Cannonball! Swimming Pools in the National Register of Historic Places

Security overlooks ducks swimming in the White House Swimming Pool (National Archives Identifier 276564131) In the month of July, when the temperature is hot, people will find relief in swimming pools all over the country.  Did you know there are a number of pools that are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the … Continue reading Cannonball! Swimming Pools in the National Register of Historic Places

Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part VII: Baghdad, Iraq

This is the seventh in a series of occasional blog posts. So far this series of posts has made stops in Tokyo, Shanghai, Amoy, and Calcutta.  The Army Around the World Flight, flew out of Calcutta on July 1 to continue the journey west.  The planes stopped in Allahabad, Ambala, Multan, Karachi, Bander Abbas, and landed … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part VII: Baghdad, Iraq

Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part VI: Calcutta, India

This is the sixth in a series of occasional blog posts. When we last left the Army Around the World Flight, the planes were departing Amoy, China on June 8 heading for Hong Kong.  From Hong Kong they flew on, making official stops at Haiphong, Tourane, Saigon, Bangkok, Rangoon, Akyab, and Chittagong before arriving in … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part VI: Calcutta, India

Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part V: Amoy, China

This is the fifth in a series of occasional blog posts. Departing Shanghai on June 7, the Army Around the World Flight planes flew along the Chinese coast and arrived in Amoy (now Xiamen) later the same day, after making an intermediate refueling stop at Tchinkoen Bay.  The team remained in Amoy until June 8, … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part V: Amoy, China

Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part IV: Shanghai, China

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 … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part IV: Shanghai, China

Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part III: Japan

This is the third in a series of occasional blog posts.  This and the next posts will track the progress of the flight by presenting a few of the reports of U.S. diplomatic and consular posts along the route. After departing Seattle on April 6, flying through Canada and across Alaska (losing one of the … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part III: Japan

An Ugly American, 1924

The term “ugly American” was popularized by the 1958 book of the same name by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick.  It referred to certain types of behavior exhibited by some Americans in foreign lands.  These included being self-absorbed, arrogant, demeaning, thoughtless, and ignorant of local customs. An early example of such behavior is found in … Continue reading An Ugly American, 1924

Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part II

This is the second in a series of occasional blog posts.    Even as the Department of State’s work on securing approval from Japan for the preliminary work on the Army’s around-the-world flight (see Part I), the Department of State was moving into the second phase of its work on the around-the-world flight: securing approval … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part II

Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Aerial Circumnavigation: Part I

This is the first in an occasional series of blog posts. In September 1924, in an aerial trip reminiscent of the voyage of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet (also known as the “Great White Fleet”) around the world between December 1907 and February 1909, a team of U.S. Army airmen completed the first successful aerial circumnavigation … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Aerial Circumnavigation: Part I