Left to right: PFC Preston Toledo of Albuquerque, New Mexico and his cousin PFC Frank Toledo of Penistaja, New Mexico, at Ballarat, Australia with the 11th Marines in July 1943. Between 400-500 Native American “code talkers” served in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater. Their job was primarily to transmit secret tactical messages by using a coded language. This coded language was built upon their native languages and sent over military telephone or radios.
An American soldier stands next to a sign erected by the U.S. Army to mark the site of the Nammering atrocity, May 6, 1945. It reads: “In eternal memory. Here lie 800 martyrs who were murdered by Nazi executioners in April 1945. Rest in peace.” Photo Credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Seymour Schenkman
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum detailed the events of the Nammering atrocity in association with the photo above:
On April 19, 1945, a freight train with nearly 4,500 prisoners from Buchenwald pulled onto the railroad siding at Nammering. The train had been destined for Dachau, but at Plattling it was diverted towards Nammering because of damage to the railroad caused by Allied bombing. Once in Nammering, some of the local inhabitants attempted to give the prisoners food and water, but these provisions were stolen by the 150 SS and police officers guarding the train. The commanding officer in charge, Lieutenant Hans Meerbach, ordered during the halt that the bodies of the dead be removed from the train and cremated. This work proceeded too slowly for him, however, and prisoners were forced to carry the bodies of the dead to a nearby mass grave in a ravine roughly 500 yards from the train. There the prisoners carrying the corpses were shot by the guards and they were also buried in the grave. Altogether 524 prisoners were shot and nearly 800 were interred in the mass grave. The bodies were then covered with lime and the grave was flooded to speed up decomposition. Those 3,100 prisoners who had remained on the train were sent on to Dachau, where they were liberated. After the discovery of the site by U.S. troops on April 28, the ranking American officer in the area forced SS men collected from a nearby POW camp to exhume the corpses and lay them out on either side of the ravine above the mass grave. The inhabitants of Nammering were then ordered to walk through the gravesite, and the bodies were buried in the surrounding towns of Eging am See, Aicha vom Wald, Nammering, and Fuerstenstein.
“Marine First Sergeant Neil I. Shober of Fort Wayne, Indiana, shares the spoils of war (bananas) with a native goat, one of the few survivors of the terrific naval and air bombardment in support of the Marines hitting the beach on the Japanese-mandated island of Saipan [1944].”
The story of how Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow’s actions during World War II made him the last Plains war chief.
A young Joe Medicine Crow. His grandfather was a chief of the Crow tribe. Photo Credit: PBS
Joseph Medicine Crow was born near Lodge Grass, Montana on October 27, 1913. The step-grandson of White Man Runs Him, a scout for General Custer and an eyewitness to the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Medicine Crow was raised by his elders in the warrior way. He grew up listening to stories of battles and of a time before tribes were sent to reservations. He was 11 years old when his grandfather died in 1925. Medicine Crow is the last living person with a direct oral history from a participant of the Battle of Little Bighorn.
Medicine Crow was the first member of the Crow tribe to attend college and, in 1939, he also become the first to receive a master’s degree. His thesis from the University of Southern California (“The Effects of European Culture Contact upon the Economic, Social, and Religious Life of the Crow Indians”) is widely utilized by historians and scholars alike. He became well-known for his work regarding the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Of the war, he once stated “No One wins. Both sides lose. The Indians, so called hostiles, won the battle of the day, but lost their way of life.”
Joseph Medicine Crow, about to enter the dance arena at the annual Crow Fair, holds a dance stick representing the horses he captured from German SS officers in World War II. Photo Credit: Glen Swanson/The National Museum of the American Indian.
Medicine Crow was working on his doctoral dissertation when the United States entered World War II. At the age of 34, he joined the U.S. Army, serving as a scout in the 103rd Infantry Division in Europe. Whenever he went into battle he would paint red stripes on his arms under his uniform. He also carried a yellow-painted eagle feather in his helmet to shield him from harm. During the war, Medicine Crow successfully completed the four required tasks to become a Crow war chief.
