Charles McCain Archives - Page 2 of 80

SIGNAL Nazi Germany’s Life Magazine

Nazis seized Seize Greece then Endeavor to Look Helpful

1 August 1943. A helpful German soldier showing a copy of Signal in Greek to an Orthodox resident of the ancient monastic state of Mount Athos. (photo courtesy of Andrew Zoller).

Many organizations in the Third Reich produced publications of every sort. Through late 1944 the Kriegsmarine produced its own highly sophisticated five color magazine. But the best known was the Life Magazine knockoff, Signal which was produced by the Ministry of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment. This ministry was run by the evil, criminal, and despicable toad, Joseph Goebbels.

Union General U.S. Grant on the cover of a Signal Magazine in Dutch, 1944

All propaganda publications in the Third Reich were written by professional journalists and illustrated by professional artists and photographers. Signal was quite a sophisticated publication and presented German soldiers as being tough against their military opponents but gentle and fun with civilians. Lots of photos show German soldiers playing with children who are usually blonde. This type of propaganda tried to counter the reality of the bloody, evil, and murderous nature of the Third Reich.

The famous US publication Life Magazine, whose format was copied by Signal, was printed on glossy paper. The Germans didn’t have the capacity to produce large amounts of glossy paper for magazines so Signal was printed on newsprint paper. I have about a dozen different copies I bought over the years mainly as curiosities. However, a number of people collect them and some have amassed every single issue published.

Signal was published from April 1940 through May of 1945. This was a major propaganda effort by the Nazis and the scope of it is revealed in these statistics from the website of Signal researcher and scholar, Andrew Zoller.

Signal was published monthly in 30 languages at its peak, including English.

During the barbarous reign of the Nazi empire, approximately 32,000 news vendors in 20,000 towns and cities and sold Signal.

Peak circulation of 2,426,000 copies came in May 1943.

160,000,000 copies were printed during the years of the magazine’s existence (estimated).

Signal Magazine in French 1940 showing German soldiers walking on the beaches of Dunkirk from which the British Expeditionary Force was rescued and taken off at significant loss by the Royal Navy. (Heroic small boats played a role as well but 80% of the troop lift was done by the RN)

a cover which depicts the takeover of all Europe by the Soviet Union, a fear the Germans constantly reminded Europeans about.

Signal Magazine in Russian. I presume this cover shows a Russian soldier in the service of the German Armed forces. Estimates vary of the number of Soviet citizens who fought for the Germans. The low estimate is approximately one million with other estimates going as high as three million. The Ukraine was an especially fertile recruiting ground for the German Army and the SS.

Signal Magazine in French

Those ever friendly U-Boat Men–except when attacking Allied shipping— on cover Signal Magazine from 1943. (collection of author Charles McCain)

Arleigh Burke Says US Destroyers Coming Through 31 Knots

Message from Captain Arleigh Burke of DESron 23

Stand Aside! 31 Knot Burke Coming Through!

PACIFIC OCEAN (May 7, 2017) Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson (DDG 102) steams along San Clemente Island during a Mark 45 5-inch gunfire exercise while conducting a group sail training unit exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by MC Spec 2nd Class Ignacio D. Perez)

How the Arleigh Burke class destroyers got their name

Arleigh Burke class destroyers are named in honor of Admiral Arleigh “31 knot” Burke. In 1991 with Admiral Burke himself present at age 90, the USS Arleigh Burke, the first ship of the class, was launched.

Burke earned his nickname, given by Admiral William F. Halsey, from the following radio message broadcast to US troop transports who were in danger of being intercepted by Japanese warships in the New Guinea campaign of World War Two.

“Stand aside! Stand aside! I’m coming through at 31 knots,”

radioed then Captain Burke to the darkened American troop transports as his squadron, named Little Beavers for a comic strip character, steamed up the slot at boiler bursting speed to attack a Japanese task force off Bougainville on the night of Nov. 1, 1943.

In a widely heralded action, the squadron covered the landing of thousands of American troops while attacking enemy vessels and aircraft. When the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay ended the next day, the Japanese had taken a terrific beating. A cruiser and four destroyers lay on the bottom, and two cruisers and a pair of destroyers had limped away heavily damaged.

Later that month, the squadron engaged another Japanese task force off Cape St. George, New Ireland, and sank three destroyers without taking a hit. In 22 engagements from November 1943 to February 1944, the Navy said, Captain Burke’s squadron was credited with sinking one cruiser, nine destroyers, one submarine, and nine smaller ships, as well as downing approximately 30 aircraft.

