Saturday, June 16, 1945. Oppenheimer writes a letter. Bell Bottom Trousers hits the charts. Belgians debate the return of a king. Sugar for canning.

See below.

Oppenheimer and his committee wrote a letter:

Mount Yuza was captured on Okinawa.

"Soldiers of the 32nd Regt., 7th Inf. Div., advancing to Hill 115 against moderate resistance. 16 June, 1945. 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division."  Okinawa. Note the infantryman reloading his M1 Garand and the two BARs in the photograph.  Both of the BARs have had their bipods removed.  One of the automatic rifleman is holding his BAR sideways.

"A flame throwing tank of 96th Division burns out Japs hiding in holes along sunken road on bitterly contested “big apple” ridge, Okinawa. 16 June, 1945."

This was also noted by Sarah Sundin, who also noted an interesting musical item:

Today in World War II History—June 16, 1940 & 1945: 80 Years Ago—June 16, 1945: US Tenth Army takes Yuza-Dake Hill on Okinawa. “Bell Bottom Trousers” becomes final military-themed song to hit US charts in WWII.

Lots of versions of this song were recorded in 1945, and all in close proximity. The one above is the one that hit the charts on this date.

Here's another version, same year. 

 

The song was actually originally a bawdy sailors song, and it had been rewritten by Moe Jaffe for a modern audience in a form that' was recordable.  His lyrics went:

Once there was a little girl who lived next to me

And she loved a sailor boy, he was only three

Now he's on a battleship in his sailor suit

Just a great big sailor, but she thinks he's very cute

(With his bell bottom trousers, coat of navy blue)

(She loves her sailor and he loves her too)

When her sailor boy's away on the ocean blue

Soldier boys all flirt with her, but to him she's true

Though they smile and tip their caps, and they wink their eyes

She just smiles and shakes her head, then she softly sighs

(Oh, bell bottom trousers, coat of navy blue)

(She loves her sailor and he loves her too)

Then her sailor went to sea to see what he could see

She saw that he ate spinach, now he's big as he can be

When he's home they stroll along, they don't give a hoot

She won't let go of his hand, even to salute

If her sailor she can't find on the bounding main

She is hopeful he will soon come home safe again

So they can get married and raise a family

Dress up all their kiddies in sailor's dungarees

(Oh, bell bottom trousers, coat of navy blue)

(She loves her sailor and he loves her too)

The song was hugely popular (I can recall my mother singing it), and was recorded five times in 1945.  Interestingly, the last recording, in February 1945,  by Louis Prima recalled the more bawdy earlier version.

When I was a lady's maid down in Drury Lane

My mistress, she was good to me; my master was the same

Along came a sailor, happy as could be

And he was the cause of all my misery

With his bell bottom trousers, coat of navy blue

(She loved her sailor and he loved her too)

He asked me for a candle to light him up to bed

He asked me for a kerchief to tie around his head

And I, like a silly girl, thinking it no harm

 

Lay down beside him, just to keep him warm

With his bell bottom trousers, coat of navy blue

(She loved her sailor and he loved her too)

(Trumpet Solo)

Early in the mornin', before the break of day

A sawbuck note he left for me before he went away

And he wrote a message that if I have a son

Let him be a sailor if he wants to have some fun

With his bell bottom trousers, coat of navy blue

(She loved her sailor and he loved her too)

(Saxophone Solo)

LOUIS:

If it is a daughter, bounce her on your knee

And if it is a boy, send the begger out to sea

Singin' bell bottom trousers, coat of navy blue

Oh, he'll climb the riggin', like the sailors used to do

LILYANN:

If my sailor I can't find on the bounding main

I am hopeful he will soon come home safe again

So we can get married, and raise a family

Dress up all our kiddies in sailor's dungarees

The original song was Rosemary Lane, and English song from the early 1800s.  It went:

When I was in service in Rosemary Lane

I won the goodwill of my master and did I

Till a sailor came there one night to lay

And that was the beginning of my misery 

He called for a candle to light him to bed

And likewise a silk handkerchief to tie up his head

To tie up his head as sailors will do

And he said my pretty Polly will you come too 

Now this maid being young and foolish she thought it no harm

For to lie into bed to keep herself warm

And what was done there I will never disclose

But I wish that short night had been seven long years 

Next morning this sailor so early arose

And into my apron three guineas did throw

Saying take this I will give and more I will do

If you'll be my Polly wherever I go 

Now if it's a boy he will fight for the king

And if it's a girl she will wear a gold ring

She will wear a gold ring and a dress all aflame

And remember my service in Rosemary Lane 

When I was in service in Rosemary Lane

I won the goodwill of my master and did I

Till a sailor came there one night to lay

And that was the beginning of my misery

The 10th Mountain Division adopted the song during the war for their own fighting song, and produced these lyrics:

I was a barmaid in a mountain inn;

There I learned the wages and miseries of sin;

Along came a skier fresh from off the slopes;

He’s the one that ruined me and shattered all my hopes.

Singing:

[Chorus:]

Ninety pounds of rucksack

A pound of grub or two

He’ll schuss the mountain,

Like his daddy used to do.

He asked me for a candle to light his way to bed;

He asked me for a kerchief to tie around his head;

And I a foolish maiden, thinking it no harm;

Jumped into the skier’s bed to keep the skier warm..

Singing:

[Chorus]

Early in the morning before the break of day,

He handed me a five note and these words did say,

“Take this my darling for the damage I have done.

You may have a daughter, you may have a son.

