Saturday, January 20, 1945. FDR Reinaugurated.

The fourth, and modest, inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt took place on the South Portico of the White House.

His address. 

Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. Vice President, my friends: 

You will understand and, I believe, agree with my wish that the form of this inauguration be simple and its words brief. 

We Americans of today, together with our allies, are passing through a period of supreme test. It is a test of our courage—of our resolve—of our wisdom—of our essential democracy. 

If we meet that test—successfully and honorably—we shall perform a service of historic importance which men and women and children will honor throughout all time. 

As I stand here today, having taken the solemn oath of office in the presence of my fellow countrymen—in the presence of our God—I know that it is America's purpose that we shall not fail. 

In the days and the years that are to come, we shall work for ajust and honorable peace, a durable peace, as today we work and fight for total victory in war. 

We can and we will achieve such a peace. 

We shall strive for perfection. We shall not achieve it immediately—but we still shall strive. We may make mistakes—but they must never be mistakes which result from faintness of heart or abandonment of moral principle. 

I remember that my old schoolmaster, Dr. Peabody, said in days that seemed to us then to be secure and untroubled, "Things in life will not always run smoothly. Sometimes we will be rising toward the heights—then all will seem to reverse itself and start downward. The great fact to remember is that the trend of civilization itself is forever upward; that a line drawn through the middle of the peaks and the valleys of the centuries always has an upward trend." 

Our Constitution of 1787 was not a perfect instrument; it is not perfect yet. But it provided a firm base upon which all manner of men, of all races and colors and creeds, could build our solid structure of democracy. 

Today, in this year of war, 1945, we have learned lessons—at a fearful cost—and we shall profit by them. 

We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other Nations, far away. We have learned that we must live as men and not as ostriches, nor as dogs in the manger. 

We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community. 

We have learned the simple truth, as Emerson said, that, "The only way to have a friend is to be one." 

We can gain no lasting peace if we approach it with suspicion and mistrust or with fear. We can gain it only if we proceed with the understanding and the confidence and the courage which flow from conviction. 

The Almighty God has blessed our land in many ways. He has given our people stout hearts and strong arms with which to strike mighty blows for freedom and truth. He has given to our country a faith which has become the hope of all peoples in an anguished world.

So we pray to Him now for the vision to see our way clearly to see the way that leads to a better life for ourselves and for all our fellow men—and to the achievement of His will to peace on earth.

Roosevelt would be the only US President to be elected to more than two terms, and after him jealous Republicans caused the Constitution to be amended to prevent that reoccurring, which we can now all be grateful for as it will theoretically prevent Donald Trump from trying for a their term, should old age or dementia not remove him from politics before the end of his claimed current term.  While still hated by some conservatives, FDR is the last American President who might be regarded as "great", although that status can be debated.  He certainly was one of the best Presidents in the nation's history, and his long administration fundamentally altered the country and shaped the post war United States up until, it would seem, today.

Outgoing Vice President Wallace administered the oath to his successor Harry S. Truman, which had been the long standing tradition.  It was the last time it would be observed.  Wallace was dumped as insiders, including FDR, knew that FDR was on death's door and that the incoming Vice President would become President.  Wallace was feared by many because of his very far left views.

The Germans started evacuating East Prussia.

The evacuation of East Prussia would be a major human tragedy, although one that receives very little attention as the Germans brought it upon themselves.  The mass migration into the Reich would end centuries of German presence in what is now once again part of Poland.

The Red Army took Prešov, Slovakia.

The Hungarian Provisional Government entered into an armistice with the Allies.

The Allies progressed in the Ardennes and the French 1st Army commenced an offensive in the Vosges region.

The Nationalist Chinese took Muse, Burma.

Last edition:

Friday, January 19, 1945. Martin Bormann and Hitler's mistress Eva Braun arrived at the Führerbunker.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Adolf Hitler, Eastern Front, French Army, French Resistance Movements, Poland, Red Army, Siege of Budapest, War Crimes, World War Two

Tuesday, November 7, 1944. Roosevelt wins a fourth term.

Today In Wyoming's History: November 7: 1944     President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a fourth term in office, defeating Thomas E. Dewey.

Truman, of course, became his Vice President.

Truman was chosen over prior VP Henry Wallace as Democratic insiders were concerned about Wallace's far left leanings.  People have wondered about how far Wallace went in that direction, but The New Republic, which ironically was featured here just yesterday, and for which Wallace was an editor after he was no longer VP, actually stated that he was a Communist in its 75th anniversary issue.  He was certainly very far left.

He was also an expert on chickens.

Truman had been a small businessman before entering politics and was the last U.S. President to lack a college degree.

Roosevelt in many ways created much of the modern state which the current Republican Party, once again flirting with isolationism, threatens to tear down under Donald Trump, something that got started with Ronald Reagan.