Burke became famous for his daring exploits as Commander of Destroyer Squadron 23 in the Pacific in 1943 and 1944. After the war, he went all the way up the ladder. In 1955 he was named Chief of Naval Operations by President Eisenhower.”

[lines in quotes from Burke’s obituary in the New York Times in 1996]

The post has a tenure of two years and he served six years for a total of 3 terms. President Kennedy asked him to serve a 4th term as CNO but he felt he should retire to make way for others.

BLACK SEA (May 14, 2017) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) and the Bulgarian navy frigate Drazki 41 maneuver during a passing exercise. (U.S. Navy Photo by MC Spec 1st Class Sean Spratt)

No doubt Admiral Burke would raise an eyebrow at this

REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE (May 16, 2017) The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Sazanami (DD 113), left, and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) are moored together at the International Maritime Defense Exhibition 2017 (IMDEX-17). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Byron C. Linder)

Admiral Mitscher and his chief of staff Arleigh Burke arrive on board Enterprise after flagship Bunker Hill was badly damaged from two kamikaze attacks. The attacks set the ship’s island afire and killed or wounded a number of Mitscher’s senior staff. Among the dead was Dr. Ray Hege, the physician Admiral Nimitz had assigned to watch over the frail health of Admiral Mitscher. (US Navy photo & caption)

A request for a favor from Charles McCain:

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“I am tired and sick of war Its glory is all moonshine”

“war is hell”

Union army General William Tecumseh Sherman

“I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.”

www.brainyquote.com/william_tecumseh_sherman

” Private Roy Humphrey is being given blood plasma by Pfc. Harvey White, after he was wounded by shrapnel, on 9 August 1943 in Sicily.” (photo courtesy of USNA)

Transfer of wounded from USS BUNKER HILL to USS WILKES BARRE, who were injured during a fire aboard carrier following Jap suicide dive bombing attack off Okinawa. May 11, 1945. ( Photo courtesy of USNA)

In an underground surgery room, behind the front lines on Bougainville, an American Army doctor operates on a U.S. soldier wounded by a Japanese sniper.” December 13, 1943. (photo USNA)

“It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood , for vengeance, for desolation.”

Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman

Crewmen lifting wounded gunner Kenneth Bratton out of turret of TBF on the USS SARATOGA after raid on Rabaul.” Lt. Wayne Miller, November 1943. (photo USNA)

The crew of the USS SOUTH DAKOTA stands with bowed heads, while Chaplain N. D. Lindner reads the benediction held in honor of fellow shipmates killed in the air action off Guam on June 19, 1944.” July 1, 1944. (Photo US National Archives)

“All Babies Look Like Me”

Churchill on babies

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at 10 Downing Street, London, in 1940.

(photograph by Cecil Beaton, courtesy of the Imperial War Museum via the BBC)

I often say to people that all babies look like Winston Churchill. Naturally, I should have known the great man beat me to this conclusion decades ago.

Churchill was taking a walk with an infant grandson (presumably accompanied by a nanny who was holding the infant). A friend stopped Churchill and remarked how much alike Churchill and the baby appeared. To which the great man responded:

“All babies look like me. But then, I look like all babies.”

Churchill said so many memorable things that even things he never said which sound like him are attributed. Nonetheless, if you ever find yourself in a position where you are called upon to say a few words and all you can think of is a serious quote you once heard which you can elaborate on then you are usually on safe ground attributing that quote to Churchill, Shakespeare, of the Bible.

While Churchill uttered many quips, his magnificent speeches which inspired his countrymen and the world to resist Hitler were meticulously dictated by him to one of the secretaries on duty around the clock. He honed these speeches until they gleamed like a diamond. Most of them took him many, many hours.

Churchill also practiced these speeches before he gave them, putting in the dramatic pauses. He was not only a great speech writer but a great speaker and he wrote his speeches using techniques of classical rhetoric which used to mean elegant and well-constructed speech instead of hot air.

While a popular myth, no actors ever gave Churchill’s speeches on the BBC after he gave them in Parliament which didn’t allow radio coverage. He broadcast all of them himself. After retiring from Parliament, he recorded his most famous speeches for several record companies.

source: https://www.nationalchurchillmuseum.org/wit-wisdom-quotes.html