Tag: Franklin D. Roosevelt

History Lessons

Flags…before and after Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor under attack. (Library of Congress)

Seventy-five years ago, on December 7, 1941, Imperial Japan’s air force attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, triggering the entry of the United States into World War II. The early morning attack occurred on a Sunday, as most Americans, unaware of what was happening several time zones away, opened their morning newspapers, where they read articles… continue

History Lessons

FDR said ‘flag’ ten times on 9/11

Front page of Indiana newspaper after FDR's address

Americans will soon mark the 15th anniversary of the 9/11/2001 attacks on the U.S. That night, backed by an American flag, President George W. Bush addressed the nation from the White House. Sixty years earlier, Americans listened to a similar speech from the White House, this time by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. During his 9/11/1941… continue

History Lessons

Waving ‘A Grand Old Rag’

By James Breig Every Fourth of July, Turner Classic Movies broadcasts “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” the 1942 movie about the life of singer-songwriter-playwright-dancer George M. Cohan. It does so because Cohan, played by James Cagney, penned not only the title tune but also “It’s a Grand Old Flag” and other patriotic anthems. Cohan was renowned for… continue