History Carnival 51, from a different view

April 4, 2007

A Don’s Life hosts History Carnival 51, which is fun and informative if only because blog author Mary Beard offers a slightly different view of things, being several time zones and an ocean away from America.

This carnival features several entries related to the Battle of Thermopylae, especially surrounding the release of the Film “300,” and several entries pondering the history of slavery, coming just at the end of the commemoration of the end of slavery in the British Empire.  Both of these topics offer good material for enrichment for AP world history classes, and good information for anyone else wishing to avoid repeats of the errors of history.

1 Comment | Capturing history, Current History, Curricula, Education, Freedom - Political, History, History blogs, History museums, Video and film, War, Weblogs | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Olio/Olla podrida/Mulligan stew/Stone soup

March 26, 2007

Here are some of the posts I’ve been thinking about over the past couple of days:

Iraq and Vietnam:  Writings by Hudson has been reading about LBJ and Vietnam.  Santayana’s ghost appreciates the exercise.

Camels in the Outback, camels in the dogfood:  Would you believe a million camels are feral in the Australian Outback?  And now, with a drought, it’s a problem.  The Coffee House alerts us.

What if everybody in your organization came to you for help? The Drawing Room tells us why you’d be wise to work for such a thing.

U.S. soldiers protest the war:  No, not the current war — African American soldiers protest the Filipino conflict.  Forgotten soldiers, forgotten war — you’d do well to reacquaint yourself with this chapter of U.S. history at Vox ex Machina.

Leaks about the incident that got us into the war:  No, not yet the Iraq war (see how you jump to conclusions?).  POTUS reflects on LBJ and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, and the leaks and lack of intelligence that may have gotten us into a quagmire.

Earthquakes in Tornado Alley:  Tennessee Guy points to an article that wonders about the New Madrid Fault, and whether it is tensing up for “the Big One” to shake West Tennessee (and the rest of the Midwest), or it is going to sleep for a millennium.

Science and racism:  A collection of Darwin’s writings that touch on race and slavery, for your bookmark file.

Cool school libraries:  We’re not talking about air conditioning.

1 Comment | Charles Darwin, Civil Rights, Dissent, Education, Elections, Evolution, History, History blogs, Leadership, Lessons of Vietnam, Patriotism, Politics, Presidents, Public libraries, Santayana's ghost, Theodore Roosevelt, Vietnam, War, Weblogs | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Tuskegee Airmen medal ceremony set for March 29

March 23, 2007

Tuskegee Airmen in Europe, Library of Congress photo

Congress voted to award the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor to the Tuskegee Airmen as a group. The ceremony is set for Washington, D.C., in the Capitol Rotunda, for March 29, 2007.

This is another great story of Americans, otherwise held down in their daily life, who rise to meet a monstrous challenge. They not only met the challenge but achieved a degree of triumph beyond what anyone had hoped. The story is a natural segue to the post World War II civil rights movement, and it fits nicely into studies of the war or studies of civil rights. News items around the time of the ceremony should update the history of the Tuskegee Airmen and provide good photos for classroom presentations.

“It’s sort of an open validation of the Tuskegee Airmen, that we fought stereotypes, overcame them and prevailed,” said Roscoe Brown, an 85-year-old Riverdale, N.Y., resident who graduated from the Tuskegee program in 1944. “This is the ultimate when your nation recognizes you.”

The gold medal, equivalent to the Presidential Medal of Freedom, is awarded to individuals or groups for singular acts of exceptional service and for lifetime achievement. The Tuskegee fliers will join a distinguished group of recipients that includes George Washington, Winston Churchill, Rosa Parks, the Wright brothers and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., introduced identical bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate in 2005 to give the airmen the congressional medal. The Senate bill passed in October 2005 and the House followed in February 2006. President Bush signed the bill into law last April.

It is also a story of racism and bureaucratic bungling delaying appropriate recognition to heroes for 60 years.

Lee Archer, 87, of New Rochelle, is America’s first black flying ace.

“It shows the country is trying to right an old wrong,” Archer said. “I never thought we would get it, but we would have done it without any recognition … . My family is very excited. I am, too.”

Of the 994 black aviators who got their training at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama beginning in 1942, fewer than 385 are still alive. On March 4, Edgar L. Bolden, 85, who trained at Tuskegee and flew P-47s, died in Portland, Ore.

More information:

Tip of the old scrub brush to Resist Racism.

