1946 – Page 2 – Old Magazine Articles

The WASPs
(Think Magazine, 1946)

The WASP program, for as such the Women Airforces Service Pilots became known, was begun in August, 1943. In addition to providing women fliers who could take over certain jobs and thereby release their brothers for front-line duty, the program was designed to see if women could serve as military pilots and, if so, to serve as a nucleus of an organization that could be rapidly expanded…The women who took part in the pilot program proved of great value to their country, flying almost every type of airplane used by the AAF, from the Thunderbolt fighter, to the C-54 transport, they flew enough miles to reach around the world 2,500 times at the Equator.

The WASPs were fortunate enough to have pioneering aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran (1906 – 1980) to serve at their helm.

Click here to read about the WAC truck drivers of the Second World War.

The Lack of German Naval Power
(United States News, 1946)

Not only did Germany limit the size of her fleet, but she failed to push technical developments. For example, she was behind the Allies in developing radar, and her torpedoes were mechanically deficient. She was ahead of the Allies in perfecting magnetic mines, but these proved to be a short-lived advantage… The priority for naval construction was so low that when the war began in September, 1939, the naval strength allowed in the treaty of 1935 had not been reached.

Thus, in the opinion of Admiral Doenitz, Germany, for the second time within 25 years, lost her bid for world supremacy because of her weakness at sea.

Click here to read about an American destroyer on D-Day.

The Re-Education of German Prisoners of War
(The American Magazine, 1946)

During the earliest days of 1944, the U.S. Army’s Special Projects Division of the Office of the Provost Marshal General was established in order to take on the enormous task of re-educating 360,000 German prisoners of war. Even before the Allies had landed in France it was clear to them that the Germans would soon be blitzkrieging back to the Fatherland and in order to make smooth the process of rebuilding that nation, a few Germans would be required who understood the virtues of democracy. In order to properly see the job through, two schools were set up at Fort Getty, Rhode Island and Fort Eustis, Virginia.

‘No More Pearl Harbors”
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1946)

When the twenty-year-old editor at Yank Magazine wrote this editorial at the close of W.W. II he was expressing a belief that was shared equally with the members of the W.W. I generation who prosecuted and managed the war from Washington – and that was an understanding that the world is a far more dangerous place than we thought it was and it needs to be watched. This 1946 article is similar to other columns that appeared in 1947 (when the CIA was established) and 1952 (when the NSA opened its doors) in that it announced the creation of a government agency intent on global espionage in order to have done with all future concerns that another Pearl Harbor was in the planning.

The Women of the U.S. Marine Corps
(Think Magazine, 1946)

Lady Leathernecks’, as the trimly-clad members were affectionately dubbed, responded to their country’s call some 19,000 strong, accomplishing more than 150 different jobs at more than fifty Marine bases and stations throughout the United States.

Organized February 13, 1943 the Women’s Reserve was directed by Lt. Colonel Ruth Cheney Streeter (1895 – 1990). Women in the Marine Corps were authorized to hold the same jobs, ranks and pay as Marines.

How Tokyo Learned of Hiroshima
(Coronet Magazine, 1946)

Shortly after Tokyo’s capitulation, an advance team of American Army researchers were dispatched to Hiroshima to study the effects that the Atom Bomb had on that city. What we found most interesting about this reminiscence was the narrative told by a young Japanese Army major as to how Tokyo learned of the city’s destruction:

Again and again the air-raid defense headquarters called the army wireless station at Hiroshima. No answer. Something had happened to Hiroshima…

Distribution of Wealth’
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1946)

Columnist Wheeler McMillen penned the attached 1946 editorial concerning a subject African-Americans have long recognized as problematic: American democracy and the tyranny of the majority. This has become a timely subject since President Obama introduced the term distribution of wealth to the American vocabulary during the 2008 election – this was swiftly followed-up by the Occupy movement and their Tweets regarding the ambitions of the 99 percent (meaning, majority – the Russian translation for this term is Bolshevik):

News from Nuremberg
(Maptalk, 1946)

A collection of assorted thoughts that were pulled from various letters written by the German people to the offices of the War Crimes Tribunal. A few letters are from weirdos but most are from sincere anti-Nazis wishing that the court would deliver some measure of justice to this German or that German who they feared might be overlooked.

Confronting the Bigots
(The American Magazine, 1946)

With the passing of the Ives-Quinn Bill in 1945, the state of New York was empowered to bring the full weight of the law down upon all employers who practiced any sort of discrimination in the workplace:

During the first eight months of the law’s operation, the Commission received 240 formal complaints charging some form of discrimination in employment… The charges varied greatly. Fifty-nine complained because of alleged prejudice against their religion. Another 113 charged color bias: 105 Negroes and eight Whites. Still another 48 charged prejudice against their race or national origin: 8 Germans, 5 Spaniards…

A similar article from 1941 can be read here…

‘Our Schools Are A Scandal”
(Collier’s Magazine, 1946)

Ten million Americans can’t read and write, thousands of teachers are underpaid and, try as they may, our poorer states cannot afford to do anything about it. Every Congress since 1919 has refused to improve the situation… The truth seems to be that schools are no longer America’s sweetheart. When there is money to be divided in a state, roads come first, public health second and schools third.

Click here to read about an American woman who grew heartily sick of the socialists who loitered on every street corner during the Great Depression…