By Matthew Margis When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, President Woodrow Wilson undertook a massive propaganda campaign to expand support for the war. He declared that, America would help make the world “safe for democracy.” Democracy though, eluded an entire segment of American society who struggled with the realities of … Continue reading A Brief Look at African American Soldiers in the Great War
After the Allied victory was declared against Nazi Germany on May 8, 1945 (a date known to history as V-E Day), US military officials presented troops with Two Down, One to Go (Local Identifier: 111-EF-1), a film that serves as both Q+A session and pep talk to prepare them to shift their attention to Japan. Of … Continue reading Two Down, One to Go: Preparing Soldiers for More War
With my last blog, I may have inadvertently started a quest to bring Unwritten Record readers the most random finds from the Still Picture holdings. Today, I present to you, Holes. When I began brainstorming for this blog post, it was the first word that popped into my head (most likely due to me hitting … Continue reading Hole World
Today’s post was written by Robert Nowatzki. Robert is an Archives Technician in Research Services at the National Archives at College Park. The musical career of American jazz bandleader, composer, and arranger James Reese Europe (1881-1919) was as influential and unique as it was tragically short. He played a leading role in introducing early jazz … Continue reading James Reese Europe: America’s Jazz Ambassador
“No mail, low morale,” or so the motto goes. Even before the founding of the 6888th Central Postal Battalion, the mail was piling up for the soldiers serving during World War II. The ever changing locations, duty stations, and movements caused a logistical challenge for getting the mail delivered on time. The Women’s Army Corps … Continue reading No Mail, Low Morale: The 6888th Central Postal Battalion
One of America’s most iconic memorials will be celebrating its 100th anniversary on Veteran’s Day 2021, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. It is visited every year by millions of visitors. The National Archives Still Pictures Branch holds photographs relating to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier depicting visitors paying their … Continue reading 100th Anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
I’m back again with another update regarding the progress of the Subject Finding Aid Project in the Still Picture Branch. Harnessing the momentum gained with Batches 2 and 3, I’m happy to announce that roughly 3500 descriptions for Batches 4 and 5 are LIVE in the NARA Catalog! The Finding Aids in these batches cover … Continue reading Subject Finding Aid Project (Update 2)
Please Note: Primary source documents used in this post may contain harmful language. See NARA’s Statement on Potentially Harmful Language. Last week, the 369th Infantry Regiment, more famously known as the Harlem Hellfighters, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. The honor comes more than a century after their service in Europe during WWI. The regiment … Continue reading The Harlem Hellfighters Return Home
Each year in the United States, National Nurses Week is celebrated starting on May 6. We have been reminded this past year of the incredible work nurses do on a daily basis and of the sacrifice they make to care for the wellbeing of others. To mark National Nurses Week, the Unwritten Record is celebrating … Continue reading Celebrate Nurses Week with the Military Nurse
Though our research rooms remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, National Archives staff have been diligently working from home to make records more accessible to the public. In this vein, Still Picture staff have been converting finding aids into online catalog descriptions. Making descriptions searchable via the catalog will ultimately help researchers locate and … Continue reading An Update on Still Picture Catalog Additions
