American Memorial Cemetery, Fort Bonifacio, Philippines

“The United States believes strongly in what you call soft power, the value of democracy, the value of the free economic system, the value of making sure that each citizen is free and free to pursue their own God-given ambitions and to use the talents that they were given by God. And that is what we say to the rest of the world. That is why we participated in establishing a community of democracy within the Western Hemisphere. It’s why we participate in all of these great international organizations.

“There is nothing in American experience or in American political life or in our culture that suggests we want to use hard power. But what we have found over the decades is that unless you do have hard power — and here I think you’re referring to military power — then sometimes you are faced with situations that you can’t deal with.

“I mean, it was not soft power that freed Europe. It was hard power. And what followed immediately after hard power? Did the United States ask for dominion over a single nation in Europe? No. Soft power came in the Marshall Plan. Soft power came with American GIs who put their weapons down once the war was over and helped all those nations rebuild. We did the same thing in Japan.

“So our record of living our values and letting our values be an inspiration to others I think is clear. And I don’t think I have anything to be ashamed of or apologize for with respect to what America has done for the world.

“We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly over the last hundred years… and put wonderful young men and women at risk, many of whom have lost their lives, and we have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in, and otherwise we have returned home… to live our own lives in peace.”

– Secretary of State Colin Powell, at the World Economic Forum, 26 January 2003, responding to an assertion by George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, that the United States ”is in danger of relying too much upon the hard power and not enough upon building trust”.

Hot enough for ya?

“Between 1935 and 1943 the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project printed over two million posters in 35,000 different designs to stir the public’s imagination for education, theater, health, safety, and travel. Due to their fragile nature only two thousand posters have survived. This contemporary design illustrates many of the WPA-era posters, including those of our National Parks.” And so, alas, it’s not a reproduction of an authentic WPA poster, but it did fool me. This brilliant re-creation is by Doug Leen and Brian Maebius.

This card comes from Marsha, who bought this card in Hawaii in January, and mailed it to me from Wisconsin in February.

Want to visit some other exotic places from times past? Check out today’s Postcard Friendship Friday.

Post Office, Algiers

So, naturally, my first postcard sent from Bahrain would feature Algiers, the capital of Algeria, some 2,800 miles away. This somewhat-dated postcard appears to feature what’s probably the main post office in Algiers. Like so many countries, the post office there also seems to control telephone service, as evidenced by the signage / inscription on the building (just under the top row of windows; you can click on the postcard to see a larger image).

The sender, a young Bahraini girl, confirms my impression that this is an older card by stating that Algeria “doesn’t look like this anymore”, implying that she has visited there recently. She’s also somewhat displeased at the lack of variety in Bahraini postage stamps; I can certainly see her point.

The eighth ship to bear the name Enterprise

“Artist’s conception of the 1101-foot long, 252-foot canted deck Attack Carrier, the Navy’s most powerful offensive weapon. Built by the Newport News (Va.) Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, she was christened by Mrs. William B. Franke (wife of the then-Secretary of the Navy. — Ed.) on September 24, 1960. A flight deck, five city blocks long, and over a block wide, makes the ENTERPRISE the largest ship afloat and the first to be driven by atomic power.”

After 49 years, not only is she still afloat, but she’s still the fastest aircraft carrier in the world. I’d say the American people got their money’s worth on this one. Happy anniversary, Enterprise!

For you, the war is over

“On June 4, 1944, a German submarine known as the U-505 was prowling off the coast of West Africa on a hunt for American and Allied ships, when depth charges from the USS Chatelain blasted the dreaded U-boat out of hiding.  It was the end of a violent run for U-505, which had terrorized the Atlantic Ocean as part of a massive U-boat campaign that almost altered the outcome of World War II.  The Museum of Science & Industry invites you to step inside the real U-505 — the only German submarine in the United States and, now, a national memorial to the 55,000 American sailors who gave their lives on the high seas in WW I and WW II.”

That’s a pretty good summary, considering that it had to fit on the back of this postcard.  Here’s the rest of the story:

A Naval Task Force consisting of the aircraft carrier Guadalcanal and five destroyer escorts, including Chatelain, searched the general area off the coast of Africa for two weeks in May and June of 1944, using radio direction finders to try to triangulate on the position of any radio transmitters — that is, any U-boats.  Their mission was to find and capture a U-boat, along with its Enigma codebooks.  By 4 June, they were running low on fuel and heading for Casablanca for more, when Chatelain made sonar contact with U-505 just 800 yards in front of them.

