946)
4-time AL RBI Leader (1935, 1937, 1940 & 1946)
2-time League Bases on Balls Leader (1938/AL & 1947/NL)
20-Home Run Seasons: 8 (1934, 1935, 1937-1940, 1946-1947)
30-Home Run Seasons: 6 (1935, 1937-1940 & 1946)
40-Home Run Seasons: 4 (1937, 1938, 1940 & 1946)
50-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1938)
100 RBI Seasons: 7 (1934, 1935, 1937-1940 & 1946)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 6 (1934, 1935 & 1937-1940)
200 Hits Seasons: 3 (1934, 1935 & 1937)
Won two World Series with the Detroit Tigers (1935 & 1945)
Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1956
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by Hank Greenberg (no photo)
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General Henri Giraud: Army of France




Henri Giraud was born in Paris, France, on 18th January, 1879. After graduating from St Cyr in 1900, he joined the French Army. He served in the 4th Zouave Regiment in North Africa until 1914 when he returned to fight on the Western Front. Giraud was captured in the battle of Guise in August 1914, but escaped two months later.

After the war Giraud remained in the army and joined the staff of General Francet d'Esperey in Constantinople. He went to Morocco in 1922 and was promoted to colonel three years later. He won the Legion d'Honneur for his role in the capture of Abd-el-Krim and later succeeded Hubert Lyautey in Morocco before becoming military governor of Metz.

On the outbreak of the Second World War Giraud, a member of the Superior War Council, was given command of the 7th Army. Although an early advocate of motorization, he was fairly ignorant of modern warfare and soon clashed with General Charles De Gaulle over tank tactics.

Giraud and the 7th Army were sent into Holland on 10th May 1940 and was able to briefly halt the advance of the German Army at Breda on 13th May. He was then sent to try and block the German attack through the Ardennes. Giraud was captured at Wassigny on 19th May and imprisoned in Koenigstein Castle near Dresden.

With the help of the Allied secret services, Giraud escaped from prison on 17th April 1942. Pierre Laval tried to persuade him to return to Germany, fearing he could become one of the leaders of the French Resistance. Giraud refused and instead went to live in Algeria.

On 7th November, Giraud had a secret meeting with General Dwight D. Eisenhower in Gibraltar. Eisenhower told Giraud about Operation Torch and persuaded him to become commander of French forces in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia after the invasion of North Africa. The following day Allied forces landed in Casablanca, Oran and Algiers.

Most French officers in North Africa refused to accept the authority of Giraud. The French troops fought back at Oran and General Mark Clark immediately began negotiations with Admiral Jean-Francois Darlan, overall C-in-C of Vichy forces, in an attempt to negotiate a ceasefire.

When Darlan was assassinated on 24th December 1942, Giraud became his successor as the civil and military chief of French North Africa. He quickly upset the Allies by ordering the arrest of several Frenchmen who had aided General Dwight D. Eisenhower during Operation Torch.

Giraud met Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Charles De Gaulle at Casablanca in January 1943. After much discussion it was agreed that Giraud and De Gaulle would become co-presidents of the French Committee of National Liberation (NCNL). De Gaulle reached Algeria on 30th May and soon used his superior political skills to become leader of the organization.

Giraud retained control of the French armed forces and on 13th September led the invasion of Corsica. During the operation he was criticized by De Gaulle and other Allied leaders for arming Corsica's Front National, the communist dominated resistance group.

In April 1944 Giraud lost his post as commander in chief and was put on the retired list. On 28th August 1944 he survived an assassination attempt in Algeria.

On 2nd June 1946 Giraud was elected to the Constituent Assembly as a member of the Republican Party of Liberty. Henri Giraud, who published Mes Evasions (1946) and Algeria 1942-1944 (1949), died in Dijon on 13th March 1949.
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Goodbye Dear I'll Be Back In a Year



GOODBYE DEAR, I'LL BE BACK IN A YEAR
(Mack Kay)

Horace Heidt & His Musical Knights (vocals: Ronnie Kemper & Donna Wood) - 1941
Dick Robertson & His Orch. - 1941
Bob Crosby & His Orch. - 1941
Frank Luther - 1941

RONNIE KEMPER:
Goodbye Dear, I'll be back in a year
'Cause I'm in the army now
They took my number right out of the hat
And there's nothing a guy can do about that

DONNA WOOD:
But when you get back you'll be all tanned and brown
Say, couldn't we buy that cottage right outside of town
RONNIE KEMPER:
Goodbye Dear, I'll be back in a year
Don't forget that I love you

DONNA:
Don't fear, Dear, I'll be here in a year
'Cause I'm true to the Army now
RONNIE:
Ah, what a soldier, you wait and see
Why, I'll be a big gun in the artillery

DONNA:
Now honey, be sure and keep cozy and warm
Gee, you look cute in that new uniform
RONNIE:
Oh, goodbye Dear, I'll be back in a year
Don't forget that I love you

(Orchestral Interlude)

RONNIE:
Goodbye Dear, well I'm here for a year
I'm in the Army now
But don't you worry, the General and I
Are the greatest of pals
DONNA:
Now, Ronnie, don't you lie
RONNIE:
Well, he fixed it up so I could have breakfast in bed
DONNA:
Well, why are you peeling potatoes instead?
RONNIE:
Oh, he's just kidding me
Good bye dear, I'll be back in a year
Don't forget that I
DONNA:
Don't forget that I
BOTH: Don't forget that I love you
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Harry Grabiner



Harry Mitchell Grabiner (December 26, 1890 – October 24, 1948) was an American professional baseball executive. A 40-year employee of the Chicago White Sox, he served the team's owners — founding president Charles Comiskey, son and successor J. Louis Comiskey, and Lou’s widow, Grace — in a number of capacities, rising from peanut vendor to club secretary, business manager and vice president. He is often listed as the White Sox' first general manager, with a term lasting from as early as 1915 through 1945. After leaving Chicago that season, he joined Bill Veeck’s ownership syndicate and became a vice president and minority stockholder with the Cleveland Indians from 1946 until his death in 1948.

As team secretary and top aide to Charles Comiskey, Grabiner was a management eyewitness to the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, in which eight White Sox players conspired with gamblers to lose the 1919 World Series. In 1966, eighteen years after Grabiner’s death, Veeck wrote in his book The Hustler’s Handbook that he had discovered a diary Grabiner wrote of the 1919 season. In the chapter “Harry’s Diary,” Veeck quotes from Grabiner’s document and writes, “Beyond any doubt, the White Sox front office had more than some inkling what was going on from the very first game of the 1919 World Series.”[1] Some accounts state that Grabiner warned Comiskey, American League president Ban Johnson and National League president John Heydler of a possible scandal after Game 2 of the Series, but he was ignored. Ironically, after the scandal, Grabiner, who was Jewish, was attacked by the Dearborn Independent, owned by industrialist Henry Ford, in anti-Semitic articles that blamed the Jews for both the scandal and the cover-up.

A native of Chicago, Grabiner began his career with the White Sox at age 14; some accounts list his first job as a peanut vendor at South Side Park, others as a ticket seller and usher. He became a protégé of club secretary Charles Fredericks and was promoted to his mentor's position on Fredericks’ death in 1915. As such, Grabiner also witnessed the White Sox’ triumphs in the 1906 and 1917 World Series, and the building of Comiskey Park in 1910, as well as the 1919 debacle.

Although the eight players accused of the conspiracy were acquitted in a 1920 trial, all were banned from baseball for life. The scandal destroyed the White Sox for a generation; during Grabiner’s final quarter century with the team, Chicago finished in the American League’s first division only five times. They did not win another pennant until 1959, or another World Series until 2005. After Charles Comiskey’s death in 1931, Grabiner assumed greater responsibility for the team’s on-field operations during the J. Lou and Grace Comiskey regimes, and became a target for fan frustration.

“Grabiner was blasphemed by the fans and players, criticized by the press, and generally blamed for inefficacies which were not of his own doing. Yet he struggled doggedly against the great odds until he fled the scene,” wrote Baseball Digest in October 1950, two years after Grabiner’s death.

Grabiner’s last two years in baseball were successful ones, however, as he worked with Veeck to purchase the Cleveland Indians in 1946 and served as Veeck’s vice president and top assistant, as well as holding a small stake in the team. But in the closing weeks of Cleveland’s 1948 world championship season, Grabiner collapsed in Veeck’s office during a meeting. Suffering from a malady that has been variously described as a stroke, cerebral hemorrhage or brain tumor, he lapsed into a coma and never witnessed the Tribe’s AL playoff win over the Boston Red Sox or its six-game victory in the 1948 World Series. He died in Chicago, age 57, thirteen days after the final Series game. Survivors included his daughter, June Travis, a motion picture actress.
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Senate Armed Services Committee




The Senate Committees on Military Affairs; on the Militia; and Naval Affairs were established on December 10, 1816. The Committee on the Militia was merged with the Committee on Military Affairs in 1858 to form the Military Affairs and Militia Committee. However, in 1872 the Committee dropped "Militia" from its name. The Military Affairs and Naval Affairs Committees existed until 1947 when they were combined by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 into a new standing committee, the current Committee on Armed Services.

Committee Jurisdiction
As specified in Rule XXV, 1(c)(1) of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee on Armed Services' has the following jurisdiction:
1. Aeronautical and space activities peculiar to or primarily associated with the development of weapons systems or military operations.
2. Common defense.
3. Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force, generally.
4. Maintenance and operation of the Panama Canal, including administration, sanitation, and government of the Canal Zone.
5. Military research and development.
6. National security aspects of nuclear energy.
7. Naval petroleum reserves, except those in Alaska.
8. Pay, promotion, retirement, and other benefits and privileges of members of the Armed Forces, including overseas education of civilian and military dependents.
9. Selective service system.
10. Strategic and critical materials necessary for the common defense.
The Senate has also given the committee the authority to study and review, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to the common defense policy of the United States, and report thereon from time to time.
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Robert E. Thomason



Ewing Thomason (1879-1973), state legislator, United States congressman, and federal judge, was born in Rover, Bedford County, Tennessee, on May 30, 1879, the son of Benjamin Richard and Susan Olivia (Hoover) Thomason. His father was a Confederate veteran who later graduated from the College of Medicine and Surgery at Cincinnati, Ohio. The family moved to Era, Texas, when Thomason was one. Thomason's mother died when he was six; his father subsequently married Mary Maupin, and they had four children. Thomason entered Southwestern University at Georgetown in 1896 and graduated in 1898. One of his classmates was Rentfro B. Creager, with whom Thomason enrolled at the University of Texas law school; the two roomed together. At UT Thomason joined the Athenaeum Literary Society and the Kappa Sigma social fraternity. He also became a debater, and, teamed with Charles S. Potts, defeated the Baylor University team in the first intercollegiate debate the University of Texas ever won. One of their opponents was J. Frank Norris. Thomason graduated from law school in 1900 and set up practice in Gainesville. He was elected district attorney and Cooke county attorney in 1902 and was reelected in 1904. On February 14, 1905, he married Belle Davis. He subsequently became the law partner of W. O. Davis, his father-in-law. In 1911 malaria forced Thomason to seek a higher and drier climate, and he and Belle moved to El Paso in 1912; their two children were born there.

