Today’s post was written by David Langbart, archivist in Research Services at the National Archives at College Park, MD.
This is the fourth in a series of occasional blog posts.
From Japan, the Army Around the World Flight planes flew across the the East China Sea to Shanghai, China. Due to technical problems, two of the the three planes arrived on June 4, 1924, and the third plane on June 5. They received an international welcome. The team remained in Shanghai until June 7, when they took off heading for Amoy (now Xiamen). Edwin Cunningham, the U.S. consul general in Shanghai submitted the following despatch describing the visit.
Enclosed with the despatch were several clippings from local English-language newspapers. One of them is the following cartoon from a local British newspaper. Showcasing this charming item is the main reason for this post.
One of the editorials referred to the airmen as “Vikings of modern days.” The following is a short editorial by another British newspaper, this one with with Japanese leanings.
Sources: All the documents mentioned above come from file “811.2300” in the 1910-29 Central Decimal File, RG 59: General Records of the Department of State. A listing of those documents will be found in the Purport List for that file, which is available online, beginning at frame 510.