After six minutes of attacks with depth charges from Chatelain and from Guadalcanal aircraft, the sub, taking on water, surfaced 700 yards from Chatelain.  The ship opened fire on the decks with surface guns, and were joined by two other destroyers and two aircraft.  (One German sailor was killed, more were wounded.)  U-505’s commander ordered his crew to abandon ship and, so efficiently did they do this, that they neglected to stop the engines or prepare the ship to be scuttled.

American sailors rescued the Germans, got aboard U-505, killed the engines, and grabbed their codebooks and cypher gear.  Guadalcanal’s chief engineer managed to use U-505’s engines to charge her dead batteries and pump out the water, and the sub was towed to Bermuda.

If word of U-505’s capture had gotten out, the Germans would have known that some of their codes and cyphers had been compromised, and the Navy briefly considered court martialing Guadalcanal’s captain, Daniel Gallery.  However, the capture remained a secret, and all involved were highly decorated.

After the war, U-505 was scheduled to be used for target practice.  However, Captain Gallery’s brother, a Chicago priest, learned of the plan and contacted the Museum, which had always been interested in acquiring a submarine.  The US Government donated it to Chicago in 1954, and the interior was refitted with parts provided by the Germans for free.  U-505 was exhibited outdoors for 50 years and, in 2004, was moved into an interior space in the Museum.  After some repairs, the exhibit was reopened in 2005.

This card came to me from Kristin, who volunteers at the Museum.  She sent it after learning that my last visit to the Museum was in 1988, and wanted to bring me up to date.  Postcards: the next best thing to being there.

American soldiers celebrate Bastille Day, 1918

“American Soldiers marching down the Rue Royal, July 14th, 1918, in the parade celebrating the Independence Day of France. In the background is seen La Madeleine, formerly the temple of glory which Napoleon I built in honor of the ‘Grande Armée’.”  From a painting by Josephe-Félix Bouchor, official painter to the French armies, who both saw and painted World War I.

This card was a gift from Eddy at D’hier à aujourd’hui (From Yesterday to Today), who presents antique picture postcards of Paris along with modern images of the same scenes.

A clarification: Bastille Day (or, as the French call it, the 14th of July), is not exactly “the Independence Day of France”; it simply marks the start of the French Revolution, in 1789.  Granted, there are military parades during the day and fireworks at night, but nobody in France is having people over for a cookout or drinking a toast to the Revolution.  More’s the pity.

I love a woman in uniform.

For Postcard Friendship Friday — and the Friday before we celebrate our Independence Day — I would like to present these reminders that American men have not been the only guardians of our freedom.  The United States Postal Service apparently felt that the theme of women who protect and defend us is worth repeating as well.

The postcard pictured is a Postal Service-issued postcard that reproduces the “Women in Military Service” 32-cent stamp, issued on 18 October 1997, which was also the date of the dedication of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at the gates of Arlington National Cemetery.  A 3-cent stamp with a very similar theme (but which unfortunately omitted the Coast Guard) was issued on 11 September 1952.  The Department of Defense used the latter stamp to impress upon women the option of a military career.

Although the Postal Service has issued other stamps honoring individual women who served or contributed — pioneers in aviation, medicine, and other fields — I think that these stamps say it best.

My favorite woman in uniform (excluding those with whom I served) is without a doubt Rear Admiral Grace Hopper (1906-1992), a pioneer in computing.  Among other achievements, she brought forth the idea that we could program computers using words and syntax that resembled human languages, instead of having to use the ones and zeroes of the machine.  (She’s also credited with the saying that “It’s easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission” which, in my opinion, is how most progress is made.)

Be sure to stop by the other blogs celebrating Postcard Friendship Friday.

Stop, you decadent flappers

Natalia in Saint Petersburg, Russia was kind enough to send (along with several postcards featuring night views of her city) a couple of replicas of Soviet propaganda posters, scaled down to about 5 x 7 inches (12 x 18 centimeters).  The first, from 1929, features a poem entitled “Night Panel” (no, I don’t get it either) and a fine, upstanding young citizen shouting “Stop!” to flappers and other revelers.  My Russian is terrible, but I think that the gist of the poem, which starts with a phrase something like “Here is how things should be”, is that the youth should work and have faith in the government instead of in drink and debauchery.