In El Paso he formed a highly successful law firm with Thomas C. Lea, Jr., J. G. McGrady, and Eugene T. Edwards. Thomason was elected to the state legislature in 1916 and reelected to a second term in 1918, during which he became speaker of the house. He was a Democrat and an advocate of prohibition, and he served on the committee that investigated alleged misconduct by Governor James E. Ferguson. The results of this investigation led to Ferguson's impeachment. Thomason ran for governor in 1920 but came in third behind Joseph W. Bailey and Pat M. Neff, and Neff won the run-off. Thomason returned to his El Paso law practice and was busy with it for some years. His wife died in 1921. He was elected mayor of El Paso in 1927, and in that year he married Abbie Mann Long. As mayor he built the first El Paso airport, served as president of the Texas League of Municipalities, and appointed the Southside Welfare Committee, a forerunner of slum-clearance projects. He was reelected mayor, but his real political ambition was realized in 1930 when he was elected to the United States Congress to fill a seat opened by Claude B. Hudspeth's retirement. His district, the largest in the country at the time, extended from San Angelo and Del Rio to El Paso.

In Congress, Thomason succeeded the late San Antonio Republican Harry M. Wurzbach on the Military Affairs Committee, and Fort Bliss flowered in his congressional years. Thomason was reelected thirteen times, usually with negligible opposition. In Congress he obtained bills to establish Red Bluff Dam and Big Bend National Park. He served as ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, advocated universal military training, led the fight for the selective service, and had a hand in most war legislation. The Thomason Act passed about 1939 provided a year's army training for special students. He supported establishment of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Tennessee Valley Authority, but voted against the anti-lynching bill and the Fair Employment Practice Committee bill. He was on the bandwagon of the New Deal throughout his congressional career and remained active in national politics through the Roosevelt presidency and World War II. President Harry S. Truman appointed Thomason a federal district judge; he was sworn in on August 1, 1947, and left the court on June 1, 1963, soon after his eighty-fourth birthday. Thomason General Hospital in El Paso was named for him. He died on November 5, 1973.
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Clare Hoffman: US House of Representative



Clare Eugene Hoffman (September 10, 1875 – November 3, 1967) was a United States Representative from Michigan.

Hoffman was born in Vicksburg, Union County, Pennsylvania, where he attended the public schools. He graduated from the law department of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, in 1895. He was admitted to the Michigan bar in 1896 and commenced practice in Allegan, Michigan, where he also became prosecuting attorney for the county from 1904–1910.

In 1934, Hoffman ran as the Republican candidate for Michigan's 4th congressional district, defeating incumbent Democrat George Ernest Foulkes. Hoffman was elected to the Seventy-fourth and was re-elected to the thirteen succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1935 until January 3, 1963. He was seen as a "a bitter lone wolf" during much of his time in office, unable to work with either the Democrats or the Republicans.

Hoffman was a vocal opponent of the National Polio Immunization Program, claiming that the U.S. Public Health Service had been heavily infiltrated by Russian-born doctors. In addition, he was known as an anti-Semite with fascist sympathies, even speaking at rallies held for the far-right America First Party (1944).

He was chairman, Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments (Eightieth Congress) and the Committee on Government Operations (Eighty-third Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1962 to the Eighty-eighth Congress.

Hoffman retired to his home in Allegan, Michigan, where he died at age 92. He was interred at Oakwood Cemetery in Allegan.
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Walter Beddell Smith



Walter Beddell Smith (born October 5, 1895, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.—died August 9, 1961, Washington, D.C.), U.S. Army general, diplomat, and administrator who served as chief of staff for U.S. forces in Europe during World War II.

Smith began his military career as an enlisted man in the Indiana National Guard (1910–15) and in 1917 was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry in the U.S. Army. He fought briefly in World War I, and, advancing through grades, he served in the United States and the Philippines and taught in the U.S. Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia. In February 1942 he was named secretary of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and U.S. secretary of the Anglo-American Combined Chiefs of Staff, with the rank of brigadier general. The following September he became chief of staff of the European theatre of operations and chief of staff to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, serving in those posts until Eisenhower’s departure from Europe after the war. He negotiated and accepted for the Allies the surrender of Italy (1943) and of Germany (1945).

On returning to the United States in 1945, Smith became chief of the operations and planning division of the War Department general staff. Shortly afterward he was appointed U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, a post he held from 1946 to 1949. Later he commanded the U.S. First Army (1949–50) and was director of central intelligence (1950–53), becoming general in 1951. He retired from the army in 1953 to become undersecretary of state. In October 1954 he resigned from government service and entered private business.
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Martin Leonard Sweeney




Martin Leonard Sweeney, (father of Robert E. Sweeney), a Representative from Ohio; born in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, April 15, 1885; attended the parochial and public schools; was graduated from the Cleveland Law School of Baldwin-Wallace College, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1914; employed as a laborer 1901-1903; as a hoisting engineer 1904-1908, and as a salesman 1910-1913; member of the State house of representatives in 1913 and 1914; was admitted to the bar in 1914 and commenced practice in Cleveland, Ohio; judge of the municipal court of Cleveland 1924-1932; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1932; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-second Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Charles A. Mooney; reelected to the Seventy-third and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from November 3, 1931, to January 3, 1943; unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1942; unsuccessful for Democratic nomination for mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1933 and in 1941, and for the gubernatorial nomination in 1944; practiced law in Cleveland, Ohio, until his death there May 1, 1960; interment in Calvary Cemetery.
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Guadalcanal





The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II. It was part of the Allied strategic plan to protect the convoy routes between the US, Australia and New Zealand. Launched a few months after the Kokoda Track campaign, it was the second major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan.

On August 7, 1942, Allied forces, predominantly American, landed on the islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands with the objective of denying their use by the Japanese as bases to threaten supply routes between the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. The Allies also intended to use Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases to support a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The Allies overwhelmed the outnumbered Japanese defenders, who had occupied the islands since May 1942, and captured Tulagi and Florida, as well as an airfield (later named Henderson Field) that was under construction on Guadalcanal.

Surprised by the Allied offensive, the Japanese made several attempts between August and November 1942 to retake Henderson Field. Three major land battles, five large naval battles, and continual, almost daily aerial battles culminated in the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November 1942, in which the last Japanese attempt to land enough troops to retake Henderson Field was defeated. In December 1942, the Japanese abandoned further efforts to retake Guadalcanal and evacuated their remaining forces by February 7, 1943 in the face of an offensive by the U.S. Army's XIV Corps, conceding the island to the Allies.

The Guadalcanal campaign was a significant strategic combined arms victory by Allied forces over the Japanese in the Pacific theatre. The Japanese had reached the high-water mark of their conquests in the Pacific, and Guadalcanal marked the transition by the Allies from defensive operations to the strategic offensive in that theatre and the beginning of offensive operations that resulted in Japan's eventual surrender and the end of World War II.
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Congressman James Wadsworth Jr.




James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. (August 12, 1877 – June 21, 1952) was a U.S. Republican politician from New York. He was the son of New York State Comptroller James Wolcott Wadsworth, Sr., and the grandson of Union General James Samuel Wadsworth, Sr.

Wadsworth attended St. Mark's School, then graduated from Yale in New Haven, Connecticut in 1898, where he was a member of Skull and Bones. He immediately entered the livestock and farming business, first in New York and then Texas.

He became active early in Republican politics. He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Livingston Co.) in 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909 and 1910; and was Speaker from 1906 to 1910.

In 1912, he ran for Lieutenant Governor of New York on the Republican ticket with Job. E. Hedges, but was defeated. In 1914, at the first popular election for the U.S. Senate (until 1911, the U.S. senators had been elected by the New York State Legislature), Wadsworth defeated Democrat James W. Gerard (the incumbent United States Ambassador to Germany) and Progressive Bainbridge Colby. Wadsworth was the Senate Minority Whip in 1915 because the Democrats held the majority of Senate seats. He was re-elected in 1920, but defeated by Democrat Robert F. Wagner in 1926. In 1921, Wadsworth was considered for the post of Secretary of War by President Warren G. Harding but was ultimately passed over in favor of John W. Weeks.

Wadsworth was a proponent of individual rights and feared what he considered the threat of federal intervention into the private lives of Americans. He believed that the only purpose of the United States Constitution is to limit the powers of government and to protect the rights of citizens. For this reason, he voted against the Eighteenth Amendment when it was before the Senate. Before prohibition went into effect, Wadsworth predicted that there would be widespread violations and contempt for the law.

In 1926, he joined the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment and made 131 speeches across the country for the organization between then and repeal. His political acumen and contacts proved valuable in overturning prohibition.

Wadsworth also opposed women's suffrage. His wife, Alice Hay Wadsworth (daughter of former United States Secretary of State John Hay), served as president of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage.

He served as a United States Representative from 1933–1951, and, like Claude Pepper, is one of the few modern Senators to serve later in the House of Representatives. In the House of Representatives he opposed the isolationism of many of his conservative Republican colleagues, opposed anti-lynching legislation on state's rights grounds, rejected minimum wage laws and most of FDR's domestic policy. Although Wadsworth never ran for president, his name was mentioned as a possible candidate in 1936 and 1944.

His son, James Jeremiah Wadsworth, served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations. His son-in-law was Stuart Symington, the first Secretary of the Air Force and a Democratic U.S. Senator from Missouri, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1960. His grandson, James W. Symington, served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri as a Democrat.

Wadsworth is buried in Temple Hill Cemetery in Geneseo.
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Bombing of Tokyo




On this day [March 9, 1945], U.S. warplanes launch a new bombing offensive against Japan, dropping 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs on Tokyo over the course of the next 48 hours. Almost 16 square miles in and around the Japanese capital were incinerated, and between 80,000 and 130,000 Japanese civilians were killed in the worst single firestorm in recorded history.

Early on March 9, Air Force crews met on the Mariana Islands of Tinian and Saipan for a military briefing. They were planning a low-level bombing attack on Tokyo that would begin that evening, but with a twist: Their planes would be stripped of all guns except for the tail turret. The decrease in weight would increase the speed of each Superfortress bomber-and would also increase its bomb load capacity by 65 percent, making each plane able to carry more than seven tons. Speed would be crucial, and the crews were warned that if they were shot down, all haste was to be made for the water, which would increase their chances of being picked up by American rescue crews. Should they land within Japanese territory, they could only expect the very worst treatment by civilians, as the mission that night was going to entail the deaths of tens of thousands of those very same civilians. "You're going to deliver the biggest firecracker the Japanese have ever seen," said U.S. Gen. Curtis LeMay.

The cluster bombing of the downtown Tokyo suburb of Shitamachi had been approved only a few hours earlier. Shitamachi was composed of roughly 750,000 people living in cramped quarters in wooden-frame buildings. Setting ablaze this "paper city" was a kind of experiment in the effects of firebombing; it would also destroy the light industries, called "shadow factories," that produced prefabricated war materials destined for Japanese aircraft factories.

The denizens of Shitamachi never had a chance of defending themselves. Their fire brigades were hopelessly undermanned, poorly trained, and poorly equipped. At 5:34 p.m., Superfortress B-29 bombers took off from Saipan and Tinian, reaching their target at 12:15 a.m. on March 10. Three hundred and thirty-four bombers, flying at a mere 500 feet, dropped their loads, creating a giant bonfire fanned by 30-knot winds that helped raze Shitamachi and spread the flames throughout Tokyo. Masses of panicked and terrified Japanese civilians scrambled to escape the inferno, most unsuccessfully. The human carnage was so great that the blood-red mists and stench of burning flesh that wafted up sickened the bomber pilots, forcing them to grab oxygen masks to keep from vomiting.

The raid lasted slightly longer than three hours. "In the black Sumida River, countless bodies were floating, clothed bodies, naked bodies, all black as charcoal. It was unreal," recorded one doctor at the scene. Only 243 American airmen were lost-considered acceptable losses.
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by Robert F. Dorr
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Major General James Wadsworth



Despite his complete lack of military experience at the outbreak of the Civil War, Wadsworth was commissioned a major general in the New York state militia in May 1861. He served as a civilian volunteer aide-de-camp to Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 8. McDowell recommended him for command and, on August 9, Wadsworth was commissioned a brigadier general; on October 3 he received command of the 2nd Brigade in McDowell's Division of the Army of the Potomac. He then led the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, of the I Corps of the army until March 17.

