The Spirit of '41 / The Spirit of '42
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[June 28, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
"Spirit of '41" Is New Show for Sunday
"The Spirit of '41," a new program series in the interest of national defense,
makes its debut on KGLO-CBS Sunday from 2:30 to 3 p. m.
The new program is designed to bring radio listeners dramatic first-hand
information about all the fighting units of the United States forces. Each
week the program will single out one unit of the army, navy or marines and in
dramatic form, trace its history and development up to the present time. The
program's title, "Spirit of '41," will be epitomized by an on-the-spot
broadcast showing the modern unit in action as it solves a war problem.
During the opening program a part of the broadcast will be picked up from Fort
Benning, Ga., where the 20th engineers will stage a demonstration of a war
time attack. John Charles Daly, CBS announcer, will describe the maneuvers.
The first half of the program originates in New York with a dramatization of
the history and development of the Army Engineering corps.
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[June 29, 1941 Washington Post]
3:30, WJSV--"The Spirit of '41" is a new Columbia series, devoting each
program to a single unit of the national defense movement. The Army Engineer
Corps is the opener, with the mikes shifting to Fort Benning, Ga., where the
Twentieth Engineers stage a demonstration of wartime attack.
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[July 5, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
AIR DRAMA ON DESTROYERS
Sunday Broadcast to Trace Progress of Navy Branch
The second broadcast of CBS's new series in the interest of national defense,
"The Spirit of '41," to be heard over KGLO Sunday at 2:30 p. m., will trace
the development of the destroyer service of the United States navy and provide
a graphic picture of its present day activities.
Burgess Meredith, nationally known actor of radio, stage and screen, acts as
narrator of the dramatic part of the program. The last half of the broadcast
will be devoted to an actual demonstration of destroyer crews in action,
picked up from the deck of a destroyer in New York harbor.
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[July 6, 1941 Washington Post]
3:30, WJSV--Second of the new C.B.S. defense series "The Spirit of '41,"
traces development of the destroyer service of the Navy and presents graphic
pickups from destroyers on actual duty, Burgess Meredith announcing.
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[July 9, 1941 Syracuse Herald Journal - syndicated Walter Winchell column
item]
NEW YORCHIDS: ... The Sunday CBS program, "Spirit of '41" by Wyllis Cooper,
starring Burgess Meredith. Thrilling . . . ...
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[July 13, 1941 Kansas City Star]
The "Spirit of '41" program will dramatize the history and growth of the
United States marine corps, with Burgess Meredith as narrator on KMBC at 2:30
o'clock today. An on-the-spot description of the marines in action at
Quantico, Va., will be handled by Announcer John Charles Daly.
_______________________
[July 13, 1941 Washington Post - with photo of John Charles Daly]
3:30, WJSV--Announcer John Charles Daly and Burgess Meredith go into the
history and growth of the United States Marine Corps, with pick-ups from New
York and Quantico for The Spirit of '41.
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[July 13, 1941 script excerpt]
COLUMBIA BROADCASTING SYSTEM
THE SPIRIT OF '41
SUNDAY, JULY 13, 1941
4:30 - 5:00 PM EDST
CUE: (COLUMBIA BROADCASTING SYSTEM)
(........30 Seconds..........)
MUSIC: THEME ... FADE FOR:
ANNC'R: The Spirit of '41!
MUSIC: THEME FINISH
ANNC'R: Sunday afternnoon - and, in accordance with its policy of keeping the
entire nation informed on the progress of national defense, the Columbia
Network presents another in this series of programs devoted to the armed
forces of the United States ... with Burgess Meredith, star of stage and
screen, as your narrator and guide!
This week's program is about the United States Marine Corps - the Soldiers of
the Sea, whose motto is "Semper Fidelis" ... "Always Faithful", and whose
colours bear the proud boast of the corps - "From the Halls of Montezuma to
the Shores of Tripoli"! The United States Army Band from Fort Totten, under
the baton of Warrant Officer Fisher, opens the program with the famous
"Marines' Hymn":
mlk
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[July 19, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Fifth Infantry Division
ON THE MARCH
—Hear "Action" on KGLO Sunday
The United States infantry comes under the spotlight over KGLO Sunday at 2:30
p. m. when Columbia network's "Spirit of '41" makes a trip to Fort Custer at
Battle Creek, Mich., to broadcast a description of the famous fifth division
in action.
