As the summer winds down and we brace ourselves for a transition to cooler (albeit still humid) weather, we would like to say goodbye and good riddance to a constant presence in most outdoor summer plans: the mosquito. August 20th is designated as World Mosquito Day, which commemorates the discovery that mosquitoes were the main culprits of transmitting malaria to humans. What an exciting event to celebrate!
June 22, 2024, will mark the 80th anniversary of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. This landmark legislation is most commonly known as the GI Bill of Rights, as it offered Federal aid to help veterans adjust to civilian life in the areas of hospitalization, purchase of homes, businesses, and especially, education. The bill unanimously passed both chambers of Congress in the spring of 1944 and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law on June 22, 1944, just over two weeks after the Allied invasion of Normandy.
D-Day and the Combat CameramanThis week marks the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day Operation. Starting on June 6, 1944, about 175,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, supported by 5,000 naval craft and more than 11,500 aircraft. By June 30, over 850,000 men, 148,000 vehicles, and 570,000 tons of supplies had landed … Continue reading How To Locate D-Day Footage in NARA’s Moving Image Holdings
Camera slate taken April 13, 1968 during Operation No Name II. Courtesy of Sergeant Dennis Fisher. As a photographer, you know what it takes to make a good picture but doing it under combat conditions challenges everything you have ever learned. Sergeant Dennis Fisher In April, the Still Picture Branch was fortunate enough to welcome … Continue reading Sergeant Dennis Fisher and Marine Corps Combat Photography in Vietnam
Still from US ARMY ARTISTS, 111-LC-55581 ABOUT THE FILM Working in the Special Media Division at the National Archives, we are used to seeing images of war captured by moving images and still photos. However, the US military also uses more traditional forms of artwork to document their operations and daily lives. All military branches … Continue reading The Art of War
Local Identifier: 342-B-ND-018A-167731USAF; Original Caption: MRBM Field Launch Site, San Cristobal #1, October 14 1962. (This photo provided the first photographic evidence of Soviet offensive missile deployment in Cuba.) The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in October 1962. The international crisis escalated when American missiles were … Continue reading 60th Anniversary: The Cuban Missile Crisis
Mrs. Laura B. Prisk, who is the originator of the Flag Day idea. Local ID: 165-WW-429P-1247, National Archives Identifier: 45532768. This post was created in collaboration with Heather Sulier, Archives Technician in the Still Picture Branch. Flag Day celebrates the adoption of the official flag of the United States on June 14. “The Flag Act … Continue reading Celebrating Flag Day
It’s been a while since my last update on the status of the Subject Finding Aid Project. An update for Batches 6 and 7 was promised as “on the horizon” in my previous blog, and it’s finally time to deliver the goods. In Batches 6 and 7, we’ve been able to add 4,356 new descriptions … Continue reading Subject Finding Aid Project (Update 3)
This post is by Alexandra Geitz, Supervisory Archivist of the Moving Image and Sound Branch. In honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, this post will highlight just a few of the moving image and sound records in our holdings that depict the site over the … Continue reading 100th Anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moving Image Records
In 1941 the United States had begun to prepare for the possibility of war and consequently, millions of jobs were being created. However, racial discrimination kept African Americans and other minorities from obtaining these defense industry jobs. In response to pressure from A. Philip Randolph, who had been organizing a march on Washington, and other … Continue reading Montford Point Marines
