American Legion, The 1960s and 1970s: POWs, National Emergency Fund, Freedom Bell

1960s

SEPTEMBER 1, 1966--  The Legion voices concern over POWs in Vietnam and urges full accounting.  That has now grown to include all wars.

AUGUST 24, 1969--  The Legion's National Executive Board establishes the  National Emergency Fund as a result of Hurricane Camille.  (Up to $3,000 for each member in a disaster.)

1970s

MAY 1, 1972--  Legion implements a Halloween  safety program for children which remains the only national program in the country.

APRIL 1, 1975--  The Legion-sponsored Freedom Bell goes on the Freedom Train on its tour of the country for the U.S. Bicentennial.

I will continue with these important dates in the May newsletter, on our second 100th anniversary commemoration for the St. Louis caucus.

The American Legion-- 1920s and 1930s

AUGUST 9, 1921

The Legion's efforts result in the creation of the  U.S. Veterans Bureau, forerunner of today's Veterans Administration.

JULY 17, 1925

The Legion  creates the American Legion Baseball program.  About 82,000 youths play Legion ball each year.

SEPTEMBER 1932

The Sons of the American Legion is officially recognized at the National Convention in Portland, Oregon.

JUNE 23 , 1935

The First American Legion Boys State convenes in Springfield, Illinois.  Today, more than 19,500  young men participate in this as well as 98 in Boys Nation.

JUNE 11, 1938

The final round of the Legion's first annual  National High School  Oratorical Contest is conducted in Norman, Oklahoma.  Today, more than 3,400 high school students compete in this.

100th Anniversary of the Legion Is March 15!!!

Happy Birthday to Us!!!

Our organization was founded on March 15-17,1919, in the American Club in Paris, France, by members of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) after the conclusion of World War I.  Another centennial commemoration will mark the May 8-10, 1919,  St. Louis Caucus.   Then, we'll have another anniversary on September 16, 1919, when the American Legion was formally chartered by the United States Congress.

So, this year, we will have three times to observe the 100th anniversary.

That's a lot of time and a lot of history.

OTHER 1919 EVENTS IN LEGION HISTORY

It was at the St. Louis Caucus that the name "The American Legion" was adopted as the official name.  The draft preamble and constitution were approved.

On June 9, 1919, the National Executive Committee adopted the Legion emblem.

The American Legion Auxiliary was also formed in 1919.

November  10-12, 1919, the first Legion Convention was held in Minneapolis.  It was decided to locate the national headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, instead of Washington, D.C..

FIRST POST

The very first post of the American Legion was actually established before the organization on March 15, 1919, when the General John Joseph Pershing Post 1 was established in Washington, D.C., on March 7 and obtained its charter on March 19.  According to the Legion Centennial website it is called the Pioneer Post.  However, the name of that organization now appears to be the George Washington Post 1.

The Legion played a leading role in the drafting and passing of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the G.I. Bill.  In addition to organizing commemorative events, members provide assistance at VA hospitals and is politically involved in lobbying on behalf of veterans.

Also important, the Legion has always promoted Americanism.

From Wikipedia and the American Legion site.

Centennial of Indy 500 This Month-- Part 2: And, I'll Be There

Barney Oldfield continued:  "The track was built with this idea in view. (To test driving skill and car stamina.)  Consequently, instead of two great ends with uniform curving, the track is four-cornered, with four straight curves and a short straightaway between the two corners that go to make up each end.  This cuts down the average speed, but it makes for thrilling racing."

Racing at the Indy track has led to engineering breakthroughs that are in your family vehicle such as disc brakes, independent suspension, high-mileage radial tires and fuel-injection.

I have been to this race the last five years.  We sit high above the track in what is called the catwalk between the 1st and 2nd turns.

Always a Great Time.  --DaVroomer

Centennial of the Indy 500 This Month-- Part 1: From 100 MPH to 230 MPH

From the May/June Saturday Evening Post.

In 1925, when the top speed of a Model T was 45 mph, retired racing pioneer Barney Oldfield, the first man to break the 60 mph speed barrier, wrote in the pages of the Saturday Evening Post of how exciting it was to see cars at the Indy track exceeding 100 mph.

Of course, today you can even go faster than 100 mph in your own car.  At this year's 100th running of the the Indy 500 (and I'll be at it) the winner will be traveling nearly 230 mph.

It is still a hard race.  Back in the September 26, 1925, issue of the Saturday Evening Post, Oldfield wrote: "Conditions at the Indianapolis track are such that they demand driving skill and car stamina, as well as speed."

Vroom! Vroom!  --CootFaster

Historians to Stage Trial for Eastland Disaster-- Part 1

From the June 18, 2015, Chicago Tribune by Dawn Rhodes.

"Early on Saturday morning in 1915, thousands of workers and family members from Western Electric Co. gathered on the Chicago River for a lake excursion and an employee picnic.