With Burgess Meredith, narrator and John Charles Daly, announcer, the
broadcast will give radio listeners the historic background of the infantry as
well as a demonstration of the fifth division while it handles anti-tank guns,
60 mm. mortars, 81 mm. mortars and light and heavy machine guns.
Purpose of this broadcast is to show the public that today's infantry units,
with their efficient, high-powered weapons are largely self supporting.
The fifth division—known as the "Red Diamond" division through its red diamond
insignia—was chosen for the program because it is one of the top divisions in
the army with a fine record in France, and because it is one of the new
"streamlined" divisions.
"Spirit of '41" is written by Wyllis Cooper, U. S. Cavalry reserve officer who
saw action on the Mexican border in 1916 and who later went overseas with the
131st infantry.
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[July 20, 1941 Washington Post]
3:30, WJSV--At last, the Infantry gets the salute on Columbia's "Spirit of
'41." Burgess Meredith and John Charles Daly draw word pictures of the Fifth
Division in action at Battle Creek's Fort Custer. To the uninitiated it gives
news of antitank guns, 60 mm. mortars, 81 mm. mortars, light and heavy machine
guns.
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[July 26, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
[photo caption] The story of the 501st infantry (parachute) battalion barely
has time to say "unnh!" before CBS Announcer John Charles Daly (left) is by
his side with a microphone so Sunday audiences of "Spirit of "41" will get a
first hand impression of a drop from the sky at Fort Benning, Ga. "Spirit of
'41," each Sunday gives a dramatized history of branches of America's defense
forces—and then moves to an on the spot broadcast.
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[July 27, 1941 Washington Post]
3:30, WJSV--If any member of the 501st Infantry Battalion yells "Geronimo,"
his buddies come to the rescue with the speed of a circus crew that has just
heard "Hey, Rube." How the Fort Benning Parachute Battalion got that way is
part of the Spirit of '41, which today details the work of two onetime West
Point classmates, Capts. W. E. Yarborough and William Ryder.
_______________________
[July 27, 1941 The Long Beach Independent]
On the firing line of defense activities -- with the army in the field -- is
CBS' special announcing duo Burgess Meredith and John Charles Daly. The pair
is doing the "Spirit of '41" series for Columbia direct from maneuvers.
Already they have followed the U.S. Engineers, microphone in hand, as they
worked out a war problem. They've taken beatings with the Marines at Quantico,
Va., as they landed from boats and they were under fire as much as any trainee
when they went to Fort Custer at Battle Creek, Mich., to report the 5th
Division Infantry in action. Today Meredith and Daly will give an on-the-spot
broadcast of Uncle Sam's parachute battalion from Fort Banning, Ga., CBS-KNX,
12:30 p m
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[July 27, 1941 The Long Beach Independent photo caption]
Soldier of the 501st Infantry parachute battalion barely has time to "unnh"
before CBS Announcer John Charles Daly (left) is by his side with a microphone
so today audiences of "Spirit of '41" will get first-hand impressions of a
drop from the sky at Fort Benning, Georgia.
_______________________
[August 2, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Army Signal Corps Activities Described
The various activities of the United States army signal corps are described by
Burgess Meredith and John Charles Daly during the KGLO-CBS "Spirit of '41"
program Sunday from 2:30 to 3 p. m. The broadcast originates at the army
signal corps school and replacement center at Fort Monmouth, N. J.
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[August 3, 1941]
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[August 9, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Annapolis Choir on Naval Academy Hour
"Spirit of '41," CBS defense program, takes KGLO listeners behind the scenes
at the United States naval academy at Annapolis Sunday from 2:30 to 3 p. m.