And speaking of work:

Night-vision goggles not included

This second poster from 1947 reminds the proletariat that, hey, you can work at night, too!  Of course, we’ll have to put you on the waiting list for tractor headlights; you should have them in about two years.

U.S. Post Office and Federal Building, Gainesville, GA

This is the first time I’ve posted a view of my own town; I can’t imagine why that’s so except that I have so many cards from everywhere from which to choose!  Then I realize that a card showing a view that I see almost every day will seem as exotic to one of my postcard friends as their postcards seem to me.

This is a linen postcard, probably from the early to mid-1940s, of what was then the United States Post Office and Federal Building in beautiful downtown Gainesville, Georgia.  It’s still the Federal Building today and is also the Federal Courthouse, but the Postal Service moved out some time ago.  Today, there are four post offices in Gainesville; the main post office was built in the 1970s, and there are two more (and newer) branch offices along with a very new and very large carrier annex.

You’ll note that there’s a sign showing that street in front of the building was US Highway 23; today, it’s a narrow, poorly maintained one-way local street that leads to the downtown square, but back then it was one of the main highways to Atlanta.  Oddly enough, just the other day as I was standing near this spot, a very elderly gentleman asked me for directions to 23 and I had to think for a minute — US 23 in this part of Georgia is usually referred to by its other name of Interstate 985.  It turns out that he didn’t want directions to 23 at all, but to US 129, which is one of the main roads through town — but apparently he first came to know it as US 23, and that’s how he remembered it.  (If you don’t live in the US, you should understand that our numbered highway systems are generally superb, but that the numbers shift from time to time depending on when newer, better roads are built, what roads the federal government has the facilities to maintain, and which politicians can funnel those federal maintenance dollars to their own districts.)

Fast forward to 2009

Here’s a modern view I took recently from the same vantage point.  Kind of makes you wish for the good old days, doesn’t it?  Maybe you can find some at the other blogs celebrating Postcard Friendship Friday.

The Confidence Course

“Scaling new heights at Lackland AFB! Air Force Recruits face long days and demanding physical challenges as they are transformed from civilians into proud members of the United States Air Force! Lackland AFB, located adjacent to San Antonio, Texas, is the world’s largest military training center.”  This is a card that I bought when I went through basic training there myself, long, long ago.  Note the janitor-style uniforms which, thankfully, were phased out in favor of camouflage.  Also note that, instead of boots, we were allowed to wear sneakers on the Confidence Course.  Afterward, the instructors took us all out for ice cream.  No, not really, but I’m sure that any soldiers or Marines looking at this card are making fun of me.  (As a former airman, I am still entitled to make fun of the Navy.  Except for the SEALs.)

But since we’re on the subject of our men and women in uniform, this is an excellent opportunity to tell you about Move America Forward’s second annual “Troop-a-thon” Care Package Drive, an eight-hour event to be hosted live on 25 June 2009.  According to MAF, “The goal of the project is to send care packages to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the 8-hour event that will be broadcast on the Internet, radio and TV, viewers are encouraged to sponsor care packages for the troops as the guests and hosts discuss various topics related to supporting our troops. Care packages will include items that our military personnel have requested, and each comes with a personalized note from the sponsor.”  Last year, they were able to ship 12,000 care packages.

For more information, please visit http://www.troopathon.org.  And tell your friends!

POW & MIA: Never Forgotten

This is an excerpt from “The Battle of Lovell’s Pond”, the first poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow at the age of 13, and published in the Portland Gazette, November 17, 1820:

The warriors that fought for their country, and bled,
Have sunk to their rest; the damp earth is their bed;
No stone tells the place where their ashes repose,
Nor points out the spot from the graves of their foes.

They died in their glory, surrounded by fame,
And Victory’s loud trump their death did proclaim;
They are dead; but they live in each Patriot’s breast,
And their names are engraven on honor’s bright crest.

May our own children understand the depths of such sacrifice today.

Voor het kind (For the Children)

Bob of Holland sent in this illustration of Amsterdam’s Nieuwmarkt (“New Market”).  The building which dominates the scene is De Waag, or weighing house, which was originally a gatehouse in Amsterdam’s city walls, but was converted when the walls were torn down in the 17th century.  Today, De Waag is a restaurant and cafe.

