On January 26, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed a law that established Rocky Mountain National Park. That legislation laid out the coordinates of the park, and set aside the land for the "benefit and enjoyment of the people of the United States." In recognition of the centennial anniversary, the National Archives' Special Media Division has gathered … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Rocky Mountain National Park
For forty-seven days Louis Zamperini drifted idly in the Pacific Ocean. Armed with a few small tins of drinking water, a flare gun, some fishing line, and a couple of Hershey D-Ration candy bars, Zamperini and two other soldiers struggled to stay alive. Their struggle was exacerbated by vicious sharks, blistering heat, treacherous swells, and … Continue reading Louis Zamperini: The Story of a True American Hero
At the beginning of the 20th century, dreams of flying morphed from science fiction to reality. From the Wright Brothers' early expeditions in Kitty Hawk, to the World War I fighter pilots in Europe, the airplane generated excitement around the world. Yet despite intense interest and publicity, the airplane’s practicality was still in doubt. Although … Continue reading Daring Deliveries: The U.S. Post Office and the Birth of Commercial Aviation
Today we’re debuting our new name! From now on, the blog of the National Archives’ Special Media Services Division will be known as The Unwritten Record. We’ll feature the same great content—film, photographs, videos, sound recordings, and other non-textual records from the National Archives’ holdings-- just with a new and improved name! Media Matters was fine, … Continue reading Introducing The Unwritten Record!
In 1939, the Fourth of July coincided with Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium. A day usually reserved for parades and fireworks was transformed into one of the most solemn, heart-wrenching, and inspiring moments in the history of sports. It was here, before 62,000 fans, that Gehrig proclaimed he was the “Luckiest man on the … Continue reading “An Awful Lot to Live For”: Lou Gehrig’s Final Season in the News
This week’s guest post is from Gene Burkett and Jan Hodges, volunteers at NARA in College Park, MD. They are co-leads, along with Warren McKay, on the Record Group 120, World War I Project. They believe that the Project, which has been in progress for more than four years, may wrap up before they retire from … Continue reading World War I Art and Combat Artists
This week I’m highlighting color photographs taken as the Western Allies prepared for the invasion of Normandy (D-Day). The overwhelming majority of D-Day related color still film found in the National Archives document the pre-assault phase and not of the invasion area. Black-and-White photographs and other D-Day related documents from the National Archives can be … Continue reading Images of the Week: D-Day in Color
This week I'm highlighting new digital images transferred from NASA that will soon be available in our research room and eventually uploaded into OPA. The four series, 255-AMP, ASTP, STS, and GRC, cover digital surrogates created from the original still film from the Apollo missions, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, and the Shuttle missions. In addition, … Continue reading Images of the Week: NASA Digital Images
This post was written by Criss Kovac and Harry Snodgrass. Criss is the supervisor of the National Archives Motion Picture Preservation Lab. Harry recently joined the Motion Picture Lab and is working on a project to preserve and digitize World War I and World War II films and photographs. When the U.S. Office of War … Continue reading Restoring The True Glory
Harold Russell is an anomaly in film history. When Russell was cast in the classic film, The Best Years of Our Lives, he had practically no acting experience. Despite being the only person to win two Academy Awards for the same performance, Russell had no desire to be an actor. Moreover, Russell’s rise to stardom came in … Continue reading Diary of a Sergeant
