At about this time in 1918, a hero is born. Mitchell Paige would volunteer for the Marines on his 18th birthday—and he even walked 200 miles to Baltimore to do it.
He soon discovered that he didn’t technically weigh enough to join the Marines. Undeterred, he sat there, eating bananas and drinking water until he made himself heavy enough to pass muster.
That same determination would characterize his life in the Marine Corps.
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-mitchell-paige
On this day in 1814, the British begin bombarding Fort McHenry. Famously, a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key watched the battle from a nearby ship. The next morning, Key was relieved to see the American flag waving proudly above the fort. Americans had not surrendered! Key was inspired to write a poem that would later become our national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner.
Our national anthem has been in the news lately, of course, partly because of the little-known third stanza of Key’s poem. That verse concludes: “No refuge could save the hireling and slave, From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave.”
Is the song inherently racist? The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-national-anthem
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?