US fighters strafed a Red Army column near Niš, mistaking it for a German column.  Soviet aircraft responded.  There were losses on both sides, but what exactly occured is confusing as it remains classified.

The US took Bloody Ridge on Leyte.

The USS Albacore struck a mine off of Hokkaido and was sunk.

SOE operative Hannah Szenes, age 23, was executed in Hungary, which was controlled by Hungarian fascists at the time.

Last edition:

Monday, November 6, 1944.. The photo.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, British League of Nations Mandates, Canadian Army, Egypt, Iowa, Medicine, Netherlands, Palestine, Scotland (Liverpool), Terrorism, Vichy France, World War Two, Zionism

Friday, July 21, 1944. Landings on Guam.

Following up on the dramatic events of the day prior, German troops poured into Berlin.

Ludwig Beck, 64, Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim, 39, and  Claus von Stauffenberg, 36, were executed for their role in the July 20 plot.

Guderian succeeded Kurt Zeitzler, who had suffered a nervous breakdown, as Chief of Staff of the German Army.

US Marines and soldiers of the US Army commenced landing on Guam.  Initial Marine landings met with very little opposition.

The Japanese mounted attacks on US positions at Aitape.

The French Expeditionary Corps was withdrawn from the line in Italy in preparation for Operation Dragoon.

The U-212 was sunk sought of Brighton by the Royal Navy.

Harry S. Truman was nominated by the Democratic Party to run as Roosevelt's Vice President for 1944.

Last edition:

Thursday, July 20, 1944. The July 20 Plot.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, 1944 Election, Adolf Hitler, Battle of Narva, Claus von Stauffenberg, Franklin Roosevelt, German Resistance Movements, Heroes, July 20 Plot, Mussolini, Operation Valkyrie, World War Two

Wednesday, April 14, 1943. Code Breaking With Fatal Results, The Death of Yakov Iosifovich Dzhugashvili.

The Japanese broadcast a coded message regarding a visit to the 8th fleet by Admiral Yamamoto, something that would put in place a dramatic chain of events, as the US had broken the code.

Senator Harry S. Truman appeared as a speaker in Chicago and called for the U.S. to respond directly to the Holocaust.  The rally itself was to draw attention to this cause.

Yakov Iosifovich Dzhugashvili, the eldest son of Joseph Stalin, died when he ran into an electric fence at Sachsenhausen concentration camp, Oranienburg, Germany, where he was being held as a Prisoner of War.  He ran into the fence after an argument with British POWs.  

He'd never been mentally stable, and the circumstances of his death may be related to that.

Tuesday, December 26, 1972. Harry S. Truman dies, Operation Lineback II resumes, the Soviet Union changes Chinese sounding names.

Harry S. Truman died at age 88.

His health had been in steady decline since 1964, when he sustained a fall.

The former President and his wife Bess held the first and second Medicare Cards, conveyed upon them by President Johnson in honor of their support for government health care, something he was far ahead of his time on, and depending upon your views, something that the country still has not caught up with.

220 American aircraft hit targets over North Vietnam over a fifteen-minute period.  A missile assembly facility together with airbases and radar installations were destroyed.

Truman was the last U.S. President who did not hold a university degree.  He had a fairly difficult early life, in no small part due to the economic conditions that prevailed in Missouri and his humble beginnings.  His service in World War One, which he entered through the Missouri National Guard and in which he became an officer, started his rise to later office.  Indeed, in no small way, the Missouri artilleryman of World War One would not have become President but for that experience.

This set the stage, combined with airstrikes over the next three days, for a return by North Vietnam to the Paris Peace Talks.

The Soviets changed the name of nine cities in Siberia that had been seized by Imperial Russia from China in the 1860. The prior names, the Soviets thought, sounded too Chinese.

Saturday, March 3, 1900. A drunk and William B. McKinley.

From the March 3, 1900 Colliers.

A drunken spectator twice approached the carriage carrying Donny Trump's newfound favorite President, William McKinley and Secretary George B. Cortelyou, attempting to open the vehicle's door in an attempt to shake hands with the President..

In light of McKinley's later fate, this was later recalled by NYPD Commissioner Murphy.

Security wasn't what it now is.  Drunks still are what they are now.  Presidents have declined enormously in quality.

McKinley had served in the Civil War, which was why he was extremely reluctant to get engaged in a war with Spain.  Trump hasn't served in anything.  McKinley went on to a career in law after the Civil War.  Trump, um, yeah whatever.

Today President McKinley is mostly remembered for his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt, who rapidly eclipsed him.  Roosevelt was the first great President of the 20th Century, and arguably one of only two great US Presidents of the 20th Century, the other being his cousin Franklin.  There have been no great Presidents since FDR, although Truman was certainly a very good President.

Last edition:

Thursday, March 1, 1900. Samoa

Labels: 1900, 1900s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1954, Colonialism, German Empire, German Resistance Movements, Germany, Heroes, Nazi Germany, Samoa