The program describes the various activities of the midshipmen at Annapolis
and gives a brief history of the academy. The Annapolis choir participates in
the program.
Burgess Meredith and John Charles Daly describe the ceremonies attending the
swearing in of a plebe. "Spirit of '41" is produced by Brewster Morgan. Wyllis
Cooper writes the script.
_______________________
[August 10, 1941 Washington Post]
3:30, WJSV--The Naval Academy at Annapolis pays host to Burgess Meredith and
John Charles Daly who describe the activities of the Midshipmen, including the
swearing in of a plebe. The Annapolis choir is also heard.
_______________________
[August 16, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Will Tell of Plane's Gun Operations
The nation's radio audience takes a vicarious ride in a United States navy
bomber Sunday when Columbia network's "Spirit of '41" broadcasts a program
devoted to the PBY bomber over KGLO from 2:30 to 3 p. m.
The PBY bombers are similar to the Consolidated bombers the English now use
and call Catalinas. It was one of these patrol bombers which sighted the
German battleship Bismark [sic] before the British sent her to the bottom.
During the broadcast, Announcer John Charles Daly, speaking from one of the
gunner's turrets in a PBY, explains the ship's actions as it seeks out and
bombs a target.
The story of the development of the PBY bombers and the work for which they
are designed is told by the program's narrator, Burgess Meredith.
Because of its relation to national defense, the origination point of the
program cannot be announced.
_______________________
[August 17, 1941 Washington Post]
3:30, WJSV--It was a patrol bomber of the PBY class which sighted the Nazi's
Bismarck before the British sent her to the bottom. This afternoon one of
these American bombers goes for a spin, with announcer John Charles Daly
explaining the ship's workings from one of the gunner's turrets.
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[August 24, 1941]
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[August 30, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
BIG GUNS TO BOOM SUNDAY
The big guns boom on KGLO-CBS Sunday at 2:30 p. m. as "The Spirit of '41" sets
up its microphones at Fort Bragg, N. Car.
Burgess Meredith and John Charles Daly describe mobile field artillery units
in maneuvers and bring 75 mm and the huge 155 mm guns into action. The
historical background of the development of artillery forces in the United
States also is touched upon by Burgess Meredith. Fort Bragg is the field
artillery replacement center. Selectees are trained there before being
transferred to other camps.
_______________________
[August 31, 1941 Washington Post]
3:30, WJSV--That most peripatetic of programs, The Spirit of '41, which is
constantly scouring the country for defense news, airs from Fort Bragg's 75 mm
and 155 mm guns--in action. Burgess Meredith and John Charles Daly wear the
ear plugs.
_______________________
[September 7, 1941 pre-empted by National Singles Tennis Championships Finals]
_______________________
[September 13, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe Gazette]
Maneuvers Go on Air Next Week
With the biggest war games in American history going on in Louisiana, Columbia
throws a group of its top special events men, news analysts, military
experts—and a crew of engineers and technicians—into the field.
These men take the CBS microphones into the "front lines," follow the tanks
and armored cars, catch the rapid fire of heavy machine guns and the bark of
75's.
These broadcasts, presenting a living record of American defense as the
military swings into stride, are highlights of the KGLO-CBS network defense
programs for the coming week.
The battles last from two to three weeks. During that time, William L. Shirer,
John Charles Daly, Eric Sevareid, Burgess Meredith and Columbia's military
expert translate the battle of tanks and men and guns into words over the
field microphones.
They make daily broadcasts, on weekdays, 2:30 to 2:45 p. m. General reports
are to be made on the "The World Today" news program three times a week on
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 4:45 p. m.
First on the spot pick-up of the maneuvers comes on the Columbia "Spirit of
'41" program on Sunday at 2:30 p. m. This program originates on the Louisiana
battlefields until the war games are closed.
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[September 14, 1941]
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[September 20, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe Gazette]
One thunderous motif dominates Columbia network's national defense programs as
they will be heard over KGLO next week.
