#general mitchell

Synopsis: Hawkeye and Trapper save General Mitchell's son in surgery, so he rewards the 4077th with an officers' club that makes the enlisted men feel excluded

Rating:

Jokes: 3.5/5

Seriousness: 1/5

Plot: 2/5

Queer subtext: 4/5

Margaret's characterization: 1.5/5

National Aviation History Month

November is National Aviation History Month and I’ve picked a few interesting items from our George Hardie Papers. The photographs above come from the series relating to pilot William “Billy” Mitchell. Mitchell was an early advocate for the use of aircraft in the military, and an influential figure in its development as a part of the American military effort.

General Mitchell was born in Nice, France but he grew up in West Allis here in Wisconsin. He enlisted in the United States Army after the outbreak of the Spanish American War in 1898. After the conflict had concluded Mitchell remained in the military. Due to his father’s influence he was able to witness one of the Wright brother’s test flights in Virginia and this sparked his interest in using planes for the military. In 1916 he was appointed as chief of Air Service for the First Army. The following year the United States entered World War 1.

That brings us to the photos we see above. These are air reconnaissance photos of German trench lines taken near Apresmont, France in 1918. The squiggly lines that you can see are the trench systems which, by these late stages of the war, were quite elaborate and extensive. The other thing to point out about these photos which is most noticeable in the first image is all of the little pockmarks that can be seen on the ground, these are craters from artillery shells. It is sometimes hard for Americans to grasp just how devastating the First World War was to the population of Europe. The war was shorter for us and much further from home, it didn’t leave the same scars in our social memory. Having access to photos like this helps to provide context to American audiences.

I found these photographs especially poignant, seeing as we have just celebrated the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles (Armistice Day) which ended this conflict. As I looked through these 100-year-old photos of the devastation wrought by this war, I couldn’t help but think of all of the global conflicts we’ve been embroiled in since 1918. It makes me wonder if we’ve learned anything at all in these past 100 years.

EAA In Oshkosh, What A Ride, err Flight!

Didn’t get to EAA this year, though I did grab these photos a couple years back when visiting.  We included EAA in the documentary because what’s more Cheesehead than having fun with family and friends in the tens of thousands at a time, and being creative and inventive, while loving the outdoors.  I could go on, but you’d probably rather I didn’t.  There’s some fun stuff here, but some…