From March 17 to September 7, 1862, Wadsworth commanded the Military District of Washington. During the preparations for Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, Wadsworth complained to President Abraham Lincoln that he had insufficient troops to defend the capital due to McClellan's plan to take a large number of them with him to the Virginia Peninsula. Lincoln countermanded McClellan's plan and restored a full corps to the Washington defenses, generating ill feelings between McClellan and Wadsworth. Seeing no prospects for serving in McClellan's army, Wadsworth allowed his name to be put into nomination for governor of New York against antiwar Democrat Horatio Seymour, but he declined to leave active duty to campaign and lost the election.

After McClellan left the Army of the Potomac, and after the serious Union defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Wadsworth was appointed commander of the 1st Division, I Corps on December 27, 1862, replacing Brig. Gen. John Gibbon, who had been promoted to command of the 2nd Division in the II Corps. He led this division until June 15, 1863, with two brief stints commanding the I Corps in January and March for about ten days combined.

Wadsworth and his division's first test in combat was at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. He made a faltering start in maneuvering his men across the Rappahannock River below Fredericksburg and they ended up being only lightly engaged during the battle. His performance at the Battle of Gettysburg was much more substantial. Arriving in the vanguard of Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds's I Corps on July 1, 1863, Wadsworth's division bore much of the brunt of the overwhelming Confederate attack that morning and afternoon. They were able to hold out against attacks from both the west and north, providing the time to bring up sufficient forces to hold the high ground south of town and eventually win the battle. But by the time the division retreated back through town to Cemetery Hill that evening, it had suffered over 50% casualties. summit of the hill.

I Corps had been so significantly damaged at Gettysburg that, when the Army of the Potomac was reorganized in March 1864, its surviving regiments were dispersed to other corps. After an eight-month leave of absence, much of it spent inspecting colored troops on duty in the Mississippi Valley, Wadsworth was named commander of the 4th Division, V Corps, composed of troops from his old division and that formerly led by Maj. Gen. Abner Doubleday. This speaks well for his performance at Gettysburg, because a number of his contemporaries were left without assignments when the army reorganized or were sent to minor assignment elsewhere.

At the start of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign, Wadsworth led his division in Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren's V Corps at the Battle of the Wilderness. On this day Wadsworth was Grant's oldest divisional commander at 56 years old, about nine older than the next oldest. On May 5, Wadsworth was ordered to counter march and help defend the left of the Union position. However, he had lost his direction in the dense Wilderness underbrush and drifted to the north, exposing the left of his division to a sudden and harsh attack, which in turn led to the same treatment of the Union division next to Wadsworth.

Wadsworth was mortally wounded on May 6, trying to turn his two intact brigades (his other brigade had collided with the Federal units on his left and lost cohesion) when he was shot in the back of his head. Wadsworth fell from his horse and was captured by Confederate forces that were pursuing his retreating men. He would die two days later in a Confederate field hospital. Wadsworth's son-in-law, Montgomery Harrison Ritchie, went into the Confederate camp to retrieve his body.

The day before he was wounded, he was promoted to major general, but this appointment was withdrawn and he received instead a posthumous brevet promotion to major general as of May 6, 1864, for his service at Gettysburg and the Wilderness.[2]

Wadsworth's remains were brought back to Geneseo, New York, and buried there in Temple Hill Cemetery. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_S....)

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General William Henry Stimson



Henry Lewis Stimson was born in New York City on 21st September, 1867. After attending Phillips Andover Academy he graduated from Yale University in 1888. He also studied at Harvard Law School before becoming a lawyer.

In 1906 Theodore Roosevelt appointed him as a US District Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He also served as Secretary of War under President William Taft (1911-13).

A member of the New York National Guard (1898-1907) Stimson served in the United States Army in the First World War. Stimson served as a lieutenant colonel in France before being promoted to command the 31st Field Artillery.

A member of the Republican Party, Stimson was appointed by Calvin Coolidge as Governor of General of the Philippines (1927-29) and served as Secretary of State under Herbert Hoover (1929-33). Stimson left public office when the Democratic Party candidate, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was elected president in 1933.

Stimson wrote extensively about foreign affairs and books published by him include American Policy in Nicaragua (1927), Democracy and Nationalism in Europe (1934) and The Far East Crisis (1936).

On the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, Stimson was an outspoken advocate of support for the Allies against Nazi Germany. In an attempt to gain political unity for his policies Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Stimson, a prominent member of the Republican Party, as Secretary of War in his Democratic Party administration.

After the United States entered the Second World War in December, 1941, Stimson, who was now 74 years old, energetically organized America's industrial and economic resources in the fight against Japan and Germany.

When the Allies gained the upper hand in 1944 Stimson became an opponent of what he believed were needless bombing attacks on Germany. Stimson, who feared the dangers of communism in post-war Europe, argued that it was not in the long-term interests of the United States for the German economy to be completely destroyed. However, he had little impact on the policies of Curtis LeMay, the US Bomber Commander.

Stimson also objected on moral grounds to terror bombing and feared that the creation of firestorms in the cities of Germany and Japan would lead to charges of war crimes. He was particularly concerned about the United States Army Air Force bombing raid on Tokyo on 9th March, 1945, and told Robert Oppenheimer that he was appalled that there was so little protest in the United States about the tactics being used. Stimson also had strong doubts about the use of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Stimson, who did not enjoy a good relationship with President Harry S. Truman, retired from office on 21st September 1945. His memoirs, On Active Service in Peace and War, was published in 1948.

Henry Lewis Stimson died in Washington on 20th October, 1950.
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by Elting E. Morison (no photo)
The Colonel: The Life and Wars of Henry Stimson, 1867-1950 (no image) by Godfrey Hodgson (no photo)
On Active Service in Peace and War (no image) by Henry L. Stimson (no photo)

HB 10132: Draft Extension Bill




On Aug. 12, 1941, the House passed a measure that the press called "the draft extension bill." The vote was 203 to 202. For a half-century, reputable historians have misstated the bill's purpose and exaggerated its importance.

The Selective Service Act of 1940 provided that a drafted man should serve for one year and then spend 10 years in the reserves, subject to call-up in case of war. In August 1941, the Army persuaded President Roosevelt to support a bill lengthening every draftee's service from one year to two and a half years.

When the newspapers called this a a draft extension bill, many thought it was a measure to renew the Act. This mistake quickly became conventional wisdom. A week after Roosevelt's death, Time magazine wrote of "the one-vote margin in the House, when the draft came up for extension four months before Pearl Harbor."

The mistake was given a respectable gloss when distinguished historians fell into the same trap. Samuel Eliot Morison wrote that "An Administration bill to extend conscription for the duration of the emergency . . . passed the House by a majority of only one vote." Much later, Barbara Tuchman wrote in "The March of Folly" of "the renewal of the one-year draft law."

The Selective Service Act was not a "one-year draft law." It did not have to be "renewed." But the mistake's repetition led to further error: the notion that if one House vote had gone the other way, the Army would have been virtually disbanded by the time Japan struck. Actually, if the bill had been defeated, less than 17,000 drafted men would have gone home before Dec. 7.

Perhaps the historians should not be blamed too much. It was obvious from the letters I received from alarmed constituents in 1941 that thousands of citizens thought the draft's continuation was at stake. Maybe the White House should shoulder some blame. Sam Rosenman, a Roosevelt speechwriter, wrote: "One vote the other way and the Army would have been thoroughly disorganized and crippled."

The Army did argue that if draftees weren't kept in uniform for longer than one year, the disruption would be disastrous. It failed to convince 60 representatives, including myself, who were staunch New Dealers and ordinarily followed Roosevelt's lead.

Our skepticism was justified. Shortly after the bill's passage, the Army announced that it was releasing all conscripts over 26, about 200,000 men, none of whom had completed even one year of training. This surprising act of self-disruption may have been caused partly by a shortage of equipment, but the obvious reason for it was the trainees' discontent over the bill's enactment.

Indeed, if the bill had been defeated, we would have had a larger Army on Dec. 7 than we actually had. (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/12/opi...)

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by Barbara W. Tuchman
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Robert E. Sherwood



Robert E. Sherwood, in full Robert Emmet Sherwood (born April 4, 1896, New Rochelle, N.Y., U.S.—died Nov. 14, 1955, New York City), American playwright whose works reflect involvement in human problems, both social and political.

Sherwood was an indifferent student at Milton Academy and Harvard University, failing the freshman rhetoric course while performing well and happily on the Lampoon, the humour magazine, and with the Hasty Pudding club, which produced the annual college musical comedy. He left before graduation to enlist in 1917 in the Canadian Black Watch Battalion, served in France, was gassed, and was discharged in 1919.

Sherwood was drama editor of Vanity Fair (1919–20) and with his colleagues Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley found his way to the Algonquin Round Table, the centre of a New York literary coterie. Sherwood then worked as associate editor (1920–24) and editor (1924–28) of the humour magazine Life. His first play, The Road to Rome (1927), criticizes the pointlessness of war, a recurring theme in many of his dramas. The heroes of The Petrified Forest (1935) and Idiot’s Delight (1936) begin as detached cynics but recognize their own bankruptcy and sacrifice themselves for their fellowmen. In Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1939) and There Shall Be No Night (1941), in which his pacifist heroes decide to fight, Sherwood’s thesis is that only by losing his life for others can a man make his own life significant. In 1938 Sherwood formed, with Maxwell Anderson, Sidney Howard, Elmer Rice, and S.N. Behrman, the Playwrights’ Company, which became a major producing company.

The Lincoln play led to Sherwood’s introduction to Eleanor Roosevelt and ultimately to his working for President Franklin D. Roosevelt as speechwriter and adviser. Sherwood’s speechwriting did much to make ghostwriting for public figures a respectable practice. Between service as special assistant to the secretary of war (1940) and to the secretary of the navy (1945), Sherwood served as director of the overseas branch of the Office of War Information (1941–44). From his wartime association with Roosevelt came much of the material for Roosevelt and Hopkins: An Intimate History. Except for his Academy Award-winning film The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Sherwood’s theatrical work after World War II was negligible.
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John Marshall



John Marshall was born in a log cabin on the Virginia frontier, the first of fifteen children. He was a participant in the Revolutionary War as a member of the 3d Virginia Regiment. He studied law briefly in 1780, and was admitted to practice the same year. He quickly established a successful career defending individuals against their pre-War British creditors.

Marshall served in Virginia's House of Delegates. He also participated in the state ratifying convention and spoke forcefully on behalf of the new constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.

Marshall contemplated several offers to serve in the Washington and Adams administrations. He declined service as attorney general for Washington; he declined positions on the Supreme Court and as secretary of war under Adams. At Washington's direction, Marshall ran successfully for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives but his tenure there was brief. Adams offered Marshall the position of secretary of state, which Marshall accepted. When Ellsworth resigned as chief justice in 1800, Adams turned to the first chief justice, John Jay, who declined. Federalists urged Adams to promote associate justice William Paterson to the spot; Adams opted for Marshall.

Marshall's impact on American constitutional law is peerless. He served for more than 34 years (a record that few others have broken), he participated in more than 1000 decisions and authored over 500 opinions. As the single most important figure on constitutional law, Marshall's imprint can still be fathomed in the great issues of contemporary America. Other justices will surpass his single accomplishments, but no one will replace him as the Babe Ruth of the Supreme Court!