It is the "Battle of Louisiana," biggest and perhaps the most vital maneuvers
in United States army history. CBS, in addition to its regular and manifold
programmed contributions to the defense effort, continues to bring the KGLO
audience vivid and comprehensive on-the-scene description of the titanic
"struggle" in which the nation's Second and Third armies are locked in the
south.
The maneuvers are heard each day at 2:30 p. m.
CBS microphones travel in planes, zooming over the troops, accompany tank
corps roaring over the countryside, join the engineers as they build pontoon
bridges across surging streams, and record the staccato fire of machine guns
and the bark ot heavy 75's.
The CBS microphones are carried into the actual "battle" line by Columbia's
special events staff, numbering some 15 men. These include not only the news
analysts and military experts, but also the regular crew of engineers and
technicians.
Veteran Reporters John Charles Daly and Eric Sevareid, joined by Burgess
Meredith, continue their broadcasts of army maneuvers from Monday to Friday.
Each of these CBS correspondents is attached to units of the Second and Third
armies battling in Louisiana. They are required to wear army uniforms,
camouflage their equipment, and are subject to capture just as any other
soldiers fighting in this "war." Sevareid, in fact, already may be
theoretically dead.
_______________________
[September 20, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe Gazette]
Sunday Show Most Vivid of Air Series
THIRD ARMY FIELD HEADQUARTERS SOMEWHERE IN LOUISIANA—Brewster Morgan, CBS
director of defense programs, completed arrangements Friday for a "Spirit of
'41" broadcast which should—if the gods of war smile—be the most vivid of the
series.
Sunday's "Spirit of '41," on KGLO-CBS from 2:30 to 3 p. m., will dramatize one
of the telling ways in which Lieut. Gen. Walter Krueger is using aviation in
his battle with the Second army. Gen. Krueger commands the Third army in this
biggest peacetime maneuver of America's armed forces.
The program, conceived in the sweaty activity of Third army field
headquarters, follows the course of an aviation order from its reception at
headquarters through to its execution by a squadron of bombers. If the inter-
army battle has reached a breathing spell—and no aerial action is called for
from the field —"Spirit of '41" re-enacts an order actually received and
executed at the height of hostilities.
The fortunes of Mars may be running heavily against the Third army by this
Sunday—in which case "Spirit of '41" is likely to find itself struggling to
stay on schedule on warfare's hard necessities. If the enemy sends bombers
over any of the three ground origination points, radio listeners may hear a
show the like of which has never been aired.
The show is expected to be of such magnitude as to require the services of the
entire roster of microphone talent Columbia has sent to cover these maneuvers.
John Charles Daly, one of the program's regular narrators, broadcasts from a
bomber in full flight; Burgess Meredith, the stage and screen star who is the
other regular narrator, returns to the maneuver area from New York to
broadcast from air command headquarters.
Morgan said he expected also to use Eric Sevareid, CBS Washington
correspondent currently reporting Third army activities, and Willis Cooper,
the blue-ribbon defense show's scrip [sic] writer—who made one of his rare
appearances on the air in last Sunday's "Spirit of '41." Morgan, who produced
the program, said he might even have to take over one of the mikes himself.
Army officers actually involved in the preparation, transmission and execution
of an aviation order enact their own parts on the air.
_______________________
[September 21, 1941]
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[September 27, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Submarine Under Water Goes on Air
A breath-stopping broadcast from a submerged submarine near the United States
submarine base at New London, Conn., is the dramatic beginning of Columbia
network's defense program schedule for next week.
"Spirit of '41," scheduled for Sunday at 1 p. m., features a special broadcast
from the submerged submarine. Probably the most vivid of the entire series,
this program presents detailed and colorful description of an exciting—but
routine, to the sailors—event in our defense set-up.
_______________________
[September 28, 1941 - series moves to 2 p.m. Eastern]
_______________________
[October 3, 1941 Chicago Herald]
Radio Beams from Coast-to-Coast by Jack Heinz
... Spirit of '41 author Wyllis Cooper has traveled over 20,000 miles getting
material and covering bdcsts [sic] ...