"But what was supposed to be a celebration swiftly turned catastrophic as the SS Eastland--the first of five vessels scheduled to shuttle passengers to the Michigan City, Ind., outing -- rocked alarmingly and capsized in the 20-foot-deep waterway between Clark and LaSalle streets, killing 844 people and wiping out nearly two dozen families.

"The horrific scenes July 14 marked the worst disaster in Chicago's history (much worse than the much-better-known Great Chicago Fire), but nobody was held responsible.  As the Eastland tragedy marks its centennial, historians and legal experts are staging a trial to keep relevant the memory of the disaster and illuminate the issues that never saw the inside of a Chicago courtroom."

And Most Chicagoans Don't Even Know About It.

New, Chilling Video Clip of the Eastland Tragedy Found-- Part 2

Continued from June 19th.

Ot took days for professional divers to recover the bodies (844 of them).  Searching a sunked ship that is pitch-black, almost the size of a football field, four stories tall and on its side in the Chicago River is no easy task.  The first-known clips of footage was found this month by a University of Illinois graduate student.

Television reports of the find prompted Northern Illinois University (my old school) master's degree candidate Alex Revzan to search through a British online newsreel archive.    The videos were not indexed so it took Revzan 90 minutes to go through hundreds of clips before he found one among several clips about shipwrecks.

Ted Wachholz, executive director of the Eastland Disaster Historical Society  he believed that even more footage might be found.  He said that hundreds of photos have been donated to them, but nothing mad ethe disaster more real than this recently discovered videos.

And, next month Will mark the 100th Anniversary of the Eastland Tragedy.

New, Chilling Video Clip of Eastland Tragedy Found-- Part 1

From the Feb. 26, 2015, Chicago Tribune "New, more chilling video clip emerges of Eastland tragedy" by Meredith Rodriguez.

A new film clip of the 1915 SS Eastland disaster on the Chicago River in downtown Chicago has surfaced just weeks after the first-known footage emerged.  This one shows the grim fate of the 844 people who died in the capsizing.

The Eastland Historical Society on Wednesday announced the discovery of the footage, which shows victims' bodies being pulled out of the hull and from the river.  The Eastland had been ferrying thousands of Western Electric Co. employees to a company picnic in Michigan City, Indiana when it rolled over at its wharf.  This footage is much different from the first two clips released

This clip shows a young woman in a white dress being pulled from the hull.  Then it shows people being pulled out of the river.

The 65-second clip which can be seen at the Eastland Disaster Historical Society's site www.eastlanddisaster.org/mews shows how rescue efforts were performed.  Rescuers had to search through the dark interior of the ship underwater amid the debris, furniture, deck chairs and boxes.

This July Will mark the 100th Anniversary of the Tragedy.  --Cooter

Famous Birthday Centennials Celebrated This Year-- Part 4: Arthur Miller

Expect a lot of Arthur Miller productions this year because the playwright would have turned 100 on October 17th.

His "Death of a Salesman" will be staged in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Madison, Wis., and others.

--Cooter

The Lincoln Memorial's Role in History

From the May 25, 2014, Chicago Tribune by William Hagerman.

"It would ne hard to visit the Lincoln Memorial and not be moved.  Few locations, in the nation's capital, or anywhere else, are as evocative."

The Memorial has been a backdrop for events in American history, especially to the blacks in America.  Songer Marian Anderson was banned fro  performing in Constitution Hall because she was black and instead sang at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939.  Of course, there was the  famous Dr. Martin Luther King speech in 1963.

Jay Sacher has a new book out called "Lincoln Memorial: The Story and Design of an American Monument," where he looks into its history.

He covers the big events as mentioned, but also obscure ones like the fight to get it built, the partnership between architect Henry Bacon and sculptor Daniel Chester French.

I wrote about Henry Bacon's father, Henry Bacon, Sr., who engineered "The Rocks" at Wilmington, N.C. as well as the Swash Defense Dam at the same place in my Running the Blockade blog.

--  Cooter

Kansas City's Liberty Memorial Readies for World War Centennial

From the Jan. 10, 2014, Kansas City (Mo) State "As World War I centennial approaches, Liberty Memorial museum will take center stage" by Matt Campbell.

The Liberty Museum is the largest repository of Great War items other than London's Imperial War Museum.

The Society for Military History will have 600 in attendance for their annual meeting at the museum in April. The World War I Centennial Commission, created by Congress, is anchored at the Liberty Memorial and will hold a conference in August which will be streamed online under the heading "Guns of August."

World War I was the first modern mechanized war and led to the collapse of empires. The beginning of the war will be marked this August, but another peak interest will be in 2017, the 100th anniversary of the United States' entry into it.

The Liberty Memorial Association is a private group, but manages the publicly-owned monument and will also be striving to raise money with the increased interest. It had its inception back in 1919, when Kansas City raised $2.5 million to create the Liberty Memorial which was dedicated in 1925.

