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A November stroll thru time – 1765… 1815… 1865… 1915… 1945…
November 5, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What news was reported in the month of November – 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 years ago? Such a walk back through time via the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following links will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the stroll.
A ghost robs a bank (revisited)…
October 29, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
And just in time for Halloween, a report from “The Observer” of London, January 1, 1797 (original post, 2010):
The Last Surviving Veterans Who Served at Pearl Harbor…
October 22, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Collecting World War II era newspapers covering significant events continues to be popular among collectors, even though the number of WWII veterans continues to decline. Authentic issues of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reporting the Pearl Harbor tragedy certainly stand above them all. It is with this in mind we are pleased to post the following article compliments of Francisco Mesa.
The Last Surviving Veterans Who Served at Pearl Harbor
As the years roll by, the list of surviving US veterans of WWII who served at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese Navy attacked the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet inevitably becomes shorter. And with the Pearl Harbor survivors well past their late 80s and some passing even the ripe-old century mark, their numbers are dwindling rapidly all over the US. Last year, just about 2,000 survivors were thought to be around, still.
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
On December 7, 2014, the US President Barrack Obama designated December 7 as the National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Four veterans of the remaining 9 USS Arizona survivors gathered at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center on December 7, 2014, for a meeting of USS Arizona survivors. The veterans were greeted by music and military salutes from the US Navy Band. Later, they viewed a live feed of an underwater dive beside USS Arizona’s sunken hull that still holds over 900 bodies. For the veterans, each return to Pearl Harbor brings back intense and, sometimes, painful memories.
USS Arizona Reunion Association’s Last Gathering at Hawaii
Although it was the last formal survivor gathering of the erstwhile USS Arizona Reunion Association at Hawaii, the veterans said they still intend to get together—if not in Hawaii, somewhere in the US. Louis Conter, 93, felt he still had some time, and he’d come back to the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center regardless of who else makes it.
Donald Stratton, USS Arizona Survivor
Donald Stratton, 92, of Colorado is another USS Arizona survivor. Don Stratton had been manning the Anti-Aircraft gun batteries. He remained at his battle station on the ship’s port side until the last possible moment. He endured 65 percent burns and a one-year hospitalization. Stratton was medically discharged from the US Navy but re-enlisted a year later. He said that the good Lord saved a precious few from the USS Arizona.
John Anderson, USS Arizona Survivor
John Anderson, 97, was ordered off the USS Arizona, but he wasn’t willing to leave behind his twin brother, Delbert. Although Anderson was forced into a boat and packed off to the safer Ford Island, he returned in an empty boat and rescued three shipmates. Sadly, he didn’t find his brother. Anderson recalled that he had just attended church services that day and had been heading to breakfast when someone warned that the Japanese planes were coming.
Anderson Recalls the Harrowing Experience
Anderson remembers lying in a bomb-blast crater on Ford Island after the surprise attack. He had picked up a rifle and two bandoliers of ammunition and started firing at Japanese aircraft. Anderson had hunkered there through that night with another sailor. In the morning, a passing Marine patrol informed him that survivors of the USS Arizona had to gather at the dock nearby to facilitate a head count. Anderson remembers everyone he saw having rags around their heads. He clearly recalls bandages covered their arms and their skin had been scorched, and their hair had been burned off.
Lauren Bruner, USS Arizona Survivor
Lauren Bruner, 94, had been alongside Don Stratton manning his battle station. There were four others as well. Bruner had escaped from the fiery, sinking battleship by shimmying across a rope that dangled 60 feet above Pearl Harbor’s waters. Bruner had been standing just 70 feet from the spot the torpedo bomb had exploded at the USS Arizona’s forward magazine. He suffered almost 75 percent burns. But that didn’t deter him. Bruner and his comrades were intent on fighting back. There was only one thing that hampered them … they just had to survive the next few moments. So, after catching the attention of one sailor aboard the warship moored alongside their own, a rope stretching almost 100 feet was thrown across.
The Sailors’ Great Escape from the Burning USS Arizona
All the 6 men made the painful—all of them had suffered serious burns—hand-over-hand escape. They had dangled 60 feet in the air as huge flames rising from the oily harbor had burned their skin even more. Bruner had been the second last to leave USS Arizona. Alvin Dvorak, the last one to escape over the rope, had been the one that caught the attention of the sailor on the USS Vestal. Unfortunately, Dvorak succumbed after spending 17 days in the hospital. He had suffered 84 percent burns. Lauren Bruner considers Alvin Dvorak to be the true hero of their great escape. Bruner spent the next seven months in the hospital and returned to the Pacific theater.
