Recent Articles

‘Troublesome Mesopotamia” (Literary Digest, 1920)

This is a very interesting magazine article concerning the 1920s British experience in Iraq (Mesopotamia); regardless as to where the reader stands concerning the 2003 Iraq War, you will find a striking similarity in the language used in this piece and the articles printed prior to the U.S. infantry surge of 2008:

Unless there is a complete change of policy, Mesopotamia, which has been the grave of empires, is now likely to be the grave of the Coalition.


Click here to read more articles about the British struggle for 1920s Mesopotamia.

The Man Who Designed American World War II Medals & Insignia (Yank Magazine, 1945)

This YANK reporter, Sergeant Barrett McGurn, was amused by the seemingly aloof Arthur E. Dubois, who at the time was serving as Chief of the Heraldic Section, U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps in Washington, D.C. During his tenure in this office, DuBois had much to do with the design of American military insignia, medals and decorations. He was one of the designers involved in the creation of the Distinguished Flying Cross (1927) as well as the campaign ribbons that support both the Good Conduct Medal (1941) and the American Defense Service Medal (1942). Throughout much of the late twenties and thirties he was involved in some of the design of numerous uniform insignia for both officers and enlisted men, as William K. Emmerson makes clear in his book, Encyclopedia of United States Army Insignia and Uniforms<img src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=oldmagazinear-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0806126221 width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= style=border:none !important;

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The Man Who Designed American World War II Medals & Insignia (Yank Magazine, 1945)

This YANK reporter, Sergeant Barrett McGurn, was amused by the seemingly aloof Arthur E. Dubois, who at the time was serving as Chief of the Heraldic Section, U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps in Washington, D.C. During his tenure in this office, DuBois had much to do with the design of American military insignia, medals and decorations. He was one of the designers involved in the creation of the Distinguished Flying Cross (1927) as well as the campaign ribbons that support both the Good Conduct Medal (1941) and the American Defense Service Medal (1942). Throughout much of the late twenties and thirties he was involved in some of the design of numerous uniform insignia for both officers and enlisted men, as William K. Emmerson makes clear in his book, Encyclopedia of United States Army Insignia and Uniforms<img src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=oldmagazinear-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0806126221 width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= style=border:none !important;

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The Man Who Designed American World War II Medals & Insignia (Yank Magazine, 1945)

This YANK reporter, Sergeant Barrett McGurn, was amused by the seemingly aloof Arthur E. Dubois, who at the time was serving as Chief of the Heraldic Section, U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps in Washington, D.C. During his tenure in this office, DuBois had much to do with the design of American military insignia, medals and decorations. He was one of the designers involved in the creation of the Distinguished Flying Cross (1927) as well as the campaign ribbons that support both the Good Conduct Medal (1941) and the American Defense Service Medal (1942). Throughout much of the late twenties and thirties he was involved in some of the design of numerous uniform insignia for both officers and enlisted men, as William K. Emmerson makes clear in his book, Encyclopedia of United States Army Insignia and Uniforms<img src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=oldmagazinear-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0806126221 width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= style=border:none !important;

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1945 Hollywood (Yank Magazine, 1945)

A swell article that truly catches the spirit of the time. You will read about the war-torn Hollywood that existed between the years 1941-1945 and the movie shortage, the hair-pin rationing, the rise of the independent producers and the ascent of Van Johnson and Lauren Becall:

Lauren, a Warner Brothers property, is a blonde-haired chick with a tall, hippy figure, a voice that sounds like a sexy foghorn and a pair of so-what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it eyes

Mention is also made of the hiring of demobilized U.S. combat veterans to serve as technical assistants for war movies in such films as Objective Burma.

Germany and the German-Americans (Literary Digest, 1897)

The attached article briefly recalls the general discomfort that the German government experienced when confronted with a unique social sect called German-Americans. As handsome and affable as they might have been, these volk still irked the Kaiser and his administrators to a high degree, although this article points out that the Fatherland was warming to them slowly.


This article makes a number of references to the Bancroft Treaty and how the agreement pertained to a particular German-American family named Meyer. After years spent in the U.S., Meyer the elder returned to Germany along with his wife and children – the story became a news-worthy when it was revealed that his draft-age son, a naturalized Yank, resisted military conscription and was thrown in the hoosegow. It was at that moment when the American embassy stepped forward.


Not surprisngly, Hitler didn’t like German-Americans any better than the Kaiser…

Al-Husseini After the War (Tribune, 1946)

Appearing in a British labor weekly was this short column pertaining to the whereabouts of Haj Amin Al-Husseini and his appearance as the elected representative of the Palestine Arab Delegation in London:

Haj Amin Al-Husseini, ex-Mufti of Palestine, has had a varied and adventurous career. Few transformations in his fortunes, however, have been as startling as those of the last twelve months. Just before VE-Day, together with Rashid Ali, he gave himself up to French forces on the Austro-German frontier. In his wildest dreams at the time he could not have imagined that a year later he would be conducting Palestine Arab affairs from Cairo….

The Battle of Heartbreak Ridge (Collier’s Magazine, 1951)

There is a set of rocky hills close to the 38th Parallel that came to be known as Heartbreak Ridge in the Fall of 1951. It came to pass when a plan was made to secure these hills for the U.N Forces – they thought this would be done in one day – but it continued for a full month. At long last, the 23rd Regiment of the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division finally wrested Heartbreak Ridge from a numerically superior enemy on October 12 – and in so doing, lost half their strength (1,650 men).

The Crown Prince in Exile (The Literary Digest, 1919)

In the attached magazine interview, Kaiser Wilhelm’s son and fellow exile, Crown Prince Wilhelm III (1882 – 1951, a.k.a. The Butcher of Verdun), catalogs his many discomforts as a refugee in Holland. At this point in his life, the former heir apparent was dictating his memoir (click here to read the book review) and following closely the goings-on at Versailles.


Click here to read an article about the German veterans of W.W. I.

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