According to Crow tradition, in order to achieve war chief status, one must fulfill the following deeds:
Touch or strike the first enemy fallen, whether alive or dead
Wrestle a weapon away from an enemy warrior
Enter an enemy camp at night and steal a horse
Command a war party successfully.
He accomplished the first two deeds at the same time. His unit came upon a small town housing some German soldiers. Sent around a street and into an ally, Medicine Crow literally ran into a German soldier. After knocking the enemy’s rifle to the ground the two fought hand-to-hand. After going back and forth with the opposing soldier, Medicine Crow finally had his opponent in a choke hold but spared his life when the German started saying “momma.”
Another time Medicine Crow, armed with seven men and explosives, successfully placed the explosives along German positions on the Siegfried Line. This fulfilled another war deed. The last of the four deeds he needed to accomplish – steal an enemy horse – took place towards the end of the war. One day, Medicine Crow was scouting ahead of his company and saw Germans riding horses along a road to a farm. It was decided to attack the Germans in the early morning while they slept. Medicine Crow asked the Captain to give him a couple of minutes to take care of the horses. The Captain agreed. In the early hours, Medicine Crow and another soldier crawled into the horse shed. Fashioning an Indian bridle out of a little rope, they chased the horses out of the shed and over a hill. As he rode away, Medicine Crow sang a traditional Crow honor song. Around 50 horses were stolen from the battalion of German officers.
Medicine Crow, in his own words, describe the horse event during an interview with the National Museum of the American Indian:
In World War II, I managed to have captured fifty head of horses. These were not ordinary horses. They belonged to SS officers, you know? During the last days of the war over there, there was a lot of confusion, so a bunch of these SS officers got on their horses and took off … They were heading back to Germany. And here’s that old sneaky old Crow Indian now following them, watching them. So they camped for the night. I sneak in there and took all their fifty head of horses, left them on foot. So I got on one, looked around there and I even sang a Crow victory song all by myself. Crows do that when they think they’re all by themselves, they do things like that. So I sang a victory song.
President Obama awarding Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Photo Credit: Bacone College
Through his actions in World War II he is the last Crow Indian to become a war chief and, as he states, the last Plains war chief. He returned to the Crow Agency after the war and was appointed tribal historian and anthropologist in 1948. He received both the Bronze Star and France’s Legion of Honour on June 25, 2008. On August 12, 2009, Medicine Crow, at the age of 95, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama. The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in the country. Upon hearing he was selected to receive the award, Medicine Crow said, “I am humbled and honored to join the ranks of the renowned citizens who have received this medal over the last 62 years.” Ken Burns featured Medicine Crow in the 2007 PBS series “The War.”
Medicine Crow lives on the Crow Indian Reservation in Lodge Grass, Montana. He is said to be the oldest living man of the Crow tribe.
Video of Dr. Joe Medicine Crow recounting his actions during World War II in Ken Burns’ The War.
Dr. Joe Medicine Crow, among others, honored in 2009 with the Medal of Freedom by President Obama. His sections appear around the 7:15 and 24.35 marks.
To Phyllis M Baguley, y.2C, 423 Allen St. Lansing Michigan, goes the honor of being the first SPAR to set foot on overseas soil. Pictured here as she suns herself on the boat deck of the former luxury liner that transported her overseas, she led the first overseas contingent of SPAS as they debarked from the ship at Honolulu. Daughter of Mr and Mrs WC Baguley, she is a graduate of Lansing Eastern High School and enlisted in the SPARs in March, 1943.
(SPAR’s were the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve. The name comes from “Semper Paratus”, and “Always Ready”)
One of many Easter services held on Apennine mountainside by the Tenth Mountain Division. Conducted by Caplain William H. Bell for the 605th Artillery Battalion at Rocca Pitigliano on April 1, 1945. A large group of soldiers sit in a grassy open field with heads bowed. Before them stands the chaplain with a box beside him, a jeep marked beneath the windshield with “Chaplain” in between two crosses, and a portable pump organ.