Now if you have a daughter, bounce her on your knee;

But if you have a son, send the young man out to ski.”

Singing:

[Chorus]

The moral of this story, as you can plainly see,

Is never trust a skier an inch above your knee.

For I trusted one and now look at me;

I’ve got a bastard in the Mountain Infantry.

Singing:

The USS Twiggs was sunk by a kamikaze attack.

Poster from this date.  The impressive thing is how much territory the Japanese were still holding, and tenaciously.

Belgian Premier Achille van Acker and his cabinet resign in protest against the contemplated return of King Leopold III from Germany, where he'd been taken by the Germans at the end of the war.

Today In Wyoming's History: June 16: 1945  Sugar once again allowed, on a restricted basis, for home canning in the US.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

Belgian Premier Achille van Acker and his cabinet resign in protest against the contemplated return of King Leopold III from Germany, where he'd been taken by the Germans at the end of the war.

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Béla Imrédy was arrested by American troops.

Col. Gen. Nikolai Erastovich Berzarin, commander of the troops in Berlin, died in a motorcycle accident.  He was 41.

Denounced radical Communist Greek guerilla leader Aris Velouchiotis  committed suicide rather than surrender.  He was 39.

Polynesian won the Preakness.

Last edition:

Friday, June 15, 1945. Infantry Day.

Labels: 1660s, 1670s, 1930s, 1935, 1940s, 1945, 1945 at the movies, 1950s, 1953, Aircraft, Battle of Bessang Pass, Cavalier Parliament, Infantry, Korea War, Movies, Philippines, U.S. Air Force, United Kingdom, Wyoming

Monday, November 24, 1924. Australopithecus africanus

The first remains of an Australopithecus africanus were found in a quarry in South Africa.  The skull was that of a child, perhaps five or six years of age, who was killed by a bird of prey.

The anti Japanese Korean independence organization, and military government the Righteous Government (정의부) organized in West Jiandao, Korea.

Duan Qirui (Tuan Ch'i-jui) was installed by General Feng Yuxiang as the acting President of the Republic of China.

Last edition:

Friday, November 21, 1924. Florence Harding passes.

Labels: 1920s, 1924, Aircraft, boats and ships, Personalities, U.S. Navy, Warren G. Harding

Saturday, November 8, 1924. Declaration from Honolulu.

Syngman Rhee announced plans for a new Korean independence movement from Honolulu.

Last edition:

Friday, November 7, 1924. A balanced budget.

Labels: 1920s, 1924, 1929, Australia, California (Los Angeles), German Weimar Republic, Radio, Sydney Australia, Transportation, Trucks, USSR

Tuesday, January 8, 1974. Suppressing dissent and the news.

South Korean President Park Chung-hee  issued an emergency decree making it illegal "to deny, oppose, misrepresent, or defame" the president's decisions.  The same decree prohibited reporting on dissent  "through broadcasting, reporting or publishing, or by any other means."

He must have been concerned about "fake news".

Park started his adult life as an army officer in the Japanese puppet Manchukuo Imperial Army.  After serving a little over two years in that entity during World War Two, he returned to the Korean Military Academy and joined the South Korean Army.  He was a figure in the 1961 military coup in South Korea.  After large scale protests in 1979 he was assassinated by  Kim Jae-gyu, the director of the KCIA, and a close friend of his after a banquet at a safe house in Gungjeong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Kim Jae-gyu would be hanged the following year for the action.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association approved allowing amateur athletes to play as professionals in a second sport.

Wednesday, July 21, 1909. Baseball and a hurricane.

The first baseball game in Korea was held.  It was a match between students and American missionaries. The students had learned the game in Japan.

Galveston's water front was heavily damaged by a hurricane.

Last edition:

Tuesday, July 20, 1909. Clemenceau resigns.

Labels: 1900s, 1909, 1910, 1917, France, Georges Clemenceau, Politics

Monday, July 12, 1909. Congress passes the 16th Amendment.

The House of Representatives passed the 16th Amendment. The Senate had already done so.

Korea turned prison administration over to Japan in what was a step towards full annexation of the Hermit Kingdom.

President Taft withdrew and therefore protected the Oregon Caves National Monument.

Last edition:

Saturday, July 10, 1909. An agreement on Chinese students.

Labels: 1640s, 1644, 1900s, 1909, 1910, 1911, China, Chinese 1911 Revolution, Diplomacy, Disaster, Education, Long Island New York, Monarchy, New York, New York (Long Island), Railroads

Monday, June 14, 1909 Shackleton returns. The Age of Exploration. The Age of Assassination.

Ernest Shackleton returned to London and received a hero's welcome.  King Edward VII knighted the Antarctic explorer.

After World War One Shackleton, his health no doubt strained due to the rigors of his trials in exploration, died in the Falklands at age 47.  As a practical matter, the Great War effectively ended the final age of exploration.

Japanese Prince Itō Hirobumi was forced to resign as Japan's Resident-General of Korea.  Three months later, he would be assassinated, which would lead Japan to annex what had been a protectorate.

Four Caribbean monk seals (Monachus tropicalis) were brought to the New York Aquarium.  They were the only ones ever held in captivity.

The last known monk seal died in 1952 and NOAA declared them extinct in 2008.

Burl Ives was born.  The charming folk singer and actor was a popular folk figure for many years, in spite of a 1930s association with far left wing politics.

Last prior edition:

Thursday, June 10, 1909. The Lincoln penny introduced.

Labels: 1900s, 1909, 1950s, 1958, Art, Currency