Personal Information
Born: Wednesday, September 24, 1755
Died: Monday, July 6, 1835
Childhood Location: Virginia
Childhood Surroundings: Virginia

Position: Chief Justice
Seat: 1
Nominated By: Adams, John
Commissioned on: Saturday, January 31, 1801
Sworn In: Wednesday, February 4, 1801
Left Office: Monday, July 6, 1835
Reason For Leaving: Death
Length of Service: 34 years, 5 months, 2 days
Home: Virginia
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Charles Lindbergh



Charles Augustus Lindbergh (1902-1974), an American aviator, made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20-21, 1927. Other pilots had crossed the Atlantic before him. But Lindbergh was the first person to do it alone nonstop.

Lindbergh's feat gained him immediate, international fame. The press named him "Lucky Lindy" and the "Lone Eagle." Americans and Europeans idolized the shy, slim young man and showered him with honors.

Before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Lindbergh campaigned against voluntary American involvement in World War II. Many Americans criticized him for his noninvolvement beliefs. After the war, he avoided publicity until the late 1960's, when he spoke out for the conservation of natural resources. Lindbergh served as an adviser in the aviation industry from the days of wood and wire airplanes to supersonic jets.

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born on Feb. 4, 1902, in Detroit. He grew up on a farm near Little Falls, Minn. He was the son of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Sr., a lawyer, and his wife, Evangeline Lodge Land. Lindbergh's father served as a U.S. congressman from Minnesota from 1907 to 1917.

In childhood, Lindbergh showed exceptional mechanical ability. At the age of 18 years, he entered the University of Wisconsin to study engineering. However, Lindbergh was more interested in the exciting, young field of aviation than he was in school. After two years, he left school to become a barnstormer, a pilot who performed daredevil stunts at fairs.

In 1924, Lindbergh enlisted in the United States Army so that he could be trained as an Army Air Service Reserve pilot. In 1925, he graduated from the Army's flight-training school at Brooks and Kelly fields, near San Antonio, as the best pilot in his class. After Lindbergh completed his Army training, the Robertson Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis hired him to fly the mail between St. Louis and Chicago. He gained a reputation as a cautious and capable pilot.

In 1919, a New York City hotel owner named Raymond Orteig offered $25,000 to the first aviator to fly nonstop from New York to Paris. Several pilots were killed or injured while competing for the Orteig prize. By 1927, it had still not been won. Lindbergh believed he could win it if he had the right airplane. He persuaded nine St. Louis businessmen to help him finance the cost of a plane. Lindbergh chose Ryan Aeronautical Company of San Diego to manufacture a special plane, which he helped design. He named the plane the Spirit of St. Louis. On May 10-11, 1927, Lindbergh tested the plane by flying from San Diego to New York City, with an overnight stop in St. Louis. The flight took 20 hours 21 minutes, a transcontinental record.

On May 20, 1027, Lindbergh took off in the Spirit of St. Louis from Roosevelt Field, near New York City, at 7:52 A.M. He landed at Le Bourget Field, near Paris, on May 21 at 10:21 P.M. Paris time (5:21 P.M. New York time). Thousands of cheering people had gathered to meet him. He had flown more than 3,600 miles (5,790 kilometers) in 33 1/2 hours.

Lindbergh's heroic flight thrilled people throughout the world. He was honored with awards, celebrations, and parades. President Calvin Coolidge gave Lindbergh the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

In 1927, Lindbergh published We, a book about his transatlantic flight. The title referred to Lindbergh and his plane. Lindbergh flew throughout the United States to encourage air-mindedness on behalf of the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics. Lindbergh learned about the pioneer rocket research of Robert H. Goddard, a Clark University physics professor. Lindbergh persuaded the Guggenheim family to support Goddard's experiments, which later led to the development of missiles, satellites, and space travel. Lindbergh also worked for several airlines as a technical adviser.

Before Charles Lindbergh left for Paris, Harry Guggenheim, a North Shore multimillionaire and aviation enthusiast, visited him at Curtiss Field. "When you get back from your flight, look me up," said Guggenheim, who later admitted he didn't think there was much chance Lindbergh would survive the trip.

Lindbergh remembered and did call upon his return. It was the beginning of a friendship that would have a profound impact on the development of aviation in the United States. The two decided Lindbergh would make a three-month tour of the United States, paid for by a fund Harry and his father, Daniel, had set up earlier to encourage aviation-related research.

Daniel Guggenheim Fund sponsored Lindbergh on a three month nation-wide tour. Flying the "Spirit of St. Louis," he touched down in 49 states, visited 92 cities, gave 147 speeches, and rode 1,290 miles in parades.

Lindbergh was seen by literally millions of people as he flew around the country. Airmail usage exploded overnight as a result, and the public began to view airplanes as a viable means of travel. In addition, Lindbergh spent a month at a Sands Point mansion, Falaise, while writing We, his best-selling 1927 account of his trip.

At the request of the U.S. government, Lindbergh flew to various Latin-American countries in December 1927 as a symbol of American good will. While in Mexico, he met Anne Spencer Morrow, the daughter of Dwight W. Morrow, the American ambassador there. Lindbergh married Anne Morrow in 1929. He taught her to fly, and they went on many flying expeditions together throughout the world, charting new routes for various airlines. Anne Morrow Lindbergh also became famous for her poetry and other writings.

On March 1, 1932, the Lindberghs' 20-month-old son, Charles Augustus, Jr., was kidnapped from the family home in New Jersey. About ten weeks later, his body was found. In 1934, police arrested a carpenter, Bruno Richard Hauptmann, and charged him with the murder. Hauptmann was convicted of the crime. He was executed in 1936.

The press sensationalized the tragedy. Reporters, photographers, and curious onlookers pestered the Lindberghs constantly. In 1935, after the Hauptmann trial, Lindbergh, his wife, and their 3-year-old son, Jon, moved to Europe in search of privacy and safety.

The Lindbergh kidnapping led Congress to pass the "Lindbergh law." This law makes kidnapping a federal offense if the victim is taken across state lines or if the mail service is used for ransom demands.

While in Europe, Lindbergh was invited by the governments of France and Germany to tour the aircraft industries of their countries. Lindbergh was especially impressed with the highly advanced aircraft industry of Nazi Germany. In 1938, Hermann Goering, a high Nazi official, presented Lindbergh with a German medal of honor. Lindbergh's acceptance of the medal caused an outcry in the United States among critics of Nazism.

Lindbergh and his family returned to the United States in 1939. In 1941, he joined the America First Committee, an organization that opposed voluntary American entry into World War II. Lindbergh became a leading spokesman for the committee. He criticized President Franklin D. Roosevelt's foreign policies. He also charged that British, Jewish, and pro-Roosevelt groups were leading America into war. Lindbergh resigned his commission in the Army Air Corps after Roosevelt publicly denounced him. Some Americans accused Lindbergh of being a Nazi sympathizer because he refused to return the medal he had accepted.

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Lindbergh stopped his noninvolvement activity. He tried to reenlist, but his request was refused. He then served as a technical adviser and test pilot for the Ford Motor Company and United Aircraft Corporation (now United Technologies Corporation).

In April 1944, Lindbergh went to the Pacific war area as an adviser to the United States Army and Navy. Although he was a civilian, he flew about 50 combat missions. Lindbergh also developed cruise control techniques that increased the capabilities of American fighter planes.

After the War, Lindbergh withdrew from public attention. He worked as a consultant to the chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force. President Dwight D. Eisenhower restored Lindbergh's commission and appointed him a brigadier general in the Air Force in 1954. Pan American World Airways also hired Lindbergh as a consultant. He advised the airline on its purchase of jet transports and eventually helped design the Boeing 747 jet. In 1953, Lindbergh published The Spirit of St. Louis, an expanded account of his 1927 transatlantic flight. The book won a Pulitzer Prize in 1954.

Lindbergh traveled widely and developed an interest in the cultures of peoples in Africa and the Philippines. In the late 1960's, he ended his years of silence to speak out for the conservation movement. He especially campaigned for the protection of humpback and blue whales, two species of whales in danger of extinction. Lindbergh opposed the development of supersonic transport planes because he feared the effects the planes might have on the earth's atmosphere.

Lindbergh died of cancer on Aug. 26, 1974, in his home on the Hawaiian island of Maui. After his death, he was buried on the beautiful grounds of the Palapala Ho'omau Church. The Autobiography of Values, a collection of Lindbergh's writings, was published in 1978.
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by Charles A. Lindbergh
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Kay Summersby





Born in 1910, in Inish Beg Island, off the coast of County Cork, Ireland, as Kathleen McCarthy-Morrogh, she later came to the United States. She met married and divorced a man by the name of Summersby, and later became engaged to an American colonel who was killed in Tunisia. During World War II she met and became the personal driver and confidential secretary to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, from 1942 to 1945, while he was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War II. Eisenhower later considered divorcing his wife Mamie Eisenhower, to marry Summersby, but on the advice of General George C. Marshall, not to, because it would cost him his career, he did not. Summersby later married a man named Morgan and took an American citizenship and lived out the rest of her life in Southampton, New York.
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by Kay Summersby Morgan
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by Jim Newton (no photo)

Eleanor Roosevelt




A shy, awkward child, starved for recognition and love, Eleanor Roosevelt grew into a woman with great sensitivity to the underprivileged of all creeds, races, and nations. Her constant work to improve their lot made her one of the most loved--and for some years one of the most revered--women of her generation.

She was born in New York City on October 11, 1884, daughter of lovely Anna Hall and Elliott Roosevelt, younger brother of Theodore. When her mother died in 1892, the children went to live with Grandmother Hall; her adored father died only two years later. Attending a distinguished school in England gave her, at 15, her first chance to develop self-confidence among other girls.

Tall, slender, graceful of figure but apprehensive at the thought of being a wallflower, she returned for a debut that she dreaded. In her circle of friends was a distant cousin, handsome young Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They became engaged in 1903 and were married in 1905, with her uncle the President giving the bride away. Within eleven years Eleanor bore six children; one son died in infancy. "I suppose I was fitting pretty well into the pattern of a fairly conventional, quiet, young society matron," she wrote later in her autobiography.

In Albany, where Franklin served in the state Senate from 1910 to 1913, Eleanor started her long career as political helpmate. She gained a knowledge of Washington and its ways while he served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. When he was stricken with poliomyelitis in 1921, she tended him devotedly. She became active in the women's division of the State Democratic Committee to keep his interest in politics alive. From his successful campaign for governor in 1928 to the day of his death, she dedicated her life to his purposes. She became eyes and ears for him, a trusted and tireless reporter.

When Mrs. Roosevelt came to the White House in 1933, she understood social conditions better than any of her predecessors and she transformed the role of First Lady accordingly. She never shirked official entertaining; she greeted thousands with charming friendliness. She also broke precedent to hold press conferences, travel to all parts of the country, give lectures and radio broadcasts, and express her opinions candidly in a daily syndicated newspaper column, "My Day."

This made her a tempting target for political enemies but her integrity, her graciousness, and her sincerity of purpose endeared her personally to many--from heads of state to servicemen she visited abroad during World War II. As she had written wistfully at 14: "...no matter how plain a woman may be if truth & loyalty are stamped upon her face all will be attracted to her...."

After the President's death in 1945 she returned to a cottage at his Hyde Park estate; she told reporters: "the story is over." Within a year, however, she began her service as American spokesman in the United Nations. She continued a vigorous career until her strength began to wane in 1962. She died in New York City that November, and was buried at Hyde Park beside her husband.
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Felix Frankfurter



Felix Frankfurter was born in Vienna, Austria. He emigrated with his parents in 1894 and grew up amidst teeming tenements on New York's lower east side. He attended City College and established an impressive record at Harvard Law School. He had a brief tour in private legal practice but soon entered into government service, beginning with the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan. Frankfurter followed the incumbent U.S. Attorney, Henry Stimson, back into private practice and then back to government, this time as Stimpson held the position of Secretary of War under President Taft.

