'It's a Wonderful Life' Returning-- Part 2: Little Tommy and Zuzu

The movie is also a treasure to two surviving cast members.  Jimmy Hawkins, who played 4-year-old Tommy Bailey and Karolyn Grimes who played 6-year-old Zuzu Bailey and uttered the famous line, "Look, Daddy.  Teacher says, 'Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.' "

The movie, however, was just a footnote in their lives until the late 1970s.  Jimmy Hawkins said, "I started hearing more about it then.  People were holding trivia parties."  He remained an actor in the 1950s and 1960s and worked with Reed on the "Donna Reed Show" from 1958 to 1966.

Karolyn Grimes got out of show business in her teens after her mother died from early-onset Alzheimer's disease and her father was killed in a car accident.  She didn't even ever see the movie until she was 40 years old.

"I was enthralled with the messages from that movie when I first saw it,"  Grimes said.  "I knew then it was very special, and I could understand why I started getting fan mail and people wanted to have interviews with me."

And, remember, it will be on NBC December 4 and December 24.

--CooterOldManPotter

'It's a Wonderful Life' Set to Return-- Part 1: Didn't Renew the Copyright

From the November 24, 2021, Chicago Tribune "Magic still resonates for two actors in 'It's a Wonderful Life" by Rodney Ho of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"It's a Wonderful Life," Frank Capra's story about redemption and a life fulfilled, bombed at the box office when it was released in early 1947.

For decades it was largely forgotten until 1974 when Republic Pictures failed to renew copyright protection and the film lapsed into the public domain, meaning that anyone could show the film without obtaining permission or paying royalties.  

As a result, it was shown a whole lot on TV and its growing popularity gave it a second life.

Now, it is hard to imagine American life without it.  It was ranked No. 20 of the 100 greatest films in 2007 by the American Film Institute.  Frank Capra and stars Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart said it was their favorite film they ever worked on.

It is my third all-time favorite Christmas movie.

And, It Will be Shown on TV This Coming December 4 On NBC.  --Cooter

Arlington National Cemetery Marks Centennial of Tomb of the Unknowns-- Part 2

 On November 11,  -- the anniversary of the war's end, celebrated as veterans Day in the United States -- the anonymous remains were interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, in the newly built Tomb of then Unknown Soldier, dedicated to all unidentified Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation.

In 1931-32  a craved marble superstructure was placed atop the tomb, completing the memorial familiar to  present-day visitors.

Since then Arlington burial details have interred American unknowns from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, though in 1998 the last one was exhumed, identified and returned to his family for reburial.

Guarding the memorial around the clock are select sentinels of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard").

Arlington National Cemetery plans several events to mark the centennial of the tomb, leading up to a formal ceremony on Veterans Day.  It invited the public to visit, pay silent respect and recall the men whose names remain a mystery but whose sacrifice must never be forgotten.

 

Arlington Marks Centennial of the Tomb of the Unknowns-- Part 1

From the July 2021 Military History magazine.

Arlington National Cemetery

Four identical caskets lay abreast in the room at City Hall in Chalons-en-Champagne, France, on October 24, 1921.  Each held the remains if an unidentified American soldier.  U.S. Army Sgt. Edward F. Younger had the solemn task of selecting one of them.

Approaching the caskets with a spray of white roses in hand, the decorated, twice-wounded Younger circled them, then set the flowers down on the third coffin from the left.  He had chosen America's Unknown World War I soldier.

Thus began the long journey home for one of hundreds if American soldiers killed in Europe during World War I whose names are "known but to God."

The casket chosen by Younger was transported by caisson and train to the port of Le Havre and placed aboard the protected cruiser USS Olympia for transport across the Atlantic to the Washington Navy Yard.  (The USS Olympia was Admiral Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War where he gave the famous order, "You may fire when ready, Gridley.")

