Season two of The Object of History podcast by the Massachusetts Historical Society continues with “A World War II Bomber Pilot’s Canine Companion,” the story of Thunderbolt, a dog who served as a companion to an American bomber pilot and POW Lt. Robert Payne during World War II. [Read more…] about A World War II Bomber Pilot’s Canine Companion
World War Two
Remembering The Christmas of 1945 in Northern NY
Among the finest Christmas seasons in America’s long history took place in 1945. We’re constantly bombarded with how special the holidays are, so it’s tough for any one year to stand out as extra special, but 1945 makes the list.
Events across the Adirondacks that year epitomized the nation’s attitude. Surprisingly, it wasn’t all about celebrating, even though the most destructive war in history had just ended a few months earlier. We often mumble mindlessly that we’re proud to be Americans. But the first post-World War II Christmas was the real deal, worthy of the word “pride.” [Read more…] about Remembering The Christmas of 1945 in Northern NY
Former Saratoga and North Creek Railway Purchased
Revolution Rail Company (RevRail) has announced its purchase of the Saratoga and North Creek Railway, which stretches from the hamlet of North Creek in Johnsburg, Warren County, north to the Tahawus mining works in the Town of Newcomb, Essex County. [Read more…] about Former Saratoga and North Creek Railway Purchased
Verdelle Louis Payne: Ithaca’s Tuskegee Airman
In the latest episode of A New York Minute In History, Devin Lander and Lauren Roberts tell the story of Verdelle Louis Payne from Ithaca in Tompkins County, who joined the Army Air Forces during the Second World War and became a pilot.
During the war, Payne served in the 99th Fighter Squadron, which became part of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, an all-Black group of pilots serving in the then still-segregated U.S. Army. [Read more…] about Verdelle Louis Payne: Ithaca’s Tuskegee Airman
Japanese Americans Helped Defeat Japan in World War II
This week on The Historians Podcast, Bruce Henderson, author of Bridge to the Sun: the Secret Role of the Japanese Americans Who Fought in the Pacific in World War II (A. A. Knopf, 2022).
The book relates the tale of courage and adventure of sons and soldiers who fought in the Pacific theater in Burma, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, while their families back home in America were held behind barbed wire in government internment camps. [Read more…] about Japanese Americans Helped Defeat Japan in World War II
Never Before Seen Kristallnacht Photos Shine Light On Fascism
A recently discovered photo album donated to Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, includes rare, never-before-seen photos of “Kristallnacht,” on the night of November 9, 1938.
During that night Nazis and their supporters ransacked and demolished Jewish homes, hospitals and schools; destroyed 267 synagogues; damaged or destroyed more than 7,000 Jewish businesses; and arrested and sent to concentration camps some 30,000 Jewish men. [Read more…] about Never Before Seen Kristallnacht Photos Shine Light On Fascism
Documentary: The Great American Novel, Truman Capote & Che Guevara
In 1868, just a few years after the end of the Civil War, novelist John William De Forest published an essay in The Nation, a political magazine that had been founded in July 1865 in Nassau Street, Manhattan. His contribution was titled “The Great American Novel.” [Read more…] about Documentary: The Great American Novel, Truman Capote & Che Guevara
Bayreuth & New York; Wagner & Bernstein
In 1943 Henry Alexander Murray, a psychologist at Harvard University, was commissioned by William Joseph Donovan (“Wild Bill Donovan”) – founding father of the CIA – to prepare an investigative report on behalf of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
Designated as the “Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler,” it became a ground-breaking study in the fields of offender profiling and political psychology. The inquiry into the malignant and narcissistic personality of the Führer was an effort to understand the “charismatic” nature of his leadership and an attempt to “predict” patterns of his behavior and actions. [Read more…] about Bayreuth & New York; Wagner & Bernstein
Amsterdam’s Polish Cowboy and Other Tales
This week on The Historians Podcast, Bob Cudmore’s history columns from Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder provide information for this chit chat podcast with producer Dave Greene.
Hear stories about Amsterdam’s connections with Ukraine, World War II, Amsterdam’s link with singer Jeff Buckley’s popular version of “Hallelujah” by songwriter Leonard Cohen and the story of Jack Patton, the Polish cowboy from Amsterdam. [Read more…] about Amsterdam’s Polish Cowboy and Other Tales
A World War Two Bomber’s Final Flight
Residents of an alpine valley in Northern Italy still hail as heroes two American pilots of a crippled U.S. plane who crashed into the side of a mountain rather than release their bombs onto the villages below during a World War II mission.
Both pilots died, but they bought enough time for the five other crew members aboard their crippled B-25 Mitchell bomber to bail out. One of them, 1st Lt. Franklin Lloyd Darrell Jr., the bombardier-navigator, lived for a time during and after the war in Saratoga County, as did his parents. [Read more…] about A World War Two Bomber’s Final Flight