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[October 5, 1941]
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[October 8, 1941 San Antonio (TX) Light]
Radio Script Writer "Casualty"
Wyllis Cooper, script writer for CBS' "Spirit of '41" (KTSA—9:15 p. m.
Wednesday) [sic] was a real casualty in the Louisiana maneuvers of the Second
and Third armies.
Cooper, assigned to the Second army, was at radio headquarters in the
Winnfield, La., grammar school when Third army raiders planted smoke bombs in
the school.
Copper ran out with other correspondents, but with a lung full of smoke. Since
he was severely gassed in the World war, he was particularly vulnerable.
He still wheezes when he tries to talk.
_______________________
[October 11, 1941 Clearfield (PA) Progress reports that "Spirit of '41" is
scheduled to broadcast "a general description of the air defense plan" for the
United States on October 12.]
_______________________
[October 11, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Will Describe
INVASION
of "Enemy" Planes
Anxious watchers on the Atlantic coast see the dark shapes of "enemy" bombers
next week ... see swift interceptor planes take off to stop them ... see the
thrilling "dog fights" that are to make the first air force air defense
exercises a crucial test of the nation's readiness to repel an aerial invader.
All Columbia network listeners don't live where they can see the show—but all
can hear it. As the highlight of the CBS defense offering for next week,
"Spirit of '41" makes a special broadcast from the scene Sunday at 1 p. m.,
describing the first spotting of the invading bombers by civilian watchers,
the relaying of the information to air force headquarters, the dispatch of the
interceptors.
Climax of the show is a broadcast from one of the interceptor planes as it
attacks a bomber.
_______________________
[October 12, 1941 Washington Post]
2, WJSV--But another one of the things Columbus wouldn't have considered are
"enemy" planes sweeping in on his new land from the Atlantic. Spirit of '41,
with Burgess Meredith and John Charles Daly at the mikes, describes the air
war games now in progress up and down the Eastern seaboard.
_______________________
[October 18, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
CBS Mikes Go to Sandy Hook for "Attack" Airing
Steps in the defense of one of the world's most important ports—New York
Harbor—are brought to KGLO-CBS listeners at 1 p. m. Sunday in graphic form
when "Spirit of '41" moves its microphones to Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook,
N. J.
Through the co-operation of the seventh regiment of Coast Artillery (harbor
defense) and the fifty-second regiment of Coast Artillery (railroad guns), the
program demonstrates what would happen if New York harbor were attacked by
sea.
Listeners get a radio view of the tactical use of the big railroad guns and
sidelights on the use of camouflage. The mathematical near magic of range
plotting and fire control is explained, with Narrator Burgess Meredith and CBS
Announcer John Charles Daly again at the microphones.
[photo caption] A real study in contrasts is provided by Columbia network's
John Charles Daly as he turns to the ancient and nearly forgotten kerosene
lantern to facilitate his "war" reports over the world's most modern vehicle
of communication--radio. Stranded in the wilds "somewhere in America" in a
"war-ridden community" during army maneuvers broadcast over KGLO-CBS, Radio
Reporter Daly puts the old and the new together with satisfying results.
Columbia network's coverage of big wartime maneuvers of Uncle Sam's new 1941
army is part of its "Spirit of '41" program, heard Sundays at 1 p. m.
_______________________
[October 19, 1941 Washington Post]
2, WJSV--The defense of New York harbor, probably one of the most pondered of
the "emergency's" eventualities, is described by Burgess Meredith and John
Charles Daly, whose microphones are set up at Sandy Hook's Fort Hancock.
_______________________
[October 25, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
WHAT MAKES ACE AVIATORS?
Listen to Broadcast From Aviation Base Sunday at 1 p. m.
In a graphic prelude to Navy day, Columbia network's "Spirit of '41" sets up
its microphones at the United States naval reserve aviation base at Atlanta,
Ga., and at the naval aviation base in San Diego, Cal., to bring KGLO
listeners a picture on Sunday at 1 p. m. of the painstaking work that goes
into the training of an aviator.