USS Gridley (DD-92)-- Part 2: Aided the First Transatlantic Seaplane Flight

The Gridley was launched by Union Ironworks of San Francisco, California , om 4 July 1918, sponsored by Mrs. Francis P. Thomas, daughter of Captain  Charles Vernon Gridley, for whom the vessel was named.  (Find-a-Grave lists just one daughter, Katherine V. Gridley Buddy (1873-1957).

After fitting out at Mare Island Navy Yard, she departed San Diego on  14 March 1919, and transited the Panama Canal for maneuvers in Cuban waters then to Norfolk, Virginia, for repairs and then to New York City on 22 April 1919.

Its first assignment was with a group of destroyers posted along the route of the Navy's first transatlantic seaplane flight.  The Gridley and other destroyers used smoke and flares to guide the intrepid flyers and with the help of other surface ships, the N4 was successfully able to fly across the Atlantic and land in the Azores on 17 March  1919.

--Cooter

USS Gridley (DD-92)-- Part 1

Last month's featured U.S. warship was the USS Gridley (DDG-101).  There were  three other USS Gridleys in the Navy.

They were all named after Charles V. Gridley of USS Olympia/Dewey "You may fire when ready, Gridley" fame.  I have also written a lot about him in this blog and my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog.

This was the first of the four USS Gridleys.

From Wikipedia. 

The first Gridley was a Wickes-class destroyer commissioned after World War I.  Ships of this class were often called Four Stackers for the four smokestacks on each one.

It was launched  4 July 1918 and commissioned 8 March 1919.  Decommissioned  22 June 1922 and sold for scrap  19 April 1939.

315 feet long, 

 31 foot beam,  four 4-inch guns and  twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes.

--Cooter

John H. Russell, Jr. 16th USMC Commandant-- Part 3

Then, he was at Marine Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and then back to Haiti where he first commanded Marines, but then became American High Commissioner in that country from 1922  to 1930.

Returning to the States, he was the commander of the Marine Base at San Diego and then Marine Barracks in Quantico, Virginia, and in February 1933 he was made the Assistant Commandant USMC  On March 1, 1934, he was appointed 16th Commandant of the Marine Corps and held that position until he retired on December 1, 1936.

During his tenure as Commandant, Russell changed the old system of promotion from seniority to  advancement by selection and withdrew the 1st Marine Brigade from Haiti.  Also, the Fleet Marine Force assumed new responsibilities; the Marine Reserves were given more attention and the number of ships carrying Marine detachments increased.

Major General Russell retired after 42 years of commissioned service and continued afterwards as a military journalist.  He died in Coronado, Colorado, on March 6, 1947, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

He was a hereditary member of the Military  Order of the Loyal Legion in succession to his father who was a Union Navy officer during the Civil War.

--Cooter

John H. Russell, Jr., 16th USMC Commandant-- Part 2: Service All Over

Next, Russell had duty at Guam and several navy yards back in the United States.  Then Hawaii and the Panama Canal Zone.  From 1908 to 1910, he was at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Then, from 1910 to 1913, he was at the American  Legation in Peking, China.  During this time there were disturbances in China as the country moved from an empire to a republic.  Upon returning to the U.., her was assigned to the Office of Naval Intelligence until 1917 with the exception of eight months commanding a Marine group at Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1914.

From 1917 to 1918 he had several commands in Latin America.  During this time he made repeated requests to transfer to France for service in the war.  He finally got his wish, but delays in relieving him caused him to be able to do so until the Armistice was signed.

--Cooter

John H. Russell, Jr., 16th Commandant USMC-- Part 1: Son of Navy Mexican and Civil War Officer

From Wikipedia.

Earlier this month, I was writing about the USS Russell (DDG-59) which was the November featured U.S. warship in the 2021 Paralyzed Veterans of America calendar.

This ship was named after John H. Russell, Sr. and John H. Russell, Jr..  John H. Russell, Sr. was a U.S. Navy officer in the Mexican War and Civil War.  I wrote about him in my Running the Blockade:  Civil War Navy blog thus month.

John Jr., followed his father into military service, only with the U.S. Marines.

Born November 14, 1872.  Died March 6, 1947.

