Category Archives: Vignette

Vignette: The 70th Anniversary of VE Day

Seventy years ago today the most costly war in human history came to an end in Europe. Every year since 1945, people the world over have celebrated the 8th of May—Victory in Europe Day—and have honoured the ones who lived through … Continue reading

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Vignette: Pearl Harbor Day

“A DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY.” Today, Sunday 7 December 2014 is Pearl Harbor Day—a time to remember those who died exactly seventy-three years ago and to remember the dramatic event that triggered the entry of the United States into … Continue reading

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Vignette: US troops land in Iceland

Today is the anniversary of the arrival of a brigade of US marines in Iceland: 8 July 1941. The American task force was assembled in Charleston, South Carolina, and sailed for Newfoundland and then on to Iceland. The Icelanders welcomed the US … Continue reading

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Vignette: D-Day—seventy years after

Today is the seventieth anniversary of D-Day, of the 6 June 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy. ‘D-Day’—which is military slang for the starting day of any operation—has come to mean the D-Day, the greatest amphibious invasion in history. It will … Continue reading

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Vignette: Film actress Carole Lombard dies in plane crash

Carole Lombard died, this week in the war on 16 January 1942. She had been helping the US war effort by promoting the sale of war bonds in Indiana, where she boarded a regular scheduled flight home to California. The … Continue reading

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Vignette: Bulldog mascots of the US Marine Corps

Marine Corps mascot Pfc Chesty XIV nuzzles against outgoing Marine Corps mascot Sgt Chesty XIII. English bulldogs have been mascots with the Marine Corps since the 1950s. The name ‘Chesty’ is in honour of General Lewis ‘Chesty’ Puller.

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Vignette: Battle of the Atlantic

These sad and dramatic pictures are of the cargo ship SS Geraldine Mary that was torpedoed by a U-boat in the North Atlantic, 2 August 1940. The pictures were taken from a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF 10 Squadron) Sunderland flying … Continue reading

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Vignette: Les amants de Carcassonne—The Lovers of Carcassonne

If your taste in poetry is inclined towards the pure and noble, but at the same time, tragic, you need look no further than France’s Joë Bousquet (1897–1950). He was born in Narbonne, in the land of the Cathars and … Continue reading

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Vignette: Traitor pigeons of World War II, and the story of Charlie Peanuts

Treason is no stranger, in time of war. England had her Lord Haw-Haw—William Joyce. The Norwegians had their Quisling. Yet treachery is not restricted to human form. A plethora of Dickin Medals—Victoria Crosses of the military animal world—were awarded to … Continue reading

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Vignette: Nazis and the Occult

Médée: La Toison D’Or—Medea: The Golden Fleece by Ersel and Renot is an illustrated story that would delight anyone interested in Nazis and the occult, World War II, or the bandes dessinée genre, in general. Medea (Médée in French) of … Continue reading

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