Bob tells me that this postcard, which is unvarnished and dates from 1957, was made for the yearly Kinderpostzegels (Children’s Stamps).  Since 1924, Kinderpostzegels has been an annual campaign in the Netherlands to produce stamps which are sold door-to-door by children themselves; a small surcharge is added to the cost of the stamp, which goes to a fund to benefit the welfare of less fortunate children both in the Netherlands and abroad.

Be sure to check out Bob’s site European Film Star Postcards, “a blog dedicated to the stars of the popular European cinema from 1895 till 1970, and to the fans who collected their postcards.”  Bob’s mini-biographies of the stars appearing on the postcards are superb.

Beef. It's in your mailbox.

This is one of four leather postcards that I picked up on a vacation to New England.  Like the others, this one is addressed to Miss Grace Hoare of Lowell, Massachusetts.  Of the four, this one is the most rigid, especially around the edges — though by comparison with postcards made from the card stock of today, it is not rigid at all.  It was probably manufactured and mailed in 1907.

Made by Hy-Sil. Mfg. Co. Boston

This card is the only one of the four that bears a mark from the manufacturer; it was made by the Hy-Sil Manufacturing Company of Boston, which was founded in 1903 by Eli Hyman and Morris Silverman and is still in business today.

Springtime in Washington, D.C.

“Shown are, The Washington Monument, The White House, The Jefferson Memorial.”  The description on this postcard, published by Capsco, Inc. of Washington DC, might be no-frills, but it really is a nice montage.  Probably published between 1963-1970. 

Jefferson Memorial

“The blossoming of the Japanese Cherry Trees gives the Thomas Jefferson Memorial its most beautiful setting. This work of John Russell Pope was dedicated April 13, 1943 on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Jefferson. South side of the Tidal Basin.  This card was published by Silberne Souvenir Sales, Inc., also of Washington DC and probably around the same time.

Lastly, a card sent to Great-Grandma Lottie:

Cherry Blossom Time: Thomas Jefferson Memorial

“The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is located on the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. It is construted of Danby Vermont marble for the exterior and Georgia white marble for its interior. This Historic Shrine with its setting of Cherry Blossoms is one of the most beautiful sights in Springtime, and is visited by thousands each year.”

“Glenn” sent this card from Washington DC on 26 September 1965, using a 3-cent postage stamp from 1948.  Remember how there used to be decades between postal rate increases, and now they occur almost annually?  Glenn writes: “Hi everyone. Went in to Pa. for brother’s funeral. All O.K. Got your card and letter. Will write later on. Kind of (illegible) up yet. Hard on the nerves. Write too.”

A note from Glenn

This is another Capsco card, but the postal code in the notation “Washington 4, D.C.” places the manufacture prior to 1963.  The “Youth Month 1948″ stamp is cancelled with the notation “Ability Counts”, a sentiment that Jefferson probably would have agreed with, but it seems to me that it’s an American value that has fallen by the wayside.

Unknown soldiers, and friend

For this week’s sortie into Postcard Friendship Friday, let us consider this photograph of friends.  Two of them are clearly soldiers, and the notation “1918″ puts them at the end of World War I.  But whence?

I puzzled over the origin of this card for quite a while.  First there was some ambiguity as to the handwriting on the back — the only clue whatsoever on this real photo postcard.  Tig lieu, perhaps?  Researching several permutations finally yielded success after I decided that the word was “Jiglau”.

It turns out that “Jiglau” is a variation on the spelling of Iglau, which is the German name for Jihlava, a city in the Vysočina Region of what is now the Czech Republic.  Its predecessor, Czechoslovakia or the Czechoslovak Republic, was created on October 28, 1918.  Previously, it had been part of Austria-Hungary.

Let us assume that two of these young men are newly minted Czech soldiers, and that the three of them are posing to celebrate the end of hostilities and the birth of a nation.

Be sure to check out the other blogs celebrating Postcard Friendship Friday.

Anıtkabir, tomb of Atatürk, Ankara, Turkey

Anıtkabir (in Turkish it literally means “memorial tomb”) is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. Atatürk is still venerated there, much in the same way that George Washington was idolized during the first hundred years in the United States, almost as a god among men. I have stood on these steps.

