Wednesday, October 21, 1942. Mark Clark's Mission, Eddie Rickenbacker's plight.

Clark in November, 1942.

Today in World War II History—October 21, 1942: Maj. Gen. Mark Clark lands by submarine at Cherchel, Algeria, for a clandestine meeting with the Vichy French in preparation for the upcoming Allied invasion.

From Sarah Sundin's blog.

The photogenic Clark was a favorite of the Press during the early part of World War Two. This event, resulting in the beginning of the formal separation of the French military from Vichy, may have been the high point, in real terms, of his career.  His later command in Italy, where he was in command until the war's end, has been subject to less impressive analysis by historians, and he was held in bitter contempt by veterans of the 36th Infantry Division who had taken huge casualties trying to cross the Rapido.  The sought, and received, a post-war Congressional investigation of that incident, for which Clark was cleared.

During the Korean War he was commander of the United Nations forces following the command of Matthew Ridgeway.  He occupied that role from May 12, 1952 until the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953.  He retired that following October, after which he became president of The Citadel.  He died in 1988, at age 84.

That last item is worth considering.  It means, for example, that when Clark was dispatched to negotiate with the French, he was 41, and when World War Two ended he was 44, younger than we often imagine World War Two generals to be.  In reality, in the U.S. Army, they tended to be relatively young.

Sundin also reports that a B-17D provided by the Army to Eddie Rickenbacker went down in the Pacific.  Rickenbacker was on a tour of Pacific air bases to review operations and living conditions.  Faulty navigational equipment caused the plane to go widely off course and run out of fuel over the open ocean.  The crew was adrift thereafter for twenty-four days before being picked, with one of the men dying from dehydration.  Ultimately, the men split up in lift rafts at sea, but they were found.

The experience caused the Navy to alter life raft equipment to incorporate fishing equipment in them.

She also notes that the Revenue Act of 1942 went into effect in the US, which increased individual income tax rates and corporate tax rates, with top tax rates going from 31% to 40%.  The act also reduced personal exemptions.  An excess profits tax of 90% was also put in effect.  Medical expenses became a deduction for the first time.

The war ushered in an era of generally high upper tax rates that remained in effect for the next couple of decades, meaning that they remained high during the boom years of the 1950s.  The concept that American tax rates were unfairly high really didn't come about until Ronald Reagan's presidency.