The United States naval reserve aviation base at Atlanta is a center for
elimination flight training. Cadets are stationed there for from 30 to 60 days
and if they pass their tests are sent on for advance training at Pensacola,
Jacksonville or Corpus Christi.
The cadets are put through a rigid series of tests, both physical and mental,
and it is with this routine that the "Spirit of '41" broadcast from that point
concerns itself to acquaint listeners with the myriad details that go into the
making of an airman.
The second part of the broadcast, from the naval aviation base at San Diego,
completes the picture with a demonstration of the activities and duties of an
aviator after he has made the grade.
Narrator Burgess Meredith and Announcer John Charles Daly have the microphone
assignments.
_______________________
[October 26, 1941 Washington Post]
2, WJSV--For a prelude to an ominous Navy Day, Columbia's Spirit of '41 sets
up its mikes at the Naval Reserve Aviation Base in Atlanta and at the Naval
Aviation Base in San Diego for a comprehensive view of the training of
aviators.
_______________________
[October 28, 1941 Long Beach Independent HIGHLIGHTS of the AIRLANES column]
... One of the peak dramatic moments of the Navy Day programs will be today
over Columbia's "Spirit of '41" broadcast when a description of an attack
direct from a Navy dive bomber will be given by Chet Huntley of the CBS-KNX
announcing staff. As Lieutenant Bowen tips the [nose?] of one of the Navy's
latest dive bombers for the power dive descent from 15,000 feet in a simulated
attack on a target boat, Huntley will describe the "thrill" over shortwave. On
the target ship itself will be Hal Sawyer, another KNX announcer, to describe
the bomber's attack on the ship. "Spirit of '41" is heard at 2 p. m. ...
_______________________
[November 1, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Broadcast From Big Balloon
The barrage balloon, that elephantine English defense device that keeps nazi
bombers so high they lose aim—and which is thus credited with saving many a
British life and many a British home—is the next objective of Columbia
network's "Spirit of '41."
For the United States has them, too, and on the Sunday program over KGLO at 1
p. m., CBS sets up its microphones in America's own barrage balloon training
center at Camp Davis, Holley Ridge, N. Car.
The defense program, which has given listeners vicarious rides on army
bombers, escorted them though submarines, taken them aboard navy cruisers and
shown them how the marines land and get the "situation well in hand," this
time takes its audience through the intricate paces of barrage balloon
maneuvers.
The branch of the service heard in action as it works out various defense
problems is Battery A of the 301st Coast Artillery Battalion (Barrage
Balloons).
_______________________
[November 2, 1941 Washington Post]
2, WJSV--The barrage balloons, those comical but valuable defense devices,
have their fling. The Spirit of '41 program airs from Camp Davis, nesting
place for Uncle Sam's bulbous blimps and training center for the men who
operate them.
_______________________
[November 8, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
NOTE BIRTHDAY OF MARINES
"Spirit of '41" Will Pay Tribute to Leathernecks
On November 10, 1775, in Old Tun Tavern, Philadelphia, the United States
marine corps was organized . . .
In honor of this anniversary of one of Uncle Sam's most colorful military
units, "Spirit of '41" devotes its broadcast on Sunday over KGLO-CBS at 1
p. m. to a salute to the Leathernecks.
Major General Thomas Holcomb, major general commandant of the marines, is to
read the traditional marine corps birthday, a standing order of the marine
corps manual which is read before members of the corps on every anniversary.
The marine corps birthday outlines the purpose and traditions of the marines,
whose first active engagement was with Washington at the Battle of Trenton,
and who were organized as landing parties to fight from ships on the Great
Lakes.
In addition, the program brings to mind the wide scope of marine duties as it
picks up reports from marine posts all over the world.
_______________________
[November 9, 1941 Long Beach Independent HIGHLIGHTS of the AIRLANES column]
... In honor of this anniversary of one of Uncle Sam's most colorful military
units, "Spirit of '41" devotes its broadcast today to a salute to the
Leathernecks, KNX, 11:00 a.m.