In the foreground, four men bow their heads together. Corporal Ralph Squires sits at a portable organ and two soldiers face the Chaplain who stands in front of his jeep draped with a white cloth in use as an altar for a small crucifix. Photo Credit: Roy O. Bingham/Denver Public Library
Photo is of Tenth Mountain Division Cpl. Squires playing the organ. Worshipers sit on the grass listening. Photo Credit: Roy O. Bingham/Denver Public Library
“Wings for This Man” is a propaganda film produced in 1945 by the U.S. Army Air Forces First Motion Picture Unit about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first unit of African-American pilots in the US military. It was narrated by Ronald Reagan.
“Sergeant Crawls B. Adams, of Easley, SC, blows a newly acquired horn for an unappreciative audience in St. Barbara, Germany. He is with a tank destroyer battalion attached to the 90th Infantry Division. The audience is Corporal Charles Cole of Mechanicsburg, Illinois, of a field artillery group attached to the 90th Infantry Division.”
“On August 25, 1944, crowds of people line the Champs Elysees to watch the Allied soldiers ride into Paris through the Arc de Triomphe in tanks, half tracks and on and motorcycles. A large sign on the right side of the street reads, “Vive de Gaulle.” On the left, another reads, “De Gaulle au pouvoir.” French General Charles de Gaulle organized the “Free French Forces” in England during World War II and later became President of France.”
“US naval personnel gathered around a mail clerk during mail call at an unidentified location in the Pacific Theater during the Second World War. Mail continues to be a critical morale builder for America’s military service members (ca. 1944).”
Senate Sergeant at Arms Charles Higgins turns forward the Ohio Clock for the first Daylight Saving Time, while Senators William Calder (NY), William Saulsbury, Jr. (DE), and Joseph T. Robinson (AR) look on, 1918. Photo Credit: Senate Historical Office
As railroads dominated the landscape of the American West and Canada, standard time in time zones became a necessity. By 1883 standard time was initiated but was not signed into U.S. law until March 19, 1918 with the Standard Time Act.
World War I poster showing Uncle Sam turning a clock to Daylight Savings time as a clock-headed figure throws his hat in the air. The clock face of the figure reads “One hour of extra daylight.” The poster was sponsored by United Cigar Stores Company. Photo Credit: Library of Congress
The Standard Time Act also established daylight saving time (DST). Signed into law during World War I, “War Time” was meant to conserve fuel needed to produce electric power. The United States was hardly the mastermind of this wartime initiative. The Central Powers, notably Germany and Austria, were the forerunners of wartime DST when they started the program on April 30, 1916 by advancing the time by one hour until October. Three weeks later, many European countries and some Canadian territories followed suit.
It took the United States two years to formally adopt this program on March 19, 1918. The program established standard time zones and set summer DST to begin at the end of the month. “War Time” ran for seven months but once the war ended, the Standard Time Act was dropped and DST became a local option, however standard time in time zones still remained in law. Some states (Massachusetts and Rhode Island) and cities (New York, Philadelphia and Chicago) continued with DST.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a declaration of war in 1941. “War Time,” a variation on daylight-saving time, followed. Again the idea was to save fuel. Photo Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images/NPR
During World War II, President Roosevelt re-established “War Time,” for the same reasons as the First World War – to conserve energy. Since DST was a hot-button issue, the Act explicitly states that it will end. ”This Act cease to be in effect six months after the termination of the present war or at such earlier date as the Congress shall be concurrent resolution designate.” The program ran from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945.
After World War II, DST varied again among states and cities, which naturally caused confusion for broadcasting and service companies. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act of 1966 which established a beginning and end date for DST for those local jurisdictions that decide to use it.
The “energy crisis” in the 1970’s spurred Congress and President Nixon to enact the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act that enacted earlier starting dates for DST. The Act was in response to the Arab oil embargo and the Department of Transportation estimated that 100,000 barrels of oil was saved each day because of the Act.