He was born at Mare Island, California, and the son of Rear Admiral John Henry Russell (1827-1897) and appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy by President Grover Cleveland in May 1888.  Graduated in June 1892, spent two years at sea, passed his final examinations and transferred to the USMC as a second lieutenant  on July 1, 1894.

In 1896, he joined the USS Massachusetts of the North Atlantic Squadron and served on that ship until after the end of the Spanish-American War.  The Massachusetts operated in waters off Cuba and Puerto Rico during the conflict, but was not at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.

--Cooter

The Wars of the United States-- Part 3: Gulf War, Iraq War and Afghanistan

**  GULF WAR  (1990-1991)

In January 1990, the United States and its Allies launched Operation Desert Storm, a ground assault to liberate Kuwait which had been occupied the year before by Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein.  The war itself did not last very long.

In this conflict, 2,322,000 Americans served.

There were 1,948 deaths and 467 wounded.

**  IRAQ WAR (2003-2011)

This led to a lengthy engagement, first with soldiers loyal to Hussein and then with various insurgent factions.

During the war, 4,431 Americans died.

******************************************

**  AFGHANISTAN WAR  (2001-2021)

The United States and its Allies launched Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7, 2001, with the aim of overthrowing the Taliban, believed to be protecting members of the al Qaeda terrorist group responsible for 9/11.

U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, and within hours the Taliban had taken back the country.

The U.S. was there for 19 years and ten months.

2,442 Americans died.

--DaCoot

These Are the Wars the U.S. Has Fought-- Part 2: The World Wars, Korea and Vietnam

**  WORLD WAR I (1917-1918)

The U.S. declared war on Germany April 6, 1917.

A total of 4,734,991 Americans served.     There were 116,516 killed and 204,002 wounded.

**  WORLD WAR II   (1941-1945)

16,112,566 Americans were called into service.  

405,339 were killed and 670,846 wounded.

******************************

**  KOREAN WAR   (1950-1953)

The Republic of Korea (South Korea) versus the Democratic  People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).  The United States and United Nations countries supported South Korea and China and the Soviet Union supported North Korea.

The war ended with an armistice that persists to this day.

5,720,000 Americans fought.

54,246 died and 103,284 were wounded.

**  VIETNAM WAR  (1955-1975)

There is some discussion as to when the war began for the United States.

It was North Vietnam (Communists) versus South Vietnam supported by the United States.

It really picked up for the U.S. after what was called the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.

In this war, 8,744,000 served and 90,220 died and 153,303 were wounded.

--Cooter

These Are the Wars the U.S. Has Fought-- Part 1 (With Casualties)

From the November 12, 2021, CVBJ.biz.

**   WAR OF INDEPENDENCE  (1775-1783) 

Estimated 184,000 to 250,000 Americans    4,435 killed, 6,188 wounded

**   ANGLO-AMERICAN WAR  (War of 1812)  (1812-1815)

286,730 Americans served   2,260 deaths, 4,505 wounded

**   MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR   (1846-1848)

78,718 Americans served   13,283 died, 4,152 wounded

**   CIVIL WAR  (1861-1865)

2,213,363 Americans served in Union forces   364,511 dead    Between 600,000 and 1,500,000 Americans fought for the Confederacy    133,821 died

**   SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR   (1898)

306,760 Americans served   2,446 killed, 1,662 wounded

--Cooter

In Honor of Veterans Day 2021: The Last Spanish-American War Survivors, Jones Morgan,

From the Spanish-American War  Centennial Website.

The last surviving veteran of the war was a black man named Jones Morgan who passed away in Richmond, Virginia,  on August 29, 1993, at the incredible age of 110.  His records, however, were lost in a fire.

He was born on October 23, 1882, in Newberry County, South Carolina, and ran away from home at age 15 to join the Army which he did in 1897, signing up with the  9th U.S. Cavalry, known as the "Buffalo Soldiers, an all-black unit.

He served for two years before his family located him  and had him discharged.  Since he had runaway and was underage, it is likely that he used an alias when he originally enlisted, making his records nearly impossible to find.

