Articles

According to Chase’s Calendar of Events, the Tuskegee Airmen unit was activated on March 22nd in 1941. Earlier in January the War Department had announced the creation of the 99th Pursuit Squadron which would become America’s first Africa-American aviator unit. These men received their training in Alabama at Tuskegee Institute, the first institution of higher learning for Blacks and the nearby U.S. Army airfield. In March, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the site and asked to take a ride with one of the Tuskegee pilots. Charles A. Anderson, the Chief Civilian Flight Instructor who would later become known as “The […]

One of my favorite new books is, The Girls of Atomic City, The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan. I had heard about it from several people and finally got a copy when I was visiting the Bradbury Science Museum at Los Alamos, New Mexico. While this book was purchased far from its East Tennessee setting, its main characters played a prominent role in the work and activities of the Los Alamos National Lab even though they were not aware of their connection. Although my hometown is only thirty miles from the […]

Do you remember the first time you heard that ominous warning? It was probably in an English class when you were studying Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. I did not remember the behind-the-scenes details of that omen even though I knew the literary significance of that date: Julius Caesar was murdered on March 15 by members of the Senate. Everything was fine until Caesar decided to add ten more days to the 355 day traditional Roman calendar and proclaimed himself dictator for life. That change was just too much! Et tu, Brute? Before Caesar made his fateful decisions, the Romans used […]

When I was searching for inspirational quotes for Women’s History Month, my research lead me to Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby. Yet, I neither recognized her name nor understood the significance of her quote. But I sensed it was important because it was etched on a massive granite wall. Have you heard of Colonel Hobby? In 1941, she was asked to come to DC to direct a women’s initiative in support of the Army. Due to her family responsibilities, she initially refused but reconsidered after our country’s declaration of war. Her husband, former Texas Governor William Hobby encouraged her to take […]