Fast forward ten years from the front page of the Lorain Journal that I posted yesterday, and you have the newspaper page shown above, from January 24, 1944 – eighty years ago today. I've posted page 2 as well.
World War II and the daily progress of the Allies against the enemy were still grabbing most of the headlines. It's hard to imagine watching a war play out every day in the pages of a newspaper, along with radio broadcasts and the occasional newsreel at the movies.
But as you can see, the War, and stories related to it, dominated the front page as well as page 2. One of the most interesting stories is the account written by war correspondent Lowell Bennett, about being shot down in a night raid over Berlin and taken prisoner. It formed the basis of his book Parachute to Berlin. It's pretty exciting and well-written, especially the details of his jump from the plane and his subsequent rescue, before being turned over to authorities as a prisoner.
The continuation of Lowell Bennett's story from page 1 is on page 3 below.
As usual, there are several small items from other Ohio cities of a tragic nature: children dying in a home fire, a baby poisoned after ingesting medicine tablets resembling candy. There's also a reminder of African Americans facing continued discrimination during the War, with an item about six men from Lorain being accepted in the January colored quota.
Good stuff as always Dan, but I think I'll skip the beechwood creosote to cure my bronchitis. Isn't that what you're supposed to clean out of your chimney? Todd
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dan. That Lowell Bennett story is remarkable. Hs 1945 book "Parachute to Berlin," was reissued last year and remains in print. There even is an audiobook.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/Parachute-Berlin-Lowell-Bennett/dp/1636243169