Archive for '- World War II'
Steven Spielberg is being honored by the Foundation for the National Archives for his film legacy, which has brought history to life on the big screen. The National Archives is celebrating the award with a film festival, and Saving Private Ryan is the first film to be screened. Join us tonight, Friday, November 15. For details on the award and the times of the free screenings, go here.)
In Spielberg’s film Saving Private Ryan, a squad of Army Rangers search for Pfc. James Francis Ryan (played by Matt Damon) who is the last surviving brother of four servicemen. Seems like something that could only happen in the movies?
Unfortunately, history is stranger, and sadder, than fiction. Many stories of lost and missing brothers can be found in our records.
Twenty-three sets of brothers were killed on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The photo below shows a service jacket and salvaged service record, with Navy envelope, for William Wells. Wells enlisted at Kansas City, MO, on January 1, 1940, and died December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor after achieving the rank of Signalman 3rd class. His brother, Raymond Virgil Wells, was also on the Arizona and died that day.
Sometimes the decision to preserve these kinds of records means not treating them. According to Michael Pierce, a preservation technician, more … [ Read all ]
Posted by Hilary on November 15, 2013, under - Presidents, - World War II, Myth or History, News and Events.
Tags: askspielberg, FDR, film, film festival, Foundation, Foundation for the NAtional Archives, national archives, Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt, Steven Spielberg, Sullivan brothers, Twitter, USS ARIZONA, World War II, WWII
Cast your vote for the 26th Amendment to be displayed first in the new “Records of Rights” gallery. Polls close on November 15!
Congress can move quickly. The 26th Amendment was ratified in 100 days, faster than any other amendment.
In April 1970, Congress controversially lowered the voting age to 18 as part of legislation to extend the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Many people, including President Richard Nixon, believed that it was the right of the states, not the federal government, to set the voting age. President Nixon, nevertheless, signed the act, which was to go into effect January 1, 1971.
The effort to lower the voting age to 18 had begun three decades earlier. “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote,” a slogan first heard during World War II, was adopted by student activists during the Vietnam War.
In 1942, the slogan prompted Congressman Jennings Randolph of West Virginia to propose an amendment to the Constitution lowering the voting age to 18. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson both championed the cause. Activists during the Vietnam War increased pressure on Congress to change the voting age, and in 1971, when Senator Randolph reintroduced his original proposal, it passed overwhelmingly.
On December 21, 1970, the Supreme Court ruled that the government had indeed overstepped its legislative bounds in lowering … [ Read all ]
Posted by Hilary on November 13, 2013, under - Civil Rights, - Constitution, - World War II, News and Events.
Tags: amendment, Congress, Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, Records of Rights, supreme court, vietnam, voting, voting age
Now is your chance to ask Steven Spielberg a question on Twitter using the hashtag #askspielberg!
Over the next few weeks, Ken Burns will handpick several tweets and share the questions with the movie director. Spielberg will answer the questions at the at the Foundation for the National Archives 2013 Gala and Records of Achievement Award ceremony at the National Archives.
So tweet your question to @archivesfdn and use the hashtag #askspielberg.
The director is being honored by the Foundation for his film legacy, which has brought history to life on the big screen. The National Archives is celebrating the award with a film festival!
Presented in association with DreamWorks Studios, this free public film festival will showcase:
- Saving Private Ryan (1998; rated R), Friday, November 15, 7 p.m.
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982; rated PG), Saturday, November 16, noon
- Amistad (1997; rated R), Saturday, November 16, 7 p.m.
- Lincoln (2012; rated PG-13), Monday, November 18, 7 p.m.
Free tickets will be distributed at the Special Events entrance to the National Archives at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, beginning 60 minutes prior to showtime. Seating is limited and first-come, first-served.
For more information about the Spielberg Film Festival, visit http://www.archivesfoundation.org/programs/steven-spielberg-film-festival/
Spielberg is receiving the Records of Achievement Award, given to an individual whose work has fostered a broader national awareness of the history and identity of the … [ Read all ]
Posted by Hilary on November 8, 2013, under - Civil Rights, - Civil War, - Exploration, - Presidents, - World War II, News and Events.
Tags: Amistad, askspielberg, dreamworks, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, film, Foundation for the NAtional Archives, lincoln, Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg
Today’s blog post comes from Cody White, archivist at the National Archives in Denver.
It was 70 years ago this month that the first Native American woman, Minnie Spotted Wolf, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve.
Born and raised on a ranch near White Tail Creek, about 15 miles from Heart Butte, Montana, Spotted Wolf stated that growing up doing such ranch work as “cutting fence posts, driving a two-ton truck, and breaking horses” seemed to prepare her for the rigors of Marine Corps boot camp, which she was quoted as saying was “hard, but not too hard.”
Spotted Wolf served for four years in the Marines as a heavy equipment operator as well as a driver for visiting general officers on bases in both Hawaii and California. After her discharge in 1947, Spotted Wolf returned to Montana. She married Robert England and attended college, earning a two-year degree in Elementary Education in 1955 and later a BS in Elementary Education in 1976. After a 29-year teaching career, Minnie Spotted Wolf passed away in 1988.
This service picture of Minnie Spotted Wolf is from the correspondence files from the Blackfeet Indian Agency (Record Group 75), where you can find the photographs of many other Blackfeet who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II.… [ Read all ]
Posted by Hilary on July 25, 2013, under - World War II, National Archives Near You.
Tags: 1943, Blackfeet, Blackfeet Indian Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, guest post, Heart Butte, Marine Corps, Minnie spotted Wolf, montana, Native American, Spotted Wolf, United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve
In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Liberties Act, the original Executive Order 9066 as well as the 1988 law are on display in the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, from June 16 to August 19, 2013. Today’s blog post comes from curator Bruce Bustard.
“Here we admit a wrong. Here we affirm our commitment as a nation to equal justice under the law.” —President Ronald Reagan, remarks on signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988
On February 19, 1942, ten weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which permitted military commanders to “prescribe military areas . . . from which any or all persons may be excluded.” While the order did not mention any group by name, it profoundly affected the lives of Japanese Americans.
In March and April, Gen. John L. DeWitt issued a series of “Exclusion Orders” directed at “all persons of Japanese ancestry” in the Western Defense Command. These orders led to the forced evacuation and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese American permanent residents and Japanese American citizens at 10 major camps and dozens of smaller sites. Held behind barbed wire and watched by armed guards, many Japanese Americans lost their homes and possessions. Congress passed laws enforcing the order with almost no debate, and the Supreme Court … [ Read all ]
Posted by Hilary on July 17, 2013, under - Civil Rights, - Presidents, - World War II, News and Events.
Tags: 1988, Civil Liberties Act, evacuation, Exclusion Orders, incarceration, Japanese Americans, John L. DeWitt, Nisei, Pearl Harbor, Reagan, Roosevelt, World War II, WWII