D-Day Remembered

June 6 marks the 67^th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Normandy.  More than 130,000 American, English and Canadian troops stormed the Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword Beaches on that day. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum has a compelling collection of digitized primary documents related to the invasion. Among those papers you’ll find General Eisenhower’s “Orders of the Day” for June 6, 1944 – the statement he issued to members of the expeditionary force as D-Day commenced. Also, you’ll find a digitized copy of a scrawled press release to be used, if necessary, titled “In Case of Failure Message.”

 The photo above shows American soldiers on Omaha Beach recovering the dead after the D Day invasion of France. It comes from the Library of Congress.

RIP Frank Buckles

Today's New York Times features the obituary for 110-year-old Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last surviving World War I Infantryman. A Missouri native, Buckles lied to a military recruiter about his age and enlisted in the Army in 1914. He was sent to France, where he guarded German soldiers during the occupation. The Library of Congress's Veterans History Project , features oral history interviews conducted with Frank. Those interviews are provided in both audio and video format and transcriptions are also available. Additionally, you'll find some photographs of the veteran, as well as biographical information. The picture at left comes from the Library of Congress and shows Frank as a young enlistee. The picture at right comes from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

Back at the reference desk and on the hunt for primary sources

After a wonderful summer on Cape Cod, I’ve returned to the reference desk at Stonehill College. I’m in the process of weeding through the lists of primary source sites I’ve collected over the summer and will be adding new bookmarks to my delicious site as well as featuring some of those collections on my Primarily History blog. Given that today is the 65th anniversary of VJ day, I’ll direct you to Japan Capitulates – a digital collection from the Naval History and Heritage Command. The site provides access to images and other material from the U.S. Department of the Navy's Naval Historical Center related to Japan's surrender to the Allies in World War II. The photo above  - which shows Japanese representatives on board USS Missouri during the surrender ceremonies, 2 September 1945 - is part of that collection.