Leave a Comment » | Civil Rights, Current History, Curricula, Freedom - Political, Heroes, History, Leadership, Patriotism, War, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Applying the lessons of Vietnam #2: Honor veterans

February 26, 2007

Lessons from Vietnam as applied to Afghanistan and Iraq:

#2. Honor veterans when they return; honor the soldiers while they serve. One of the great errors of Vietnam was the failure to hold parades for returning soldiers. Regardless one’s views of the war, or its justness, or its execution, the soldiers who served deserved thanks, kudos, and a warm welcome back. They also deserved top-notch medical care for their injuries, physical and mental — Bob Dole, John McCain, Daniel Inouye, John Kennedy and others stand as monuments to what returned veterans can do for the nation when welcomed back and given appropriate medical care.

Vietnam was just a repeat of the error, however — Korean War veterans also got no homecoming parades. The Korean conflict is in fact known to some as “the forgotten war.” So we have more than 50 years of bad habits to break in figuring out how to honor our soldiers and veterans. We as a nation have not gotten it right for a very long time.

Honoring the veterans does at least two beneficial things: It helps the veterans readjust to life, if only a little, knowing that people at home appreciate them as individuals, and that people appreciate the sacrifices they made to serve the nation even when those sacrifices are so great as to be beyond comprehension. Read the rest of this entry »

4 Comments | Current History, Iraq, Lessons of Vietnam, Patriotism, Vietnam, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Nimitz party follow-up

February 25, 2007

So, how was the party in Fredricksburg?  Admiral Nimitz did not put in an appearance, from all accounts.

Can you imagine some of the possibilities for study in small groups at the National Museum of the Pacific War?

Among other things, the Nimitz Hotel has been renovated (founded by Adm. Nimitz’s grandfather).

What’s there?

The site has grown into a 34,000-square-foot site featuring indoor exhibit space. Located on six acres now, the center includes the George Bush Gallery, the Admiral Nimitz Museum, the Plaza of the Presidents, the Veterans’ Walk of Honor and Memorial Wall, the Japanese Garden of Peace, the Pacific Combat Zone and the Center for Pacific War Studies.

With the conclusion of this large renovation project that began in 2004, museum coordinators are turning their attentions to another big project. An additional 40,000-square-foot expansion is planned in the future, with ground-breaking set this spring.

I can’t find, but I hope that, the renovations include space for scholars to study, and especially for high school students to learn.  Austin-area high schools would be lining up to make overnight field trips — but for the restrictions put on teaching and learning by Texas’ testing system, the limiting list of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), and the test, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) .

Maybe teacher training.  Liberty Fund?  Bill of Rights Institute?  Are you guys watching this?

Leave a Comment » | Atomic Bomb, Famous Battles, History, Japanese American internment, Research, TAKS, TEKS, Texas, Travel, War, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Dissent effective: Stimson resigns from detainee post

February 4, 2007

Charles Stimson resigned Friday. Stimson is the attorney who was deputy secretary of defense for detainee affairs. You may recall he was the person who suggested in a radio interview that business clients of lawyers who provide legal counsel to detainees should pressure the attorneys not to represent the detainees, a suggestion that is contrary to the ethical canons of attorneys.

According to the New York Times:

Stimson drew outrage from the legal community — and a disavowal from the Defense Department — for his Jan. 11 comments, in which he also suggested some attorneys were being untruthful about doing the work free of charge and instead were ”receiving moneys from who knows where.”

He also said companies might want to consider taking their legal business to other firms that do not represent suspected terrorists.

The Defense Department disavowed the suggestion. Attorney General Albert Gonzalez also disavowed Stimson’s remarks. But Stimson said that the controversy hampered his effectiveness on the job. The NY Times said:

Stimson publicly apologized several days after the radio interview, saying his comments did not reflect his values and that he firmly believes in the principles of the U.S. legal system.

But it didn’t completely quiet critics.

The Bar Association of San Francisco last week asked the California State Bar to investigate whether Stimson violated legal ethics by suggesting a boycott of law firms that represent Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Earlier posts:

2 Comments | 6th Amendment, Democracy, Dissent, Ethics, Iraq, Jurisprudence, Justice, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Lawyers, Bush officials quickly disavow Stimson remarks

January 15, 2007

Franklin is reputed to have said that truth wins in a fair fight. In the few days since Charles Stimson suggested the nation’s top lawfirms should not be representing clients being held in detention at Guantanamo Bay, condemnation has been swift, deep and broad. Even Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez said lawyers should represent all accused. Perhaps the fight will be fair.

A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Brian Maka, said Stimson was not speaking for the Bush administration.

Stimson’s comments “do not represent the views of the Department of Defense or the thinking of its leadership,” Maka told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Ethics courses, now required at all U.S. law schools, generally spend a great deal of time on the issue of the duty of attorneys to provide representation to all criminal defendants, even and especially those who are unpopular or held in disrepute. Such representation is queried on the ethics exams that all lawyers must take to be licensed.

