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Category: World War II

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

From Behind the Lines to Between the Lines: War Poems and Beyond

Posted by: Kerry Ward

The following is a blog post in honor of National Poetry Month. While walking the halls of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, it is not difficult to be inspired by the Lyric Poetry Hall.  I have often wondered what artists and poets have ventured through these halls for the past 122 years. Were …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

D-Day Journeys: Nurses on the Ground and in the Sky

Posted by: Megan Harris

June 6, 2019, marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Allies’ famed invasion of the beaches of Normandy. In honor of this momentous occasion, the Veterans History Project (VHP) is publishing a special series of blog posts revealing hidden facets of D-Day illuminated within VHP’s collections.  This post is the fourth in a six-part series, …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Bidding Blue Skies and Tailwinds to the Last of the Doolittle Raiders

Posted by: Kerry Ward

Just days shy of the 77th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, Lieutenant Colonel Richard “Dick” Cole, the sole surviving Doolittle Raider, flew west this morning. He was 103 years old. I had the great privilege of working with Cole at airshows and through veteran services. We laughed over him telling my father he was getting …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

D-Day Journeys: Exploring London with an American Red Cross Map

Posted by: Megan Harris

June 6, 2019 marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Allies’ famed invasion of the beaches of Normandy. In honor of this momentous occasion, the Veterans History Project (VHP) is publishing a special series of blog posts revealing hidden facets of D-Day illuminated within VHP’s collections. This post, a guest post by VHP Archivist Rachel …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Reflections on the ‘Code Girls’ Reunion and My Mother’s Story

Posted by: Lisa Taylor

The following is a guest blog post by Anne Dowling, the daughter of World War II “Code Girl” Kathleen Bradley Delaney, and a guest at the “Code Girls” Reunion held at the Library of Congress on March 22, 2019. Click here to watch a recording of this historic event. The Reunion I attended the “Code …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

D-Day Journeys: Travels Tucked Away

Posted by: Megan Harris

June 6, 2019 marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Allies’ famed invasion of the beaches of Normandy. In honor of this momentous occasion, the Veterans History Project (VHP) is publishing a special series of blog posts revealing hidden facets of D-Day illuminated within VHP’s collections. This post, a guest post by Library Technician Sam …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Herstory, ‘Crowded Wartime Washington’ and the Code Girls Reunion

Posted by: Lisa Taylor

The following is a guest blog post by Sally Sims Stokes, the daughter of World War II “Code Girl” Jean Ashby Sims. “Dear Library,” my mother begins the World War II memoir she completed in 2008 for the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. This salutation was her way of responding, as if in a …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

D-Day Journeys: “The Report of My Death Was an Exaggeration”

Posted by: Megan Harris

June 6, 2019 marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Allies’ famed invasion of the beaches of Normandy. In honor of this momentous occasion, the Veterans History Project (VHP) is publishing a special series of blog posts revealing hidden facets of D-Day illuminated within VHP’s collections. This post, a guest post by Library Technician Sam …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

A Sailor, a Nurse and a Kiss, on V-J Day

Posted by: Lisa Taylor

The following is a guest post by Monica Mohindra, Head of Program Communication and Coordination, Veterans History Project. “A Kiss is Just a Kiss.”  Or is it, “As Time Goes By?” When the publishers staged a reunion in 1980, they used another crooners’ standard, “It Had to be You” on a placard in the background. But was …