On this weekend in 2004, our country begins a four-day celebration that would culminate in the dedication of the World War II Memorial. It had been nearly 60 years since that war ended.
Why did it take so long to honor the Greatest Generation? The question is often asked.
“[B]y being built after the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Korean War Veterans Memorial, the National World War II Memorial came to life out of sequence,” historian Nicolaus Mills concludes.
But a memorial simply hadn’t been a priority in the years after World War II. Many veterans were individually honored when they came home, but most simply wanted to get back to their real lives. A memorial become a priority only when the last of that generation started passing away.
Even then, a memorial might not have happened but for Roger Durbin. The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-world-war-ii-memorial
On this day in 1930, a teenager becomes the youngest solo aviator to take to the skies. “Handling the controls like a seasoned transport pilot,” a local newspaper reported, “Eula Pearl Carter, 14-year-old Marlow high school sophomore, swooped into the air . . . . to become possibly the youngest aviatrix in the United States.”
Pearl’s fearless determination echoed that of her father, George Carter. He’d been blinded at an early age but was determined to overcome it. He worked relentlessly until he’d turned himself into a wildly successful businessman.
His success laid a foundation for his daughter.
The story continues here: http://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-pearl-carter-scott
On this day in 2001, a shocking attack unfolds before our very eyes. Most of us will never forget where we were or what we were doing when we first heard that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
America would never be the same again.
Regular readers know that a "this day in history" story normally appears on this page first thing in the morning. But on September 11, 2001, we all lived through history. Today is simply a day to remember.
If you are so inclined to tell YOUR "this day in history" moment, then I'd love to hear your story, below. I know I say this every year, but it seems to me that telling our stories and remembering is the best way to spend this day, especially since the anniversary is increasingly falling off the MSM's radar. Don't you think?
At about this time in 1777, George Washington’s army loses the Battle of Brandywine, yet the soldiers leave in good spirits. They’d put up a gallant fight, and the British had been left too tired and demotivated to maintain a pursuit.
Washington wrote John Hancock that despite “the misfortune of the day, I am happy to find the troops in good spirits; and I hope another time we shall compensate for the losses now sustained.”
General William Howe was then traveling toward Philadelphia. He had just clashed with Americans at the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge. It was a battle that left those Americans retreating back toward Washington’s main army.
The two sides prepared for the larger conflict that seemed certain to come.
The story continues here: http://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-brandywine