History offers many examples of lawyers and the difficulties they face in providing such representation: John Adams representing the British soldiers accused of murder in the Boston Massacre (Adams largely won; eight were tried, six were acquitted, two convicted and branded on their thumbs as punishment); John Quincy Adams representing the men being carried for slave trading aboard the errant Amistad ; Clarence Darrow’s representation of the accused murderers Leopold and Loeb, and other cases. In literature, we get the fictional lawyer Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, and the defense team in Inherit the Wind.

Perhaps we should be encouraged at the response to Mr. Stimson’s remarks. A lover of justice might be happier were these defenses of the legal system and the representation of all accused to be more apparently on display from government officials prior to and without such gaffes.

Also see:

Disclosure: A member of my immediate family is employed by Fulbright and Jaworski, one of the firms Mr. Stimson questioned — not in a legal capacity, not in representation of any of the Guantanamo Bay detainees. I was unaware of the firm’s being named by Mr. Stimson at the time of my first post. The views here, of course, should not in any way be construed as representative of any firm named, they are my own views.

2 Comments | 6th Amendment, Democracy, Iraq, Jurisprudence, Justice, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Merry Christmas, 2006

December 25, 2006

I wish a Merry Christmas to all readers and friends. It would be a good thing to have.

There is plenty of room at the inns in Bethlehem today — the continuing violence hammers tourism in the city. The International Herald Tribune carries an Associated Press story on the dearth of tourists, which means many natives of the city continue to face dramatically reduced incomes.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank: Hundreds of people packed the Church of the Nativity on Monday to celebrate Christmas at Jesus’ traditional birthplace, but few foreign tourists were among the worshippers, putting a damper on the holiday cheer.

Nun lights candles at the Church of the Nativity, Christmas 2006

Houston Chronicle photo by Quique Kierzenbaum – Nun prays at the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem.

Indeed, Christianity may be dying in the town. (For a more detailed and closer look at events in Bethlehem, take a gander at Reclaiming Space’s “Christmas in Bethlehem.“) Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Peace, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Pearl Harbor, 65 years ago today

December 7, 2006

1941 AP file photo, small boat rescues victims from U.S.S. West Virginia

Associated Press 1941 file photo of a small boat assisting in rescue of Pearl Harbor attack victims, near the U.S.S. West Virginia, as the ship burns.

Today is the 65th anniversary of Japan’s attack on the U.S.’s Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Our local newspaper, The Dallas Morning News, has a front-page story on survivors of the attack, who have met every five years in reunion at Pearl Harbor. Today will be their last official reunion. The 18-year-olds who suffered the attack, many on their first trips away from home, are in their 80s now. Age makes future reunions impractical.

From the article:

“We’re like the dodo bird. We’re almost extinct,” said Middlesworth, now an 83-year-old retiree from Upland, Calif., but then – on Dec. 7, 1941 – an 18-year-old Marine on the USS San Francisco.

Nearly 500 survivors from across the nation were expected to make the trip to Hawaii, bringing with them 1,300 family members, numerous wheelchairs and too many haunting memories.

Memories of a shocking, two-hour aerial raid that destroyed or heavily damaged 21 ships and 320 aircraft, that killed 2,390 people and wounded 1,178 others, that plunged the United States into World War II and set in motion the events that led to atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“I suspect not many people have thought about this, but we’re witnessing history,” said Daniel Martinez, chief historian at the USS Arizona Memorial. “We are seeing the passing of a generation.”

Another article notes the work of retired history professor Ron Marcello from the University of North Texas, in Denton, in creating oral histories from more than 350 of the survivors. This is the sort of project that high school history students could do well, and from which they would learn, and from which the nation would benefit. If you have World War II veterans in your town, encourage the high school history classes to go interview the people. This opportunity will not be available forever.

There is much to be learned, Dr. Marcello said:

Dr. Marcello said that in doing the World War II history project, he learned several common themes among soldiers.

“When they get into battle, they don’t do it because of patriotism, love of country or any of that. It’s about survival, doing your job and not letting down your comrades,” he said. “I heard that over and over.”

Another theme among soldiers is the progression of their fear.

“When they first got into combat, their first thought is ‘It’s not going to happen to me.’ The next thought is ‘It might happen to me,’ and the last thought is ‘I’m living on borrowed time. I hope this is over soon,’ ” Dr. Marcello said.

Dr. Marcello said the collection started in the early 1960s. He took charge of it in 1968. Since Dr. Marcello has retired, Todd Moye has taken over as the director.

Other sources:

While this is not one of the usual dates listed by Congress, you may fly your U.S. flag today.