Frankfurter left government service to accept a position on the faculty of Harvard Law School where he remained, more or less, until his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1938. Frankfurter earned a reputation as an expert in constitutional law and federal jurisdiction. But he was no academic recluse. He argued cases for the National Consumers League, maintained an active interest in Zionist causes, and helped to found The New Republic. Frankfurter was also a highly visible defender of Sacco and Vanzetti, who were anarchists accused of bank robbery and murder in Braintree, Massachusetts.

Frankfurter was a confidant of Justices Louis Brandeis and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Frankfurter would regularly scout out law clerks for these justices from among his minions at Harvard Law School. Frankfurter was also an adviser to Franklin D. Roosevelt and sent many of his students to work in the New Deal.

Frankfurter was a prolific writer on and off the Court. He wrote often even when he was not the Court's main voice. He was an epistolarian in an age where letter-writing was on the wane. He had a brisk and energetic style to all that he did. To this day, his opinions stand out in relation to his colleagues' colorless prose.

Personal Information
Born Wednesday, November 15, 1882
Died Monday, February 22, 1965
Childhood Location Austria
Childhood Surroundings Austria
Religion Jewish
Ethnicity Austrian
Father Leopold Frankfurter
Father's Occupation Merchant
Mother Emma Winter
Family Status Lower-middle

Position Associate Justice
Seat 3
Nominated By Roosevelt, F.
Commissioned on Friday, January 20, 1939
Sworn In Monday, January 30, 1939
Left Office Tuesday, August 28, 1962
Reason For Leaving Retired
Length of Service 23 years, 6 months, 29 days
Home Massachusetts
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Averell Harriman



William Averell Harriman, the son of the railway magnate, E. H. Harriman, was born in New York City on 15th November, 1891. He joined his father's Union Pacific Company in 1915 and became chairman of the board in 1932.

Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Harriman as U.S. Ambassador of the Soviet Union in 1943. He held the post until 1946 when Harry S. Truman appointed him as Secretary of Commerce. Harriman worked on the Marshall Plan and served as national security adviser during the Korean War.

A member of the Democratic Party Harriman was elected governor of New York in 1954. After two unsuccessful attempts to become the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952 and 1956 Harriman served in several posts under President John F. Kennedy. This included negotiating the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963.

Despite being named as a Soviet spy by Anatoli Golitsin, Harriman was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as ambassador-at-large for Southeast Asian affairs in 1965. He also served as chief US negotiator when preliminary peace talks opened in France between the United States and North Vietnam in 1968.

Harriman lost this position as US negotiator under President Richard Nixon but returned to office in 1978 when he was appointed the senior member of the US Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly's Special Session on Disarmament. William Averell Harriman died in 1986.
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Works Progress Administration




The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was instituted by presidential executive order under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of April 1935, to generate public jobs for the unemployed. The WPA was restructured in 1939 when it was reassigned to the Federal Works Agency.

By 1936 over 3.4 million people were employed on various WPA programs. Administered by Harry Hopkins and furnished with an original congressional allocation of $4.8 billion, the WPA made work accessible to the unemployed on an unparalleled scale by disbursing funds for an extensive array of programs. Hopkins argued that although the work relief program was more costly than direct relief payments, it was worth it. He averred, "Give a man a dole, and you save his body and destroy his spirit. Give him a job and you save both body and spirit."

While responsibility for such unemployable people as children, the elderly, and the handicapped was remanded to the states, the WPA provided literally millions of jobs to employable people, enrolling on average about two million a year during its eight-year stint. Far fewer women were enrolled than men. Just 13.5 percent of WPA employees were women in 1938, its top enrollment year.

The WPA was charged with selecting projects that would make a real and lasting contribution — but would not vie with private firms. As it turned out, the "pump-priming" effect of federal projects actually stimulated private business during the Depression years. The WPA focused on tangible improvements: During its tenure, workers constructed 651,087 miles of roads, streets and highways; and built, repaired or refurbished 124,031 bridges, 125,110 public buildings, 8,192 parks, and 853 landing fields. In addition, workers cleaned slums, revived forests, and extended electrical power to rural locations.

Work was provided for nearly a million students through the WPA National Youth Administration (NYA). The Federal One projects employed 40,000 artists and other cultural workers to produce music and theater, sculptures, murals and paintings, state and regional travel guides, and surveys of national archives. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a program designed to address the problem of jobless young men aged between 18 and 25 years old. CCC camps were set up all around the country.

The WPA`s positive results for the public good and its popularity helped Franklin D. Roosevelt to garner a thumping electoral victory in 1936, even though the agency employed no more than about 25 percent of the nation`s jobless.

Meanwhile, New Deal critics in Congress accused the program of waste, political maneuvering, and even subversive activity; they took their chance to prune the program when unemployment figures dipped a little in 1937. When unemployment rose again the following year, funding was brought back to previous levels. However, 1939 saw more cutbacks. The Emergency Relief Appropriations Act of June 30 eliminated the Federal Theater Project, cut back WPA pay and limited enrollment to 18 months.

Reacting to charges of politicking by WPA employees during the 1938 congressional races, the Hatch Act of August 1939 prevented federal workers from participating in a broad array of political activities.

With wartime prosperity rising in the 1940s, the WPA became more difficult to justify, and on June 30, 1943 the agency was terminated by presidential proclamation. All told, the WPA had employed more than 8,500,000 individuals on 1,410,000 projects with an average salary of $41.57 a month, and had spent about $11 billion.
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Oil Embargo on Japan




Prior to the outbreak of World War II, China was heavily supported by Germany (until 1938) and the Soviet Union. The latter readily provided aircraft, military supplies, and advisors seeing China as a buffer against Japan. The United States, Britain, and France limited their support to war contracts prior to the beginning of the larger conflict. Public opinion, while initially on the side of the Japanese, began to shift following reports of atrocities like the Rape of Nanking. It was further swayed by incidents such as the Japanese sinking of the gunboat USS Panay on December 12, 1937, and increasing fears about Japan's policy of expansionism.

US support increased in mid-1941, with the clandestine formation of the 1st American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers." Equipped with US aircraft and American pilots the 1st AVG, under Colonel Claire Chennault, effectively defended the skies over China and Southeast Asia from late-1941 to mid-1942, downing 300 Japanese aircraft with a loss of only 12 of their own. In addition to military support, the US, Britain, and the Netherlands East Indies initiated oil and steel embargos against Japan in August 1941.

The American oil embargo caused a crisis in Japan. Reliant on the US for 80% of its oil, the Japanese were forced to decide between withdrawaling from China, negotiating an end to the conflict, or going to war to obtain the needed resources elsewhere. In an attempt to resolve the situation, Konoe [Japanese Prince Fumimaro Konoe] asked US President Franklin Roosevelt for a summit meeting to discuss the issues. Roosevelt replied that Japan needed to leave China before such a meeting could be held. While Konoe was seeking a diplomatic solution, the military was looking south to the Netherlands East Indies and their rich sources of oil and rubber. Believing that an attack in this region would cause the US to declare war, they began planning for such an eventuality.

On October 16, 1941, after unsuccessfully arguing for more time to negotiate, Konoe resigned as prime minister and was replaced by the pro-military General Hideki Tojo. While Konoe had been working for peace, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) had developed its war plans. These called for a preemptive strike against the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, HI, as well as simultaneous strikes against the Philippines, Netherlands East Indies, and the British colonies in the region. The goal of this plan was to eliminate the American threat, allowing Japanese forces to secure the Dutch and British colonies. The IJN's chief of staff, Admiral Osami Nagano, presented the attack plan to Emperor Hirohito on November 3. Two days later the emperor approved it, ordering the attack to occur in early December if no diplomatic breakthroughs were achieved.
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Jim Dingeman has added some very helpful information:

His post which was moved states as follows:

Marshall was a protege of John Pershing, who commanded the AEF in World War One. His role in planning the Meuse Argonne offensive in 1918, is considered critical in advancing his career. This was the largest offensive the US mounted in WW I, employing 22-23 US divisions and large numbers of artillery, tanks and aircraft. Marshall played a key role in the planning..hence, he was brought under the wings of Pershing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American...

also check out these resources at West Point:

http://www.westpoint.edu/history/site...

These in particular for Meuse Argonne:

http://www.westpoint.edu/history/Site...

The above is a great map Jim - thank you.

Jim Dingeman has added some very useful information:

The segment of his original post which was moved stated as follows:

Jim Dingeman stated:

Here is a decent source although heavily reliant on German sources of the Campaign in Poland in 1939

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/D...

This source is interesting because it is contemporaneous with the aftermath of the 1939-1940 campaigns and shows how Marshall wanted the lessons of Poland to be digested by the senior US military leadership

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Germa...

Some more useful information from Jim:

Jim Dingeman stated:

The use of airpower in the 1939-1940 campaigns also had a dramatic impact on the thinking at the highest levels in the US political-military leadership..here is a more modern analysis of what the Luftwaffe was ACTUALLY doing in the 1939-1940 campaigns...this is what the U.S leadership was studying and made decisions about where to concentrate the bulk of resources easier when the time came for those decisions

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/A...

Some more useful information from Jim:

Jim Dingeman stated:

This is the British official history of the 1939-1940 campaign in France done in 1954..dated but useful:

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK...

Neville Chamberlain



Chamberlain was British prime minister between 1937 and 1940, and is closely associated with the policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany.

Arthur Neville Chamberlain was born on 18 March 1869 in Birmingham into a political family. His father, Joseph, was an influential politician of the late 19th century and Neville's older half-brother Austen held many Conservative cabinet positions in the early 20th century and won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Chamberlain was educated in Birmingham. After a successful career in business, in 1915 he was appointed lord mayor of Birmingham. In 1916, Lloyd George appointed him director-general of the department of national service, but disagreements between them led Chamberlain to resign. In 1918, Chamberlain was elected Conservative member of parliament for Ladywood in Birmingham and was rapidly promoted. He served as both chancellor of the exchequer (1923 - 1924) and minister of health (1923, 1924 -1929, 1931). In 1937, he succeeded Stanley Baldwin as prime minister.

Like many in Britain who had lived through World War One, Chamberlain was determined to avert another war. His policy of appeasement towards Adolf Hitler culminated in the Munich Agreement in which Britain and France accepted that the Czech region of the Sudetenland should be ceded to Germany. Chamberlain left Munich believing that by appeasing Hitler he had assured 'peace for our time'. However, in March 1939 Hitler annexed the rest of the Czech lands of Bohemia and Moravia, with Slovakia becoming a puppet state of Germany. Five months later in September 1939 Hitler's forces invaded Poland. Chamberlain responded with a British declaration of war on Germany.

In May 1940, after the disastrous Norwegian campaign, Chamberlain resigned and Winston Churchill became prime minister. Chamberlain served in Churchill's cabinet as lord president of the council. He died a few weeks after he left office, on 9 November 1940.
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(no image) The Chamberlain Cabinet: How the Meetings in 10 Downing Street, 1937-1939, Led to the Second World War--Told for the First Time from the Cabine by Ian Goodhope Colvin (no photo)

Forest of Compiègne

[image error]


NOVEMBER 1918 - THE ALLIED TRIUMPH
At 5:10 am, 11 November 1918, the representatives of the German high command signed the armistice dictated to them by Marshal Foch, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces. Six hours later at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 World War I ended. The Third Republic, the most enduring French regime since the Revolution, had with the help of its democratic allies, the British Empire and the United States of America, survived it strongest challenge. The old order, established after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, had vanished. The Germans who arrived in the Forest of Compiegne as representatives of the German Empire signed the armistice three days later as representatives of the German Republic. The empires of the Hapsburgs, Hohenzollerns, Romanovs and Ottomans were no more. Establishing a new order proved more difficult, perhaps, than anyone present in Wagon Lits Company coach No. 2419D on that misty morning might have imagined.