He served as a cook and as a horse wrangler and was in Cuba and at the assault on San Juan Hill although he apparently did not take part in it.  He also indicated that he helped  wrangle horses for the Rough Riders.

He was buried in Section 16 of Forest Lawn Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, Section 16.

The Al Capone Auction-- Part 2: A Watch, a Money Clop and His Favorite Pistol

The Chicago Mob items were selling very well at the recent auction.

Some more items:

**  AL CAPONE'S INITIALED 'AC' MONEY CLIP  Estimate $2,500-$5,000  Sold for:  $45,000

**  Capone's diamond 'AC' pendant   Estimate $2,500-$5,000   Sold for $60,000

**  AL AND MAE CAPONE'S BED  Estimate $2,500-$5,000   Sold for $70,000

**  Capone's platinum diamond monogrammed pocket knife  Estimate $2,500-$5,000  Sold for $75,000

**  CAPONE'S MONOGRAMMED PATEK PHILLPE POCKET WATCH   Estimate $25,000-$50,000  Sold for $190,000

**  Capone's favorite Colt .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol   Estimate: $100,000-$150,000  Sold for $860,000

Somewhere, there are auctioneers really, really smiling.

They Still Love Al.  --Cooter

So, What'd Ya Get at the Al Capone Auction?-- Part 1: Madonna Bust, Cigar Humidor and a Letter

From the October 17, 2021, Chicago Tribune "Al Capone auction:  Top 10 highest winning bids" by Kori Rumore.

An auction of Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone's possessions brought in more than $3 million earlier this month.  

Here's a look at the eight lots that brought the highest winning bids:

8.  Al and Mae (his wife) Capone's marble Madonna bust.  Estimate $5,000-$10,000   Sold for $55,000.

7.  Al and Mae Capone's decorative cigar humidor    Estimate:  $5,000 -$10,000   Sold for $120,00

6.  Personal letter from Capone to his son, Sonny, from Alcatraz   Estimate:  $25,000-$50,000   Sold for $45,000.

--CootCapone

James O'Leary's Life (You Know, That O'Leary as in Great Chicago Fire O'Leary)

From the September 19, 2021, Chicago Tribune "Chicago's history is punctuated with devastating fires" by Rick Kogan.

Only, this was O'Leary, the son of Kate and Patrick O'Leary who had the famous cow, Daisy, who supposedly kicked over the lantern and started it all.

He was only two when the fire took place.  His parents and he moved south to the rough-and-tumble neighborhood around the stockyards.  His parents became virtual hermits, shamed by their connection to the fire, he became one of the city's first big-time crime figures.

In the early 1890s, he built a palatial gambling mecca at 4183 Halstead Street which included a billiards room, several bowling alleys, a saloon, a barbershop and a sauna.  He had his name- O'Leary- set in giant electric letters proudly emblazoned across the massive ironbound oak door.

Steel plates covered the outer walls, and the inner walls were made from heavy oak covered with zinc.  It was, O'Leary said proudly, "fire-proof, bombproof and police-proof."

"Big Jim," as he was known, died in 1925, but his gambling house continued to operate.  It was destroyed May 19, 1934, when the second-biggest fire in Chicago history blazed, taking out nearly 90% of the Union Stock Yards, injuring 50 firefighters and killing hundreds of cattle.

A large crowd stood watching the blaze, and one insensitive fellow was heard to say, "Them cows, they had it coming."

Steak Tonight, Fellows!!  --Cooter

Chicago's Devastating Fires-- Part 3: Our Lady of Angels School Fire

On December 1, 1958, there was a fire at the Lady of the Angels Catholic School in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood.

On that day, shortly before classes were to be dismissed, a fire broke out at the foot of the stairway.  Even though it took firefighters only four minutes to arrive, there was only so much they could do as 92 students and three nuns died.

The Tribune devoted eight pages to the tragedy.  Every parent of school-aged children were terrified.  The severity of the fire shocked the nation and surprised educational administrators of both public and private schools.