Conclusion
Although the survivors of Pearl Harbor are in their early or mid 90s, they can recall the Japanese sneak attack vividly. Many of the survivors fondly hope to live long enough to attend the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor strike in Hawaii on December 7, 2016.
If you are ever visit Hawaii, there are several Pearl Harbor tours that range from just a couple hours to a full day. There are still droplets of oil coming out of the sunken battleship USS Arizona. Also, there are hundreds of people still entombed within the sunken battleship. It is said that the droplets of oil represent the crying of the fallen men and women. And when the droplets of oil stop, the crying will stop.
© Francisco Meza
Noteworthy newspapers – one person’s view (part I)…
October 15, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
At Rare Newspapers, the most difficult to answer yet common question our staff is frequently challenged to answer is, “Do you having anything new to offer that’s interesting?” While some newspapers would certainly rise to the top of the heap and make the answer a no-brainer (Lincoln assassination, Declaration of Independence, an Oxford Gazette, a great Stock Market crash report, etc.), these issues are few and far between – and do not come along very often. What about the periods when no “best of the best” has come our way? Selecting great issues is often quite subjective – and ends up being heavily 
influenced by one’s own interests and knowledge base. This truth makes answering this question nearly impossible. However, just for fun, from time to time we’ll ask the Rare & Early Newspapers’ staff to take turns looking at the issues listed month-to-date to select their choice for the most interesting new item.
I’ll get things started by taking a look at September (to-date), 2015. In my opinion, there are several good issues to choose from: The New York Yankees acquire Joe DiMaggio, the very 1st King Kong advertisement, the announcing of the creation of a Jewish homeland, the execution of the Rosenbergs, and the death of William Randolph Hurst – to name a few. However, as a graduate of Penn State University, my selection of the month is an issue announcing Joe Paterno becoming a starter at Brown University. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I’m confident my selection may not be the same as yours. You can weigh in on your own thoughts by looking at the first page of our Recent Listings. Enjoy.
Next stop: October, 2015.
An October stroll thru time… 1765… 1815… 1865… 1915… 1945…
October 1, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What news was reported in the month of October – 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 years ago? Such a walk back through time via the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following links will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the stroll.
Old Newspapers… New Value…
September 10, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · 6 Comments
We just became aware of a post featured on The Atlantic in regards to a large collection of newspapers from New Orleans that is quite interesting. Please enjoy:
A September stroll thru time… 1815… 1865… 1915… 1945…
September 1, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
it was first reported.” The following links will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the stroll.
They put it in print… the Stamp Act…
August 27, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Some of the most noteworthy events in history have humble beginnings. Such is the case with the announcing of the passage of The Stamp Act in The Gentleman’s Magazine, March, 1765. Under the Historical Chronicle section is the rather inconspicuous note, “Lord Mansfield, as speaker, and the Earls Gower and Marchmont, by virtue of a commission from his majesty, gave the royal assent to the following bills: …for laying a stamp duty in the British colonies in America.” While this official notification of the Stamp Act most likely flew under the radar of most readers of the day, there is no doubt regarding its significance. I wonder which one-liners which go unnoticed today will prove similar ten years from now?
The aftermath of the Civil War… August, 1865
August 6, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What news was reported in August, 1865 – approximately 150 years ago? The horrors of the Civil War were now in the past, but the emotions and sorrow of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln were still fresh. Where would the nation go from here? How would we move forward? Was unity possible?August, 1865
They put it in print… Zenger’s newspaper ordered to be burned…
July 20, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
A sure-fire way to get yourself in trouble–at least in early 18th century America–would be to criticize the governor. John Peter Zenger, publisher of “The New York Weekly Journal“, had a problem with a decision made by of the colonial governor, William Cosby, and expressed his frustration in his newspaper. On November 17, 1734, On Cosby’s orders, the sheriff arrested Zenger. After a grand jury refused to indict him, the attorney general Richard Bradley charged him with libel in August of 1735. Thus began his imprisonment and a trial that would lead to Zenger’s acquittal and would more importantly create the foundation for the freedom of the press we enjoy today.
The “Encyclopedia of Censorship” reports that: “…In October 1734 a committee was appointed to investigate Zenger’s newspaper and to look into the charges of seditious libel that had been alleged against it. The committee found numbers 7, 47, 48, and 49, which contained a reprinted article on the liberty of the press, to be libelous as charged and ordered them to be burned. Zenger was arrested and jailed.”
See the link below which shows the entirely of issue number 47, dated Sept. 23, 1734. You can read the continued article which got Zenger thrown into jail, but ultimately won not only his own freedom but a significant freedom for newspaper publishers everywhere:
The New-York Weekly Journal, September 23, 1734