A Place I'd Sure Like to Visit This Year. --DaCot

Michigan's Role in World War I-- Part 2: Mi. WWI Reports

World War still doesn't get much respect here in the United States. There is a national memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, but not one in Washington, D.C., other than the one honoring D.C. veterans of the war.

Back in the 1960s with the Vietnam War going on, people were largely uninterested in commemorating in 50th anniversary of the war in 1964 or the U.S. entry in 1967. As such, Dennis Skupinski started collecting World War I items and it wasn't very expensive as the old veterans were dying off and relatives were clearing out their stuff.

The 116th regiment had many Detroit notables and trained at the Detroit fairgrounds and were one of the first units to go to France in 1917. Some 80% of the regiment were from the Detroit area.

Skupinski has been posting Michigan World War I Centennial Reports on YouTube.

More to Come. --DaCoot

Michigan's Role in World War I-- Part 1

From the Dec. 24, 2013, Michigan Observer & Eccentric "Grassroots efforts focus on Michigan's role in World War I" by Sue Mason.

What with this year's 100th anniversary of the start of the War to End All Wars (and upcoming 2017 anniversary of the United Staes' entry into it), I'll be writing about it here in this blog. I'm hoping not to begin an eighth blog in 2017.

Dennis Skupinski of Ann Arbor is looking to get people to help him observe the 100th anniversary of World War I in 2014. He is especially interested in the U.S. entrance and Michigan's role. The Michigan Historical Society likes the idea, but is waiting for the governor's approval.

His interest in the war stems back to the 1960s when he was 14 when his uncle was cleaning out his late father-in-law's house so he could rent it and was getting rid of some stuff. Skupinski got the stuff, including a book "The History of the 116th Regiment of Engineers (Railway)" about Detroit's only all volunteer regiment of World War I, printed in 1939. He also received a soldier's tunic, helmet, gas mask and other items.

World War I. --Cooter

Some Anniversaries: Oreos and Video Games

The OREO COOKIE as we know it, was invented in New York City on March 6, 1912, and celebrating its 100th munch or dip-day, depending on your leaning.  More than 95 million of them are sold each day.  I don't dip them in milk, wash them down with milk, or split them open and eat the frosting first.  I just munch them and smile.

The VIDEO GAME is most likely 40 years old this fall.  It first appeared in bowling alleys and bars in 1972, and then, remember this, the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home-gaming system arrived the same time.

This was as far as ever got in home-gaming as we did buy one in '73 or '74.  I thought, wow, is this neat.  How do they do that?  But, compared to today's home video games, it wasn't much, but you have to start somewhere.  Wish we hadn't given the Odyssey console away.  It might be worth something today.

As far as video games in bars and places, I didn't make it much past Pac-Man.  Asteroids were a particular favorite of mine.

Blip...Blip...Blip.  --Cooter

As We Come Up On the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic-- Part 2

** Plus, young folks can se what an ocean liner looked like before they became floating hotels.

** Belfast, Northern Ireland recently opened a $160 million "visitor experience" on the former Harland and Wolff shipyard where the Titanic was built. It also has a marine exploration center linked with the work of Robert Ballard, who found the ship in 1985.

** The Titanic is the centerpiece of the current National Geographic Magazine. (Drat, I just let my subscription expire!)

** The National Geographic Channel has two new documentaries our about it "Save the Titanic with Robert Ballard" and "Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron."

** April 15-16th, ABC will show the four-hour British-produced miniseries "Titanic."

** I just rifled through a Wal-Mart DVD $5 bargain bin and came up with one featuring several Titanic documentaries.

** Said Robert Ballard: "For me, it was not the ship. It was the story of people. When I went down there it spoke to me." And also made him rich and famous.

** On a cruise I took with my family arpund Great Britain, we stopped at Belfast and the ship tied up right by the drydock where the Titanic was built. Being that close to history. Back then, they were planning to outline the ship with light tubing.

Thanks Robert, Though, for Finding It. Salute! --DaCoot

As We Come Up on the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic-- Part 1

I am seeing a lot of articles on one of the events I consider the most interesting in history. And, it has always been a big story from day one.

From the April 5, 2012, Salt Lake (Ut) Tribune "Titanic still captures the attention of popular culture" by Scott D. Pierce.

Attention to the ship increases as we approach the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking this Saturday and Sunday.

**Recently, astronomers at Texas State University made headlines that the moon caused the disaster due to unusually high tides that enabled a much larger number of icebergs to slip out over the sea bottom to float out in the Atlantic.

** James Cameron's Oscar-winning 1997 film "Titanic," the No. 2 moneymaker in movie history, is being released in 3D. I am not a fan of 3D, but am considering seeing it.

** There are also many documentaries out now.

More to Come. --Cooter