Get to know the life and times of Walter Spangenberg, a Washingtonian and Naval Aviator during WWII. Read about his journey from Wilson High School to the Korean War and beyond. Plus, see photos from the Library of Congress!
The District’s peacetime population exploded as government grew and workers – men and women – flocked to new jobs. It was 1940. Census employees hit the streets in April. They determined that D.C. had grown rapidly.
In the hours before Pearl Harbor, Washington Post articles spoke of the failing negotiations between the U.S. and Japan. Read about the articles and President Roosevelt’s dramatic move to prevent war. See his “Date Which Will Live in Infamy” speech and related articles.
An amazing old color photo taken in May 1943 by John Collier shows an unnamed sailor and his girlfriend visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. See the powerful photos and learn what happened to them during and after the war.
Continuing the Anglo-American theme of today, here is a second video of a British Prime Minister in Washington.
Winston Churchill took a steamship through German submarine-infested waters around Christmas in 1941, just after the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, drawing the U.S. into World War II.
Discover the history and evolution of the Capital Beltway, commonly referred to as ‘The Beltway’. Learn about its origins, controversies, and significance in the D.C. metropolitan area.
Here’s an interesting story from the end of World War II.
Near the end of the war, the Crowned Prince of Iraq, Abdul Ilah was due to visit Washington and newly inaugurated President Truman (Roosevelt died only a little over a month earlier). Below is an article from the Washington Post, on May 10th, a couple of weeks before the visit.
Prince Abdul Ilah, regent and heir apparent to the throne of Iraq, will visit the United States May 28 at the invitation of President Truman.
White House Press Secretary Jonathan Daniels said yesterday the Prince will remain several days as the President’s guest and later visit other sections of the United States “to acquaint himself with various aspects of American cultural, scientific and economic life.”
This photo of two children playing with fake guns at Woodrow Wilson High School during World War II is a shocking reminder of how kids emulate what they see. Learn more about this scene taken in 1943.
Most of you probably are not aware that Nazi saboteurs landed on our shores early during World War II. On June 12th, 1942, a Nazi submarine reached the coast of Long Island, landing four German spies on the sandy beaches of Amagansett. U.S. Coast Guardsman, John Cullen discovered them while on routine beach patrol. George … Read more