Where better to begin an exploration of the history, politics and emotions of the brief period between the World Wars than in the Forest of Compiegne? Here, amidst the memorials symbolic of the unresolved bitterness of both victors and vanquished, the short interval between peace and war would begin and end.

THE GLADE OF THE ARMISTICE
No time was wasted in turning the historic meeting place into a national shrine and memorial to the victory of French arms. On the initiative of M. Fournier, Mayor of Compiegne, the wooded bog was transformed into "The Glade of the Armistice". A boulevard, 250 feet wide, was opened up between the Compiegne-Rethondes road and the railroad. A circular clearing, 100 yards in diameter, was carved from the woods and at its center was placed a stone slab bearing the words of Binet-Valmer:

ICI
LE 11 NOVEMBER 1918
SVCCOMBA
LE CRIMINEL ORGVEIL
DE L'EMPIRE ALLEMAND
VAINCV
PAR LES
PEVPLES LIBRES
OV IL PRETENDAIT
ASSERVIR

"Here, 11 November 1918, succumbed the criminal pride of the German Empire. Vanquished by the free peoples it sought to enslave." The Slab

Granite slabs marked the exact positions of the cars used by Marshal Foch and the German plenipotentiaries. Le Matin, a Paris newspaper, raised funds from its subscribers for a memorial to the liberators of Alsace and Lorraine which was placed at the far end of the boulevard. The bronze sculpture of a sword striking down the Imperial Eagle of Germany is framed by Alsatian sandstone and inscribed "To the heroic soldiers of France - Defender of Fatherland and of Right - Glorious liberators of Alsace and Lorraine". The Glade was formally dedicated on Armistice Day 1922 by Presidents Alexandre Millerand and Raymond Poincare.

Marshal Foch's coach, Wagon Lits Company car No. 2419D, was returned to its former service as a dining car after the war. It was exhibited in the courtyard of Les Invalides in Paris from 1921 to 1927. The "Wagon" returned to the Glade on Armistice Day 1927 when it was installed in a shelter built by the city of Compiegne with funds contributed by American, Henry Fleming. Marshal Foch and General Weygand returned to the clearing for the ceremony.

The last of the Glade's memorials, a statue of Marshal Foch by Michelet, was dedicated in the fall of 1937 by General Georges, the Minister of War, in the presence of the Marshal's widow, Madame Foch, and General Weygand. The clouds of war gathered once more about the Glade and the Marshal's work would soon be in jeopardy.

JUNE 1940 - THE DEBACLE
World War II on the western front began in earnest on the morning of May 10, 1940. Once more Germany would attack its neighbor through the neutral low countries and this time there would be no Miracle on the Marne. Within six weeks the British Expeditionary Force was pushed back across the Channel. France, the last surviving democracy on the continent, was forced to sue for peace.

On June 17th the panic stricken government, formed by Marshal Petain, made a formal request for an armistice. Three days later a delegation led by General Huntziger left Bordeaux at 2pm intending to rendevous with the Germans at the Loire bridge in Tours at 5pm. After battling against the tide of retreating troops and refugees the envoys finally reached the river at 10pm. There they were directed to continue on to Chartres. Several of their number suspected that the Germans would hold the talks in the Palace of Versailles where the King of Prussia had been enthroned as Kaiser of a united German Empire in 1871 and where the humiliating Peace Treaty had been forced on Germany in 1919. The party continued on to Paris and spent the night before being directed to their final destination.

In Bordeaux the commander of the French forces, General Weygand, waited anxiously for news of the delegation. At 8:30 pm, June 21, 1940 his phone finally rang: Huntziger, "I'm in the Wagon"; Weygand, "mon pauvre ami". The shock and recognition were instantaneous. German engineers had demolished the front wall of the museum and moved the car on to the track and placed it exactly were it had stood 22 years before when Weygand had read Foch's terms to the representatives of a defeated Germany.

The arrival of the German Chancellor as described by William L. Shirer in The Collapse of the Third Republic: "Adolf Hitler, at the moment of his greatest triumph, was in a truculent and arrogant mood as he arrived at the little clearing in the woods at Rethondes at 3:15 pm on June 21. To dictate an armistice in this historic place was sweet revenge for the man who had been a lowly corporal in the army that had been forced to give up in 1918, and he did not hide his feelings. Standing a few feet away, I saw his face light up, successively, with hate, scorn, revenge, triumph as he strode to the little marble block that marked the spot where Foch's wagonlit had stood in 1918." General Keitel read a declaration written by Hitler explaining why this place had been chosen for the talks, "to efface once and for all by an act of reparative justice a memory which was resented by the German people as the greatest shame of all time."

DESTRUCTION OF THE GLADE
Three days after the signing of the second armistice the stone slab whose inscription had so offended Hitler was broken up and packed off to Germany in wooden crates. The Alsace Lorraine memorial suffered the same fate. The Wagon was hauled to Berlin where the new victors placed it on exhibit until 1943. The Glade's avenues and clearance were plowed up, its trees cut down and the remains of the shed demolished. Only the statue of Foch remained unviolated. An act of soldierly courtesy on the part of the Germans? No, more likely another bit of petty revenge on the part of the Fueher; the victor of 1918 left in solitude to contemplate the annihilation of his work.

SUMMER 1944 - LIBERATION
France had lost a battle but France had not lost a war.
Compiegne was liberated by American and French troops on September 1, 1944. A short time there after German POWs were put to work restoring the Armistice Glade. On the afternoon of October 21,1944 the Citizens of Compiegne gathered in the Glade for a meeting of atonement. A wooden substitute covered in a memorial clothe was placed on the spot were the sacred stone formerly lay. The mayor of Compiegne had directed the town architect to secretly make these objects during the occupation. On Armistice Day 1944. at 5:15 pm the Prime Minister M. Jeanneney took a torch and lit a stake at the foot of the wooden slab while scouts piled bundles of kindling around it. The Glade was purified.

THE AFTERMATH
The massive aerial bombardment of Berlin became so intense by 1943 that the Nazi regime decided that if its most prize spoil of war was to be protected it would have to be removed from the capital. Marshal Foch's wagon-lit was moved to the forest of Thuringia. In April 1945 with the allies driving deep into the German homeland, SS troops committed one last act of vengeance against the victors of 1918 by setting fire to the historic coach.

Germany surrendered once more on May 8, 1945. This time in a schoolhouse in Reims. A short time there after the crates containing the pieces of the sacred stone slab and Alsace Lorraine monuments were located in Berlin. They were restored and returned to their original locations in the Armistice Clearing. Visitors once again flocked to the historic Glade at Compiegne but still yearned to see the old wagon. Another wagon, car No.2439 D constructed in 1913 like the original was placed on exhibit in a new shed. Fortunately, the original furnishings and documents from the Marshal's wagon were removed for safe keeping at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. The dedication of the Museum of the Armistice on November 11, 1950 marked the full restoration of the Glade to its pre-1940 condition.
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(no image) The Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 5 Bulgaria to Castanos by Americana Corporation (no photo)

Harold L. Ickes



Harold Ickes was born in Frankstown, Pennsylvania on 15th March, 1874. He attended the University of Chicago and after graduating in 1897 he set himself up as a lawyer. Ickes held progressive political views and often worked for causes he believed in without pay.

As a young man he was deeply influenced by the politics of John Altgeld. He later wrote: "How the Chicago Tribune and others had smeared this humane and courageous man because he had fought for the underdog, and especially because he had pardoned those who still lived of the innocent victims who had been railroaded to the penitentiary after the Haymarket riot! So far as I could see, Altgeld stood about where I wanted to stand on social questions."

Ickes worked for Theodore Roosevelt in the 1912 presidential election. After the demise of the Progressive Party, Ickes switched to Hiram Johnson and managed his unsuccessful campaign to became a presidential candidate in 1924.

Ickes became a follower of Franklin D. Roosevelt after being impressed by his progressive policies as governor of New York. In 1932 Ickes played an important role in persuading progressive Republicans to support Roosevelt in the presidential election. He was a supporter of the New Deal. As he later argued: "Many billions of dollars could properly be spent in the United States on permanent improvements. Such spending would not only help us out of the depression, it would do much for the health, well-being and prosperity of the people. I refuse to believe that providing an adequate water supply for a municipality or putting in a sewage system is a wasteful expenditure of money. Any money spent in such fashion as to make our people healthier and happier human beings is not only a good social investment, it is sound from a strictly financial point of view. I can think of no better investment, for instance, than money paid out to provide education and to safeguard the health of the people."

In 1933 Roosevelt appointed Ickes as his Secretary of the Interior. This involved running the Public Works Administration (PWA) and over the next six years spent more than $5,000,000,000 on various large-scale projects. Ickes, a strong supporter of civil rights, he worked closely with Walter Francis White of the NAACP to establish quotas for African American workers in PWA projects.

His work was praised by the New York Times: "Mr. Ickes knows all the rackets that infest the construction industry. He is a terror to collective bidders and skimping contractors. He warns that the PWA fund is a sacred trust fund and that only traitors would graft on a project undertaken to save people from hunger. He insists on fidelity to specifications; cancels violated contracts mercilessly, sends inspectors to see that men in their eagerness to work are not robbed of pay by the kickback swindle."

Ickes felt that others in the administration, such as Harry L. Hopkins, had more power and influence over Roosevelt's decision. Ickes did not get on with Harry S. Truman and resigned from his government in 1946 in protest over the appointment of Edwin W. Pauley, Under Secretary of the Navy.

In his final years Ickes wrote a syndicated newspaper column and contributed regularly to the New Republic. Ickes wrote several books including New Democracy (1934), Back to Work: The Story of the PWA (1935), Yellowstone National Park (1937), The Third Term Bugaboo: A Cheerful Anthology (1940), Fighting Oil: The History and Politics of Oil (1943) and The Autobiography of a Curmudgeon (1943).

Harold Ickes died in Washington on 3rd February, 1952. The Secret Diary of Harold L. Ickes, was published posthumously in 1953.
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Irving Berlin



Irving Berlin once said that, "a patriotic song is an emotion and you must not embarrass an audience with it, or they will hate your guts." This philosophy made him one of America's most outstanding writers of patriotic songs from World War I through World War II.

Berlin was born Israel Baline in Eastern Russia on May 11, 1888. He was one of eight children born to Leah and Moses Baline. His father was a shochet (one who kills kosher animals as prescribed by Jewish religious laws) who was also the cantor in the synagogue. His family moved to New York in 1893 to escape the pogroms in Russia. At the age of eight, he took to the streets of the Lower East Side of New York City to help support his mother and family after his father had died. In the early 1900s he worked as a singing waiter in many restaurants and started writing songs. His first published hit was "Marie From Sunny Italy." His successes continued through two years.

Berlin was married for only a year to Dorothy Goetz, who died from typhoid contracted while on their honeymoon in Cuba in 1913. He married Ellin Mackay in 1926. She was the daughter of Clarence Mckay, president of Postal Telegraph Company, a leading Catholic layman who opposed the wedding. The Berlins had three daughters.