Major General Thomas Holcomb, Major General Commandant of the Marines, is to
read the traditional Marine Corps Birthday a standing order of the Marine
Corps Manual which is read before members of the Corps on every anniversary.
The Marine Corps Birthday outlines the purpose and traditions of the Marines,
whose first active engagement was with Washington at the Battle of Trenton,
and who were organized as landing parties to fight from ships on the Great
Lakes. ...
_______________________
[November 9, 1941 Washington Post]
2, WJSV--One November 10, 1775, in Old Tun Tavern on Philadelphia's Chestnut
Street, the United States Marine Corps was founded. Spirit of '41 marks this
important anniversary by presenting Maj. Gen. Thomas Holcomb, Commandant of
the Marines, as he reads the traditional Marine Corps Birthday, a standing
order of the manual which is read before members of the corps on every
anniversary. Music by the Marine Band.
_______________________
[November 16, 1941 pre-empted by star-studded, multi-network American Red
Cross Roll Call special "Narrative in Red and White"]
_______________________
[November 22, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
ARMY GAMES ON AIR SUNDAY
First and Fourth Army Corps Compete in South Carolina
As the army maneuvers in South Carolina get under way in full force, "Spirit
of 41" takes its microphone to the center of activities to bring KGLO-CBS
listeners a vivid picture of our doughboys in action, Sunday at 1 p. m.
The South Carolina army maneuvers have the first army and the fourth army
corps opposing each other. In the problem which is being worked out, the
fourth army corps is badly outnumbered by the first army, but the fourth has
superior strength in tanks and airplanes. Thus the maneuver problem is that of
a force superior in manpower trying to stop a heavily mechanized force.
The "Spirit of 41" coverage of the maneuvers is under the direction of
Brewster Morgan, CBS director of defense programs.
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[November 23, 1941]
_______________________
[November 30, 1941]
_______________________
[December 6, 1941 Chicago Tribune]
The naval intelligence department, CBS announced yesterday, has given the
network permission to present its "Spirit of 41" broadcast at 1 p. m. Sunday
from the Brooklyn navy yard. CBS broadcasters, the report said, had been
granted permission "to describe in considerable detail repairs being made at
the yard to damaged warships." Not long ago the Navy department imposed a
censorship on news of this type.
_______________________
[December 6, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Navy Yard Setting for Broadcast
Enveloped in unusual secrecy beforehand, the Columbia network's "Spirit of
'41" moves into the Brooklyn Navy Yard for the broadcast to be heard over KGLO
Sunday at 1:30 p. m. to bring listeners a report on some of the yard's
activities never before touched upon over the radio.
Permission for the broadcast was granted by the navy department, but on the
agreement that no previous information be given out which might be of aid to
subversive forces.
Details for the program were worked out by Brewster Morgan, supervisor of CBS
defense programs. Script Writer Wyllis Cooper and Announcer Rush Hughes have
the microphone assignments under the watchful eye of Navy Intelligence, which
approved one pre-program revelation:
The broadcast is to be permitted to describe in considerable detail the
repairs being made at the yard to damaged warships.
_______________________
[December 7, 1941 -- According to CBS, at 2:31 p. m., John Charles Daly
announces the attack on Pearl Harbor at the beginning of the regularly-
scheduled newscast that followed "The Spirit of '41."]
_______________________
[December 14, 1941]
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[December 20, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Army Choral Groups to Broadcast Sunday
Two choral groups which have been organized at Fort Belvoir, Va., will be
heard in a special Christmas program on "Spirit of '42" Sunday at 1 p. m.
The first group, organized last August as part of the recreational and
cultural activities of Group II in the engineer replacement training center,
embraces four Negro battalions. The second group was organized late in
November by Private James Burrell, a former New York theatrical player.
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[December 21, 1941]
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[December 27, 1941 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
"Spirit of '42"--which started its CBS career last summer as "Spirit of '41"--
offers another program devoted to the techniques and developments of the
various branches of the army, navy and marine corps over KGLO-CBS Sunday at 1
p. m.
