Letters From a Soldier » This Day in History

70 Years Ago!

btcomp — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 00:30:29 +0000

70 short years ago, we set off the first nuclear bomb against humanity. Though it did save American lives, it was certainly the start of a different era for mankind.

Shown are some of the people (mostly women my dad told me) putting together the wiring for the B-29 Bomber. Dad was in charge of the electrical wiring that was done in Detroit. He would visit the assembly lines often.

Two things I remember him telling me about the electrical wiring. One was it was mostly women doing the work at Hudson Motors of which my dad was a chief engineer & two the wiring was connected by crimping much the same as is done today by most of us shade tree mechanics when we wire our car trailers or work on the electrical wiring of our cars, boats & recreational vehicles.

D-Day 70 Years Later

btcomp — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 21:03:32 +0000

My uncle’s cousin Leonard recalled his role, 2nd wave on Omaha Beach. http://www.lettersfromasoldier.com/leonard_tomaszewski/leonard_tomaszewski_d_day.php

Pearl Harbor Day – 71 Year Later

btcomp — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 01:25:27 +0000

The United States wanted to remain neutral while the war, yet to be called WWII was being fought in Europe. After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor over a million men enlisted to serve in the army. This would be the start of war production in the United States, with the thinning of American newspapers as the men who printed them went to fight. The factories, as my late dad told me would be manned, so to speak, by women.

69th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor

btcomp — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:27:13 +0000

This is the 69th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Some believe FDR knew of the attack that was to come in Pearl Harbor. Others thought he was trying to get Japan to attack, so he could get a country in a ‘fighting mode’ that he thought was needed to help continue the progress on unemployment and to get us out of a pacifist mentality. What do you think?

Honolulu Paper Senses Impending Disaster

Heroes, Thanksgiving, Ageism

btcomp — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 13:16:00 +0000

Wow, how does this title fit here? As I type this in front of a fire, (a gas fire though) I was thinking of the fireside chats that my parents would talk about, and I would hear on television. ,There is something about ONE PERSON. I recently read a book called “The Wisdom of Crowds”. One of the things that was supposed to arouse me I felt was that somehow we have evolved as humans to be independent of leaders. We as a collective bunch of people can decide democratically what is right. In fact the author used averaging of results to show that by the averages, and their might be exceptions crowds could make the decisions and have the smarts necessary to do the RIGHT thing.

Well enough of the little bit of shouting to emphasize my thoughts. I think of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and wished I could be hearing the likes of him today, encouraging me to continue the struggle that many of us feel to get our country (world) on track again, that is to get the economy going, everybody employed and everyone with a decent state of health and opportunities to keep their health.

I believe that though we can act democratically and make many of the decisions without leaders, that we still long for the wisdom of people that can motivate us as a group to democratically act to reach these goals.

FDR did this. He acted as our leader during the Great Depression and then during the unfortunate but unavoidable Second World War. And he did this believe it or not during the then old age of 50, as that was the age he started his career as our President and then as our Commander in Chief!

Happy Thanksgiving to America and to everyone else in the rest of the world!

FDR in Warm Springs, Georgia 1938

War Rationing Ends

btcomp — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:05:42 +0000

On 23 November 1945 the end of most rationing of food occurred. During our lifetime, we have not had much in the way of rationing of food stuffs, though we have had our share of gasoline rationing. Today it seems as if it is just easier and less trouble to just raise the price of petroleum.

From my uncle archive of WWII material are some old ration stamps I found. These are from my the website: lettersfromasoldier.com

War Rationing

Certificate of Registrant

Nuremberg Trials Start – Nov. 20, 1945 – 65 Years Ago

btcomp — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 20:18:22 +0000

Nuremberg Courtroom - 1945-46

Though I mentioned this in a previous post, today is the 65th anniversary of the start of the Nuremberg Trials. 24 Nazi leaders were tried by an international war tribunal. The United State, France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union were part of the tribunal. This was the first time in history that such an undertaking took place.

If a crime was committed in a certain country should not that crime be tried there, rather than a World Court?

21st Anniversary of the Berlin Wall Takedown!

btcomp — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:07:11 +0000

This day in November 1989 is the historic day that brings in the New World from the Old World. 44 Years of captivity behind this wall has finally ended, along with the end of the Cold War. Stores now can stay open as long as they want in East Germany. Markets are in chaos. Order is anything but! But it is a day that has been predestined!

At the same time an Oxford educated Englishman, Tim Berners-Lee gave us the first Internet Browser. This has also opened the Wall that has kept the majority of people out of the Computer market. Now it is the rare person in many communities to not have a computing device, and to be able to email, talk and otherwise take care of business, half a block away to several thousands of miles across the oceans.

Nuremberg Trials

btcomp — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 19:32:23 +0000

On October 1, 1946, The International War Crimes Tribunal sentenced twelve Nazis to death and seven others to prison and three were set free. In August 1945, there was a series of thirteen trials known as the Nuremberg Trials. They were termed as crimes against a nation. The crimes committed were so horrific that there was and is much debate as to whether a soldier should be held responsible for offenses their government did not consider a crime, but that world courts later decided were.

Defendants Nuremberg Trials

65th Anniversary V-J Day

btcomp — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 02:58:00 +0000

This is the 65th anniversary of V-J Day, August 15, 1945. This was a day welcomed by all. When I was a teenager a neighbor boy’s mom became physically ill after the atom bombs were dropped, but most believe today that many Allies would have died.