The very cool thing about this card is that it came inside a package from Leslie, whom I met on Postcrossing, and her husband Hilmi.  I had casually mentioned that I had brought back from Turkey a Beşiktaş football club flag, but that I had lost it during Hurricane Andrew.  Hilmi, who is himself a fan of Beşiktaş, made it his personal mission to find me a replacement flag.

Although they did not find a new Beşiktaş flag, they came through with some Turkish swag for me that was even better!

Daniel and Mikey are very impressed.

Two of the neighbor boys were present when the mailman delivered the package and, being originally from Mexico and rabid soccer fans themselves, they were very impressed by the contents.  In addition to the Turkish flag (which will go in the parlor) and a very nifty week-by-week calendar from the Turkish General Staff (whom I would run into from time to time, back in the day), there is an excellent Beşiktaş scarf, which will find a home on the wall in my office.

Leslie writes: “Sürpriz! Umarim bu küçuk paket seni mutlu edecek (I hope this little package makes you happy).”  Bu beni çok mutlu yaptı. Size çok teşekkür ederim!

Liberty Memorial Building, Bismarck, North Dakota

Postcard Friendship Friday once again brings us a card exchanged by postcard friends from long ago.  This card was sent to Kay Anthony on 7 October 1946 from Beason, Illinois, from her postcard pal Mrs. Logan Edwards.  Mrs. Edwards writes:

“This is a card I got in North Dakota as we traveled to the West Coast by train. We were gone right at five weeks and I will never forget the lovely scenery. We went as far north as Vancouver B.C. and as far south as San Diego, Cal. Our relatives out west showed us such as nice time.”

A postcard for Kay Anthony

This is a Curteich “C. T. American Art” postcard, number 103046-N, and it’s a linen postcard, though the card stock is heavier than typical of these types of cards.  The serial number indicates that it’s a reprint of an original run, and records weren’t kept of those types of runs; I can tell, however, that the original run was made in 1925.

The history of the building itself shows that, the more things change, the more things stay the same.  In 1919, the North Dakota Legislature granted an appropriation of $200,000 (adjusted for inflation, that’s about $2.44 million) to construct a building as a memorial to those who fell during the Great War (that is, World War I).  Consequently, some committee sat around for several months trying to decide what sort of design they wanted and, time being money, they decided to hurry up and get the basement poured while they finally got around to telling the architect how it should look.  Construction of the basement alone wound up using most of the appropriation, and so an additional appropriation of $150,000 was requested — in other words, the building went over budget by about 75%.  But why should the government care?  Hey, it wasn’t their money.

Combination courthouse / mini-golf course

“Several years were required in completing this splendid building. Located on Washington Square. Contains many fine paintings. The Municipal Courts Building is directly west of City Hall.”  I’m thinking that some artistic license was taken with regards to the coloring of the landscaping.

This week’s entry for Postcard Friendship Friday the 13th is addressed to Miss Evelyn Chester, a neighbor of Kay Anthony.  From Granite City, Illinois on May 26, 1945, “Nellie” writes: “Hi — Hold everything in the road until I come back.”  Wait — you want me to do what now?

Whoa, Nellie!

Don’t forget to check out what the other PFF bloggers have on display this week. Once you’re done, get some free pictures to spice up your blog.

Needs just a little more gold inlay

Oh, my, how opulent.  I’m sure that the fine people of Depression-era Pennsylvania didn’t mind paying for this at all.  Well, on the plus side, since the room was destined to be filled with politicians, we can be sure that this project was “shovel-ready”.

This is a Curteich “C. T. Art-Colortone” linen postcard, number 3A-H911, manufactured in 1933, and is postally unused.  It’s in pristine condition, thanks to the care of Kay Anthony.

Cows. Is there anything they can't do?

This postcard is made of actual leather, which was apparently something of a novelty back in the day.  It’s still possible to find early postcards made out of things like wood and aluminum.

Pictured is the conference building in the Portsmouth Navy Yard where the Treaty of Portsmouth was signed on September 5, 1905, bringing an end to the Russo-Japanese War.

Mailed from Portsmouth, NH, July 20, 1907

This is one of four leather postcards that I own that were addressed to Miss Grace Hoare of Lowell, Massachusetts, and which I picked up during a vacation in New England.  It is postmarked July 20, 1907, but was apparently manufactured prior to March of 1907, when postcards with divided backs became legal in the United States.