7 Comments | Current History, History, Lesson plans, War, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Help tell the story of Iraq veterans

November 12, 2006

I stumbled on an interesting film project, to tell the story of Iraq veterans readjusting to life in the U.S. after duty in Iraq. On this day after Veterans’ Day, you may be looking for ways to honor vets. Donating to the completion of this movie is one way. You be the judge.

The film’s working title is “Reserved to Fight,” focusing on one of the first Army Reserve units called to duty in Iraq, and what happens to four of the members of the unit upon their return. The unit is Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines, whose home is Salt Lake City, Utah. The film’s director is Chantelle Squires, a film student at Brigham Young University. Film production classes there are generally top-notch. The project will be well done, and the content should be compelling in almost any production.

We need not wait for a latter-day Clint Eastwood to chronicle these events 50 years from now, as he has done for veterans of Iwo Jima in the film Flags of Our Fathers.  (See my earlier posts here, and here.) I hope to see more efforts to record this war’s history, in any medium.

Tip of the old scrub brush to Utah Boy.

6 Comments | Current History, History, History video sources, Iraq, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Wits, not bombs

October 10, 2006

When I posted the last piece on Cmdr. Lloyd Bucher and the U.S.S. Pueblo I was unaware of the news that North Korea (DPRK) had detonated its nuclear device.   In retrospect, the crisis around the Pueblo demonstrated that in dealing with officials in DPRK, we generally do best to use our wits, not bullets or threats of bombs.

Just an observation.

7 Comments | Atomic Bomb, History, Politics, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Iva Toguri, RIP (Not “Tokyo Rose”)

September 30, 2006

Ima Toguri Aquino (NOT Tokyo Rose) (National Archives photo)

Iva Toguri D’Aquino died this week at age 90. She’s seen here in a file photo being escorted out of federal court after her conviction for treason in 1949. She was later pardoned. AP, via NPR National Archives photo (2-24-2007 blog update)

Scott Simon at NPR’s “Weekend Edition” had a remembrance of a woman from his old neighborhood in Chicago who died this week. It’s an audio report (transcripts are available for a fee from NPR).

As a Japanese American student stuck in Tokyo on December 11, 1941, Toguri was tossed out by her cousins. In order to live, she took a job with Japanese radio, and ultimately was one of a dozen women who read material between songs broadcast to American soldiers, known collectively as “Tokyo Rose.” Toguri refused to renounce her U.S. citizenship, ever. Assigned to work with Allied POWs in Tokyo, she read propaganda notices she said later were so silly that no GI could have believed them, written by an Australian POW for humor.

But at the end of the war, trying to get back to the U.S., Toguri was the only one of the woman broadcasters known. She was detained as a suspect Tokyo Rose for a year, then released — there was no evidence against her. Read the rest of this entry »

5 Comments | Civil Rights, History, Patriotism, War, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Other September 11ths, other battles

September 13, 2006

Okay, it’s too late for this year’s commemorations. It’s never too late to get accurate and relevant history.

WordPress’s feature that leads to posts with similar tags pointed me to a couple of posts that mention the Siege of Vienna of 1683, another September 11 conflict between nations chiefly Moslem on one side, with nations chiefly Christian on the other. Is it a great revelation that the study of European history is weak in U.S. schools, generally, and that many Americans have no clue about such events?

My old friend Jim Bencivenga and I spent a few lunches (a couple? They stuck with me, anyway) discussing those battles that were great turning points in history — battles where, had they gone the other way, the whole of history would have been quite different. The Siege of Vienna is one such history-turning incident, and those sites will introduce you to it well.

Nota bene:  A reader alerted me to some questionable material in the blogs I had originally linked to.  I’ve replaced those links with a link to the Wikipedia article on the battle, at least until I further check out the blogs.

3 Comments | History, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Student, 12, shot; strike turns violent

September 4, 2006

In Palestine, that is; the Associated Press has a story in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

Education is valued world-wide; delivering education is a problem, world-wide.  Students suffer wherever education troubles proliferate.

Leave a Comment » | Current History, Education, Public education, Teacher Pay, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Collateral damage: War is hell

September 2, 2006

“There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell.” – Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, from an address to the graduating class of the Michigan Military Academy, June 19, 1879, known as his “War is hell” speech (Wikipedia entry on Sherman).

(Query: Does anyone have an electronic link to the full text of Sherman’s address that day? Or, do you know where it might be found, even in hard copy?)

Jeff Danziger’s cartoons in The Christian Science Monitor kept me buying that paper for a while. I don’t know who carries his work now, but it’s still good, vital cartooning. I saw the caption to one of his cartoons as a signature line in an e-mail post, and just the caption caused me to pause and pray for an end to war. The whole cartoon is below the fold. Read the rest of this entry »

4 Comments | Bad Quotes, Cartoons, Current History, Good Quotes, History, Political cartoons, War | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

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