Note: This post was originally meant to highlight opening day of MLB baseball for the 2020 season while commemorating the role women play in the sport. While baseball may be on hold during this difficult time, we still wanted to highlight the achievements of women in the sport and hope this post helps get you … Continue reading Spotlight: Universal Newsreel Highlights Female Baseball Players
75 years ago, from February 19th to March 26th, 1945, the Battle of Iwo Jima raged in the Pacific Ocean. For 35 days, American and Japanese forces fought for control of the strategically important island. That battle produced one of the most iconic images of war, a photograph taken four days into the battle by … Continue reading Uncommon Valor: The Making of the Marine Corps Memorial
Executive Order 6101, which established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)*, was signed on April 5, 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was signed just one month into Roosevelt's presidency, making the CCC one of the earliest New Deal programs. The program was by no means perfect and was met with some criticism. However, the … Continue reading Spotlight: Photographs Documenting the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
This Saturday, November 9th, marks 30 years since the government of East Germany lifted restrictions regarding travel between East and West Germany. Since 1961, the Berlin Wall had cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany, including East Berlin, and its opening reflected the weakening state of the Soviet Union. The following film clips document … Continue reading The Berlin Wall: 30 Years After The Fall
U.S. Air Force General McPeak, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, holds a Press Conference In 1993, the United States Armed Forces lifted the Combat Exclusion Policy, a 45-year-old practice prohibiting women from serving in combat roles. The change only pertained to aviation positions and it wasn't until 2013 that the policy was lifted from … Continue reading Female Fighter Pilots and the Combat Exclusion Policy
We head next to Chicago! While we enjoy the modern cosmopolitan sights, it’s fun to remember the lengthy history of the city as an agricultural and industrial hub. The Still Picture Branch collection of Army Signal Corps Photography (111-SC NAID 53707) includes some great images illustrating the Central Department Supply Depot in Chicago’s role in … Continue reading Summer Road Trip: Chicago and Pittsburgh
Los Angeles, the City of Angels, La-La-Land, Tinseltown, no matter what you call it, the city of Los Angeles has long been a center of commerce, culture, and entertainment in the United States. It is a must see on any road trip through California. Still from FC-FC-2434 "Nature has been extravagant in bestowing gifts upon … Continue reading Summer Road Trip: Los Angeles
Entering: Albuquerque, New Mexico This post was co-written by Kevin Quinn and Caitlin Hucik As we leave Texas and the Boll Weevils in our rear-view, we continue our journey through the Southwest with a stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We enter Albuquerque through Record Groups 18-AA: "Airscapes" of American and Foreign Areas, 1917 – 1964; … Continue reading Summer Road Trip: Albuquerque to Las Vegas
As you may remember from NARA's exhibit "What's Cooking Uncle Sam", there are records related to food throughout the holdings of the National Archives! As a spring treat, Special Media staff decided to try out some of these historical recipes. We thought about sticking to the recipes in series from the Still Picture Branch - … Continue reading The Great Archival Cooking Challenge
For National Medal of Honor Day, observed on March 25 every year, the Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Branch of the National Archives wanted to honor Marine Cpl. William Thomas Perkins Jr., the only combat photographer to receive the honor after "gallantly giving his life for his country" as stated in his Medal of Honor … Continue reading Spotlight: The Last Footage Shot by Medal of Honor Recipient Marine Cpl. Perkins