My wife was a second grader at Our Lady of the Angels' sister school, Our Lady of Grace, and her father ran a deli in the Humboldt Park area so she knew some of the families  who lost children.  She still gets upset every December 1.

Some solace can be found as this fire sparked major improvements in standards for school design and safety codes.  Particularly fire drills.

USS Russell (DDG-59)-- Part 3: A Whole Lotta Don't Mess With Me Ship

MORE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

(From Wikipedia)

RANGE:  4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots

COMPLEMENT:  33 commissioned officers, 38 chief petty officers, 210 enlisted

SENSORS AND PROCESSING SYSTEMS:  8 systems

ELECTRONIC WARFARE AND DECOYS:  5 systems  (I don't now about you, but with this and the above, I wouldn't want to mess with this ship.

ARMAMENT:  

Two missile-launching  systems with 90 missiles

2 Harpoon missile launchers

1 Mark  45 gun

2  25 mm chain guns

4 50-caliber guns

2  20mm Phalanx CIWS

2 MK 32 triple torpedo tubes

AIRCRAFT:  2 Sikorski helicopters can be embarked

Again, Bad Guys, Stay Away from This Ship.  --CootDon'tMessWithMe

USS Russell (DDG-59)-- Part 2:

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

ORDERED:   22 February 1990

LAID DOWN:  24 July 1992

LAUNCHED:  20 October 1993

COMMISSIONED:  20 May 1995

HOMEPORT:  San Diego

MOTTO:  "Strength in Freedom"

******************

LENGTH:  505 feet

BEAM:   59 feet

DRAFT:  31 feet

SPEED:  30 knots

--Cooter

U.S. Warships: USS Russell (DDG-59)

From the Paralyzed Veterans of America November 2021 Calendar.

Each month, this calendar features a U.S. Navy warship that is currently in service.

This month's ship is the guided missile destroyer USS Russell (DDG-59).

It is an Arleigh Burke-class ship, commissioned 20 May 1995 and home ported in San Diego.  It is the second ship in the U.S. Navy by the name of John Henry Russell.  John Henry Russell was a rear admiral in the Navy who fought in the Mexican War and the Civil War.  His son, John Henry Russell, Jr. was the 16th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

It was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

--Cooter

Chicago's Devastating Fires-- Part 2: The Iroquois Theatre Fire

In one of the most famous fires in Chicago's history, a packed house waited to see America's favorite comedian, Eddie Foy, star in the comedy "Mr. Bluebeard" at the Iroquois Theatre on December 30, 1903.

Touted as being "completely fireproof," the Iroquois had opened earlier that year and a crowd estimated at 1,700 was there for a Christmas week matinee.  The audience watched the second act curtain rise and, as an arc light shorted, ignite.

In minutes, the scenery was aflame, even as Foy ordered the orchestra to strike up a tune and shouted to the crowd, "Please be quiet.  There is no danger."

But soon the theater was roaring with flames.  Men, women and children howled as they rushed to the exits, many of which were locked.

Some people died from the fire itself, others were trampled and smothered to death.  More than 600 were killed, hundreds more injured.

The exterior of the Iroquois was largely intact and later reopened as the Colonial Theater, which was demolished in 1925 to make way for the Oriental Theater.  The Iroquois Theatre  fire was and remains the deadliest theater fire and the deadliest single-building fire in U.S. history.

Chicago's History Is Punctuated with Devastating Fires-- Part 1: Burning Down Fort Dearborn in the War of 1812

From the September 19, 2021, Chicago Tribune by Rick Kogan.

Earlier last month Chicago commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago fire on October 8.  That fire literally reshaped the landscape of the city that had grown so fast that little was done with planning.

But, there have been more fires in the city's history.

The first took place even before the city was here.  It happened the day after Potawatomi Indians killed more than 60 soldiers, women and children as they evacuated Fort Dearborn, moving south along the lakefront.  That day, the Indians burned down Fort Dearborn.

This fort had been called "the neatest and best garrison in the country."