In World War I, he wrote the musical Yip, Yip, Yaphank, which was produced by the men of Camp Upton. In this musical, the big hit song was "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning," which reflected Berlin's aversion to rising early. This musical raised more than $150,000 to build a service center at Camp Upton.

On Armistice Day, 1938, he introduced "God Bless America," which was sung by Kate Smith. This song threatened to replace the national anthem because of its patriotism and popularity.

In World War II, he wrote the musical This is the Army, which raised $10 million for the Army Emergency Relief. His hits in this musical were "This is the Army, Mr Jones" and I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen." He also wrote other patriotic songs such as "Any Bonds Today?," "Arms for the Love of America," and "Angels of Mercy" for the American Red Cross.

Berlin was prolific: He wrote more than 900 songs, 19 musicals and the scores of 18 movies. Some of his songs that have become classics include "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Easter Parade," and "White Christmas." He is the top money maker among songwriters in America. In 1924, songwriter Jerome Kern observed "Irving Berlin has no place in American music. He is American music."

Berlin supported Jewish charities and organizations and donated many dollars to worthwhile causes. He was honored in 1944 by the National Conference of Christians and Jews for "advancing the aims of the conference to eliminate religious and racial conflict." Five years later, he was honored by the New York YMHA as one of "12 outstanding Americans of the Jewish faith." On February 18, 1955, President Eisenhower presented him with a gold medal in recognition of his services in composing many patriotic songs for the country. Earlier, Berlin assigned the copyright for "God Bless America" to the God Bless America Fund, which has raised millions of dollars for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Berlin's World War I doughboy uniform and many of his original patriotic scores are on display in the Jewish War Veterans Museum in Washington, D.C.

Irving Berlin died on September 22, 1989, at the age of 101.

Following a gala 100th birthday celebration concert at Carnegie Hall, Morton Gould, president of ASCAP, said that "Irving Berlin's music will last not for just an hour, not for just a day, not for just a year, but always." Not bad for a poor immigrant who had only two years of formal schooling and who never learned to read or write music!
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Bismarck



Bismarck, a 41,673-ton battleship, was built at Hamburg, Germany. First of a class of two heavy ships, with Tirpitz being the second, she was commissioned in August 1940 and spent the rest of that year running trials and continuing her outfitting. The first months of 1941 were largely devoted to training operations in the Baltic sea. Bismarck left the Baltic on 19 May 1941, en route to the Atlantic, accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. On the morning of 24 May, while west of Iceland, the German vessels encountered the British battlecruiser Hood and battleship Prince of Wales. In the ensuing Battle of the Denmark Strait, Hood blew up and sank. The seriously damaged Prince of Wales was forced to break off contact. Bismarck also received shell hits that degraded her seakeeping and contaminated some of her fuel.

Later on 24 May, Prinz Eugen was detached, while Bismarck began a voyage toward France, where she could be repaired. She was intermittantly attacked by carrier planes and surface ships, ultimately sustaining a torpedo hit in the stern that rendered her unable to steer effectively. British battleships and heavy cruisers intercepted the crippled ship on the morning of 27 May. After less than two hours of battle, shells and torpedoes had reduced Bismarck to a wreck. She capsized and sank, with the loss of all but 110 of her crew of some 2300 men.

Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's reaction to Bismarck's loss produced a very cautious approach to future German surface ship operations against Britain's vital Atlantic sea lanes. In June 1989, just over forty-eight years after she sank, the German battleship's battered hulk was located and photographed where she lies upright on a mountainside, nearly 16,000 feet below the ocean surface.

This page features or provides links to all our views of the German battleship Bismarck.
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Oliver Cromwell



English soldier and statesman who helped make England a republic and then ruled as lord protector from 1653 to 1658.

Oliver Cromwell was born on 25 April 1599 in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire into a family of minor gentry and studied at Cambridge University. He became member of parliament for Huntingdon in the parliament of 1628 - 1629. In the 1630s Cromwell experienced a religious crisis and became convinced that he would be guided to carry out God's purpose. He began to make his name as a radical Puritan when, in 1640, he was elected to represent Cambridge, first in the Short Parliament and then in the Long Parliament.

Civil war broke out between Charles I and parliament in 1642. Although Cromwell lacked military experience, he created and led a superb force of cavalry, the 'Ironsides', and rose from the rank of captain to that of lieutenant-general in three years. He convinced parliament to establish a professional army - the New Model Army - which won the decisive victory over the king's forces at Naseby (1645). The king's alliance with the Scots and his subsequent defeat in the Second Civil War convinced Cromwell that the king must be brought to justice. He was a prime mover in the trial and execution of Charles I in 1649 and subsequently sought to win conservative support for the new republic by suppressing radial elements in the army. Cromwell became army commander and lord lieutenant of Ireland, where he crushed resistance with the massacres of the garrisons at Drogheda and Wexford (1649).

Cromwell then defeated the supporters of the king's son Charles II at Dunbar (1650) and Worcester (1651), effectively ending the civil war. In 1653, frustrated with lack of progress, he dissolved the rump of the Long Parliament and, after the failure of his Puritan convention (popularly known as Barebones Parliament) made himself lord protector. In 1657, he refused the offer of the crown. At home Lord Protector Cromwell reorganised the national church, established Puritanism, readmitted Jews into Britain and presided over a certain degree of religious tolerance. Abroad, he ended the war with Portugal (1653) and Holland (1654) and allied with France against Spain, defeating the Spanish at the Battle of the Dunes (1658). Cromwell died on 3 September 1658 in London. After the Restoration his body was dug up and hanged.

Cromwell's son Richard was named as his successor and was lord protector of England from September 1658 to May 1659. He could not reconcile various political, military and religious factions and soon lost the support of the army on which his power depended. He was forced to abdicate and after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 he fled to Paris. He returned to England in 1680 and lived quietly under an assumed name until his death in 1712.
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Benjamin V. Cohen



One of the most brilliant minds in President Franklin Roosevelt’s Brain Trust, Benjamin Cohen was an irreplaceable adviser whose brilliance was committed to a wide variety of tasks during FDR’s four terms. His partnership with Thomas Corcoran resulted in many of the most sweeping and influential pieces of New Deal legislation. When war clouds gathered, he turned his attention to foreign affairs, shepherding aid to U.S. allies and overseeing the creation of the United Nations. Cohen was born to Polish immigrants on September 23, 1894 in Muncie, Indiana. He was a brilliant student at the University of Chicago, earning his bachelor of philosophy degree in 1914, his law degree a year later, and his S.J.D. from Harvard Law School.

While at Harvard, professor and future Supreme Court justice Felix Frankfurter saw his brilliance and potential. Frankfurter had a reputation for advancing the careers of those students he found to be exceptional, and this applied to Cohen. He drafted him as a legal secretary for Federal Circuit Court Judge Julian Mack. Using his experience working with Mack as a springboard, he became an attorney for the U.S. Shipping Board from 1917 to 1919. Cohen also became involved with the American Zionist movement, serving as its counsel from 1919 to 1921. At the Paris Peace Conference, convened for the post-World War One settlement, he helped to negotiate the League of Nations mandate for Palestine.

When President Roosevelt took office in 1933, Cohen was brought to Washington, D.C. through Frankfurter’s connections. There, he helped with the creation of several New Deal programs. He also aided in the drafting of the Securities Act of 1933, meant to curb the manipulation of stocks which was endemic in previous years. Cohen was soon made general counsel for the Public Works Administration and the National Power Public Committee. Almost immediately after arriving in Washington, Cohen formed a powerful working relationship with fellow presidential adviser Thomas Corcoran, another beneficiary of Frankfurter’s influence. Aside from their collaboration on the Securities Act of 1933, the two were essential in the creation of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 which established the Securities Exchange Commission; the Public Utilities Holding Company Act of 1935 which regulated large utility companies; the Rural Electrification Administration Act of 1935; and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. They also helped with the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Federal Housing Administration, and the Wage and Hour Law.

When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Cohen shifted gears to foreign policy. He advised Roosevelt on aid programs to U.S. allies prior to America’s official entry into the war, including the Lend-Lease Act and the Destroyers-for-Bases deal, both in 1940. A year later he became counsel for John G. Winant, American Ambassador to the Court of St. James in the United Kingdom. He also served as general counsel for the Office of Economic Stabilization (later named the Office of War Mobilization). In perhaps his most enduring contribution to the post-Second World War era, Cohen helped draft the Dumbarton Oaks Agreement, which laid the foundations for the United Nations. His collaborative efforts with James Byrnes, who headed the Office of Economic Stabilization, continued after the end of the war. He served as special assistant to Byrnes when he became Secretary of State. Cohen was later made general counsel to the State Department. From 1948 to 1952 he was a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations and United Nations Disarmament Commission. His interest in politics continued long after his government service ended, becoming special assistant to John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign on disarmament issues. He passed away from complications due to pneumonia in 1983 in Washington, D.C.
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Joe Louis



Joe Louis burst onto the professional boxing scene in 1934 with style and skill such as the boxing world has seldom seen. Known to many as the "Brown Bomber," Louis emerged victorious from his first 27 fights, all but four of which he won in knockouts. In the early days of his career, he destroyed such great heavyweight fighters as Stanley Poreda, Natie Brown, and Rosco Toles. It was here that Louis delivered to the entire world a premonition of the reign of domination that he was to begin.

Joe Louis Barrow was born on May 13, 1914. His father, "Mun Barrow," was a cotton picker from Alabama and his family fought with poverty for most of his childhood. His family moved to Detroit in 1924, at which point Joe first became involved in boxing. Having grown up in the Old South, Louis had acquired the instinct and anger of a true fighter, even amidst the evils of racial discrimination and intolerance. His early career was a period of hard work and determination, and was one without glamour or fame. Ten years after his arrival in Detroit, Louis won the Golden Gloves as a light heavyweight. Following this win, Louis turned professional and won twelve contests within the first year. The first few years of Louis' pro career involved a steady ascension up the pyramid of the Heavyweight class. His boxing prowess, as well as his reputation, was growing at an incredible rate. In June of 1935, he fought Primo Carnera, the former heavyweight champion, before a Yankee Stadium crowd of 62,000. Louis followed this fight with a pairing against Max Baer, who he defeated by knockout in the fourth round.

Joe Louis was seemingly invincible, until his meeting with Max Schmeling on June 19, 1936. Schmeling was the underdog but, to the surprise of all, gave Louis a defeat that would continue to sting long after the cuts had healed. Louis was counted out in the 12th round of this lengthy fight and suffered the first and most painful defeat of his boxing career. In 1937, Louis faced world heavyweight champion James J. Braddock in Chicago. In an eight round match, Louis captured the heavyweight title of the world by knocking Braddock out. After this victory, Louis stated, "I don't want nobody to call me champ until I beat Schmeling." Louis had ascended to the top of the boxing world, but in his estimate his journey was far from complete. His embarrassing loss to Max Schmeling was the only dark spot on a career that otherwise was the stuff of dreams, and he was consumed by a desire for revenge.

Following this successful title defense against Welsh boxer Tommy Farr in a 15-round marathon match, Louis initiated his "Bum of the Month" campaign. The idea was for Louis to take on a variety of fighters, whether they were contenders or not.

During this period, on the day of June 22, 1938, Louis once again took on the only opponent who had ever beaten him, Max Schmeling. This time around, Louis knocked Schmeling out and captured the admiration of countless Americans. Louis gained a moral victory for himself and for his country, and simultaneously struck a damaging blow to Hitler and his pretentious beliefs.

Louis' first punches, a pair of powerful left hooks, began his opponent's eventual demise. Schmeling complained bitterly about being hit with foul kidney punches, but every punch was a fair one. The fight was nothing short of ridiculous, with Schmeling falling to the floor in just two minutes and four seconds.