Currently most areas in the United States observe DST, except for Arizona (the Navajo Nation does observe DST), Hawaii and overseas territories.
Two boys sledding at the Minidoka Relocation Camp located in Jerome County, Idaho on January 9, 1943. From 1942 to 1945, the Minidoka Relocation Camp housed more than 9,000 Japanese Americans, most of whom were from Oregon, Washington and Alaska.
The Notre Dame de Paris in Paris, France, is perhaps the most famous example of Gothic Architecture, 2007. (Source)
Nave of Reims Gothic Cathedral (France) looking west. (Vassil/Source)
Gothic architecture arose in Western Europe from the 12th to 15th century. Marked by groined vaulting, pointed arches and the flying buttress, Gothic is one of the most familiar and utilized styles in Europe’s notable cathedrals, abbeys and churches. It was also used outside of religious structures in castles and town halls.
Evolved from Romanesque architecture, Gothic design, at a glance, bares little resemblance to its predecessor. Simple construction, heavy walls and rounded “Romanesque” arches dominated European architecture in the 10th and 11th centuries under Romanesque architecture. Whereas Gothic structures used rich ornamentation while the buildings themselves seem lighter and taller than anything before. However, Gothic utilized vaulting and arches, albeit pointed instead of round, as did the Romanesque buildings but in a more intricate way. Overall, Gothic architecture is considered far “busier” than Romanesque even though there are fundamental similarities.
The pointed arches were more than decoration. They redistributed weight and allowed structures to be taller with slender columns. Additionally this paved the way for buildings to have more decorative stain glass windows and gave the interior an airier feel. As with other architectural styles, Gothic design varied based on its location in Europe.
French Gothic was dominated by flying buttresses, heavy ornamentation and the introduction of the rose window. One of the most famous cathedrals in the world was built in Paris between 1163 and 1250 – Notre Dame de Paris.
Reims Cathedral in Reims, France is a good example of French Gothic incorporating the rose window (located in the center of the cathedral). (Source)
English Gothic was slower than France Gothic in incorporating elaborate ornamentation but did eventually. Lasting from the late 13th to early 16th centuries, English Gothic featured the iconic flying buttresses with more slender columns and high, stained-glass window, to name a few. The early-English Gothic style can be seen all around the country, but the Salisbury Cathedral in Salisbury, England is a great example. For famously, the Westminster Abbey in London was created in early 16th century with late-Gothic being the main design influence.
The early English Gothic style is seen in the Salisbury Cathedral located Salisbury, England. The cathedral has the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom. (Source)
In Italy and Germany, it was important for them to try and keep their architectural autonomy. However, they liked the idea of Gothic vaulting which allowed for higher ceilings and grander space. They took it a little further than the French and English architects, by also raising the side aisles to the same height as the main nave (the central area leading to the high altar or the main body of the church). The Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany is a great example of the German Gothic style with its side aisles raised to almost be the same height as the main nave. During World War II, Cologne was heavily bombed by Allied Forces and the Cologne Cathedral withheld 70 hits but did not collapse. It has been said that Allied aircraft purposely did not destroy the cathedral in the later years of the war because the high twin spires could be used easily as a navigational landmark.
Cologne Cathedral in Germany shows how German architects interpreted the Gothic style with raised aisle columns along with the second-tallest spires and largest facade of any church in the world. Additionally, it is the cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. (Source)
Cologne Cathedral stands undamaged while entire area surrounding it is completely devastated. Railroad station and Hohenzollern Bridge lie damaged to the north and east of the cathedral. Germany, April 24, 1945. (National Archives)
By the 15th century the Renaissance style began to flourish in Italy. Gothic architecture gave way to this new architectural design that emphasized classic style and artistic prestige through patronage. In the mid-1700′s, the movement – Gothic Revival (also known as Neo-Gothic or Victorian Gothic) started in England and its popularity grew quickly into the early 19th century. The movement also spread into the United States. Gothic Revival declined sharply in the early to mid-20th century, but it can still be seen in some structures to this day.
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