It was this time period that bore witness to Louis' reign of terror in the heavyweight boxing world. Beginning in 1937, he began a 12-year reign as boxing's heavyweight champion of the world. During this stretch, Louis had victories over Lou Nova, Tony Galento, Gus Dorazio, Buddy Baer, and Johnny Paycheck. Louis' epic battle with Billy Conn at the Polo Grounds also occurred during this time. In 1942, Joe Louis began a period of service in the Army and worked as a physical education teacher. It would be four years before Louis again returned to the ring. Between 1946 and 1949, Louis flawlessly defended his title four times, including two victorious fights against 'Jersey' Joe Walcott.

Louis retired in 1949, still the undefeated heavyweight champ. Succumbing to financial pressures and government debts, Louis was forced back into the ring. In 1950, he attempted to recapture his title in a bout against Ezzard Charles. However, in a points decision, Louis was handed a loss. Not ready to accept defeat, he again tried his hand in 1951 against Rocky Marciano. During this unsuccessful return to the ring, Marciano knocked Louis through the ropes in the 8th round. This was Joe Louis' final time in the ring. He had earned $5 million in his illustrious boxing career. But at 37, Joe Louis had not a single cent to show for it. To support himself, Louis decided to make a living as a Las Vegas casino host.

Joe Louis still holds the distinction of having successfully defended his title more times than any other heavyweight in history. He knocked out five world champions and will remain a powerful part of boxing history for many decades to come. His life and success story serve as proof that black and white Americans can coexist. Joe Louis is a role model for all of us and proved that good sportsmanship can exist even in a sport as violent as boxing. When he died in 1981, Joe Louis was eulogized - and continues to be known - as one of the greatest prizefighters of all time.
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by Matt de la Pena
by Randy Roberts (no photo)
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by Lew Freedman (no photo)
by Chris Mead (no photo)

Daniel Judson Callaghan



Daniel Judson Callaghan was born on 26 July 1890 in San Francisco, California. He was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy from that same state and graduated as a Midshipman in 1911. He reported to USS California and was promoted to an Ensign in March 1912. Callaghan transferred to USS Truxton and was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade in March 1915, later assuming command. Continuing sea duty, he reported in November 1916 to USS New Orleans. Upon the United States' entry into World War I, he was temporarily promoted to Lieutenant in July 1917, then to Lieutenant Commander a year later. In November, Callaghan was assigned to the Bureau of Navigation in Washington D.C.. Returning to sea, he received orders to USS Idaho, where his promotion to Lieutenant Commander was made permanent. In June 1923, he began a tour at the Board of Inspection and Survey, Pacific Coast Section at San Francisco, California.

In May 1925, Callaghan was assigned to USS Colorado , later transferring to USS Mississippi. After these tours, he returned to the Pacific Coast Section of the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey. In June 1930, he became Aide first to Commander, Battleships Battle Force, Commander Battle Force then to Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet where he was promoted to Commander in June 1931. For his next tour, Callaghan was the Executive Officer of the NROTC Unit at the University of California, Berkley, California. He then completed a brief tour on board USS Portland before reporting as the Operations Officer to Commander, Cruisers Scouting Force. In July 1938, he received orders as Naval Aide to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was promoted to Captain that October.

In May 1941, Callaghan assumed command of USS San Francisco. After the United States' entry into World War II, he was promoted to Rear Admiral in April 1942 and became Chief of Staff to Commander, South Pacific Force. On 12-13 November, while serving as Commander of Task Force Sixty-Seven.Four on board flagship San Francisco, he took part in the bitterly fought Guadalcanal Campaign against the Japanese off Savo Island. Despite the enemy's superior naval power and navigational communication problems, Callaghan's tactical skills contributed to turn the tide of the war against the Japanese in the Pacific. While directing close-range operations on the bridge wing in the middle of the night, he was mortally wounded by enemy bombardment. For his "extraordinary heroism", he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Daniel J. Callaghan was buried at sea and is listed on the American Battle Monuments Commission's "Wall of the Missing" at Manila, Philippine Islands.

USS Callaghan (DD-792), 1943-1945 and (DDG-994), 1981-1998 were named in honor of Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan.
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by James D. Hornfischer
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(no image) A Small Town Goes to War by Michael E Lyga (no photo)

Dunkirk




The Battle of Dunkirk was an important battle in the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. As part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and allied forces in Europe from 26 May to 4 June 1940.

After the Phoney War, the Battle of France began in earnest on 10 May 1940. To the east, the German Army Group B invaded and subdued the Netherlands and advanced westward through Belgium. In response, the Supreme Allied Commander—French General Maurice Gamelin—initiated "Plan D" which relied heavily on the Maginot Line fortifications. Gamelin committed the forces under his command, three mechanised armies, the French First and Seventh and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to the River Dyle. On 14 May, German Army Group A burst through the Ardennes and advanced rapidly to the west toward Sedan, then turned northward to the English Channel, in what Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein called the "Sickle Cut" (known as "Plan Yellow" or the Manstein Plan), effectively flanking the Allied forces.

A series of Allied counter-attacks—including the Battle of Arras—failed to sever the German spearhead, which reached the coast on 20 May, separating the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) near Armentières, the French 1st Army, and the Belgian Army further to the north from the majority of French troops south of the German penetration. After reaching the Channel, the Germans swung north along the coast, threatening to capture the ports and trap the British and French forces before they could evacuate to Britain.

In one of the most widely-debated decisions of the war, the Germans halted their advance on Dunkirk. Contrary to popular belief, what became known as "the Halt Order" did not originate with Adolf Hitler. Gerd von Rundstedt and Günther von Kluge suggested that the German forces around the Dunkirk pocket should cease their advance on the port and consolidate, to avoid an Allied break. Hitler sanctioned the order on 24 May with the support of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW). The army were to halt for three days, giving the Allies time to organise an evacuation and build a defensive line. Despite the Allies' gloomy estimates of the situation, with Britain discussing a conditional surrender to Germany, in the end over 330,000 Allied troops were rescued.
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by Walter Lord
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How many 5 star generals have their been?

General is the the top rank in most any army of the world and almost always represents a high-ranking official who has dedicated his career to the military. The United States military maintains several ranks within the general rank and this position can go as high as a "5 star general" when the situation warrants it. Note that the Army rank of 5 Star General is only specifically handed out at wartime during the most extreme of circumstances as it was to the men listed below during both World War 2 and the Korean War (their awarding date follows their name). As such, you'd be hard pressed to find a living, breathing 5 star general serving in today's military.

• George C. Marshall (16 Dec 1944)
• Douglas MacArthur (18 Dec 1944)
• Dwight D. Eisenhower (20 Dec 1944)
• Henry H. Arnold (21 Dec 1944)
• Omar Bradley (20 Sep 1950)

Additionally, the US Navy maintains their own "Five Star" status in the form of the rank "Fleet Admiral". This rank was awarded to the men as follows (their awarding date follows their name):

• William D. Leahy (15 Dec 1944)
• Ernest J. King (17 Dec 1944)
• Chester W. Nimitz (19 Dec 1944)
• William F. Halsey, Jr. (11 Dec 1945)

Only one member of the United States Air Force (then as the "United States Army Air Force") has ever held the rank of 5-star general as "General of the Air Force". Henry H. Arnold also holds the distinction as the only person to ever achieve the 5-star rank in two branches of the US Armed Forces:

• Henry H. Arnold (21 Dec 1944)

Of note is the grade of "General of the Armies of the United States", a position held by only two persons in American history - George Washington and John J. Pershing. Of the two, only General Pershing held the title while still alive, Washington being posthumously bestowed the honor by President Gerald Ford in 1976. Pershing earned the title in 1919 after his service in World War 1 and held it until his death on July 15th, 1948.

It also bears mention that, on March 24th, 1903, Admiral George Dewey (1837-1917) was honored with the special grade of "Admiral of the Navy" (retroactive to March 2nd, 1899) which was intended to be senior to the four-star admiral rank. Dewey remains the only US naval service member ever awarded this title. In 1944 (during World War 2), Admiral of the Navy was formally recognized as senior to the 5 star rank of Fleet Admiral.

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Chequers



Chequers, formally Chequers Court, country house, administrative and historic county of Buckinghamshire, England, situated 30 miles (50 km) northwest of London, the official country residence of the prime ministers of Great Britain. The estate is about 1,500 acres (600 hectares) in extent. Chequers owes much of its present character to the remodeling, in 1565, of its predecessor. In the 19th century the exterior was plastered and the interior redecorated in neo-Gothic style. In 1917 Viscount Lee of Fareham made provision, with parliamentary approval, for the house to become a weekend retreat and place for prime ministers to entertain guests. Since 1921, when David Lloyd George became the first prime minister occupant, his successors have usually spent time there during their terms of office, and ministerial weekends at Chequers have become a part of British political life.
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Missy LeHand



Missy LeHand was private secretary to Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd US President of the United States) for over two decades. FDR confidant and Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter regarded her as the "fifth most powerful person in the country" at the time. Her relationship with FDR transcended her role as his secretary. She was treated by the President, Mrs. Roosevelt, their family, friends and others as a member of the family. She had a private apartment in the White House and served as hostess when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was traveling, which was quite often. LeHand was a constant presence in FDR's life and almost always traveled with him. He trusted her completely and appreciated her good judgment.

She spent her formative years in Somerville, Massachusetts, and returned there to live with her sister during the last few years of her life. She was born in Potsdam, New York. In 1941, she had a debilitating stroke and was paralyzed and could no longer perform her duties as FDR's secretary.

In return for LeHand's devotion to him, President Roosevelt paid all of LeHand's medical bills. In addition, he rewrote his will to leave half of his estate (worth more than $3 million at the time) to her— with the other half going to Mrs. Roosevelt. However, LeHand died in 1944 (preceding FDR in death by less than a year).

When LeHand died, the President issued a statement which read, "Memories of more than a score of years of devoted service enhance the sense of personal loss which Miss LeHand's passing brings. Faithful and painstaking, with charm of manner inspired by tact and kindness of heart, she was utterly selfless in her devotion to duty. Hers was a quiet efficiency, which made her a real genius in getting things done.

Her memory will ever be held in affectionate remembrance and appreciation, not only by all the members of our family but by the wide circle of those whose duties brought them into contact with her."

FDR was not able to attend LeHand's funeral, but Mrs. Roosevelt attended— as did former US Ambassador to Great Britain, Joseph P. Kennedy, the father of future President John F. Kennedy; and Associate Justice Frankfurter. FDR also paid for Missy LeHand's funeral and her headstone. The President managed to include a personal note on her headstone, which read, " ‘She was utterly selfless in her devotion to duty.' Franklin D. Roosevelt." A large, beautiful rock with pink and gray is nearby with a bronze plaque which simply reads "LeHand." She is buried next to her sister. FDR signed legislation passed by Congress which commissioned an 18,000 ton C3 cargo vessel as the S.S. Marguerite LeHand, which was christened in Pascagoula, Mississippi. As the ship departed on her maiden voyage, in March 1945, she ran into the U.S. Coast Guard tender Magnolia, which sank in minutes and killed a guardsman.
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by Joseph E. Persico
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Ross T. McIntire



United States Navy Admiral. He received his medical degree from Williamette University in 1912 and entered the Navy Medical Corps in 1917. He served aboard the cruiser New Orleans during World War I. He accompanied President Franklin D. Roosevelt on a cruise to Panama and Hawaii in June 1934. He became the personal physician of President Roosevelt in February 1935 and held that position until Roosevelt's death on April 12,1945. He retired from the navy in 1947.
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