Rush Hughes, son of Rupert Hughes, the writer, handles the on-the-spot
broadcasts, with Wyllis Cooper as narrator and script writer. Program is
produced by Brewster Morgan under supervision of the war and navy departments.
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[December 28, 1941 Washington Post]
2, WJSV--Time Flies: "Spirit of '41" becomes "Spirit of '42."
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[December 28, 1941 San Antonio Light]
... "The Spirit of '42" offers another program devoted to branches of the
army, navy and marine corps (KTSA-1 p. m.). Rush Hughes, son of Rupert Hughes,
the writer, handles the spot broadcasts, with Wyllis Cooper as narrator and
script writer. ...
1:00 p.m.—"SPIRIT OF '42" Description of the activities at another United
States training center. ...
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[January 3, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
DEMONSTRATE GAS ATTACKS
Chemical Warfare Is Subject of Sunday's Airing
A program of special application to civilian defense will be broadcast on
KGLO-CBS Sunday at 1 p. m when "Spirit of '42" devotes its time to a
demonstration of chemical warfare, including various methods of gas attacks.
Originating at the Edgewood arsenal in Maryland, the program brings radio
listeners first-hand information on how to combat incendiary bombs. Airplanes
are to fly over a model house and actually drop live bombs—with a CBS mike
planted nearby.
The problems of protection against poison gas and how to counteract its effect
are outlined during the broadcast of a gas attack demonstration.
On-the-spot descriptions of these actual demonstrations are given by Rush
Hughes, Wyllis Copper, [sic] and by Brewster Morgan, who is supervisor of the
program for CBS.
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[January 4, 1942]
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[January 10, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
How Navy Trains Men for Radio—Subject of "Spirit of 1942"
How does the navy take civilians and, in four months time, turn them into
efficient radio operators and technicians?
That question is answered on the Columbia network's "Spirit of '42" to be
heard over KGLO Sunday at 1:30 p. m, when the program goes to the U. S. naval
training school at Noroton Heights, Conn.
With announcer Rush Hughes, program supervisor Brewster Morgan and script
writer Wyllis Cooper at the microphones, the program gives radio listeners a
compact, graphic picture of how the navy radio school, under the command of
Capt. William Baggaley, puts its men through a course of training which in
four months turns them into the efficient type of workers the navy demands.
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[January 11, 1942]
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[January 17, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
SPIRIT OF '42 TAKES TO AIR
Sunday Program Originates From Maxwell Field
Columbia network's "Spirit of '42" goes to Maxwell Field, near Montgomery,
Ala., Sunday at 1 p. m. to give KGLO-CBS listeners a radio "view" of how Uncle
Sam trains his modern version of the "Three Musketeers"—airforce pilots,
navigators and bombardiers.
Maxwell Field is part of the southeast air corps training center, under the
command of Major General Walter Weaver. The training center proper consists of
34 airdromes scattered over seven southeast states. This year it will train
between 10,000 and 15,000 airmen.
On "Spirit of '42," with Announcer Rush Hughes, Program Supervisor Brewster
Morgan and Script Writer Wyllis Cooper at the microphones, various phases of
air force training are explained for listeners as cadets go through actual
maneuvers. One part of the program is devoted to a special shortwave broadcast
from a training plane with an instructor and air cadet in flight.
British cadets training at the center take part in the broadcast as does the
only Negro aviation cadet corps, which flies over from Tuskegee for the
program. Music is by the 80 piece training center band.
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[January 18, 1942]
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[January 24, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Spirit of '42 Will Visit West Point
"Spirit of '42," the CBS defense program which has traveled throughout the
nation bringing listeners on-the-spot descriptions of United States military
preparations, sets up its microphones at the United States military academy at
West Point for the Sunday broadcast over KGLO at 1 p. m.
The program, for the most part, is devoted to the deeply imbedded traditions
which surround life at the academy, which opened July 4, 1802, with ten
cadets. West Point itself, has been a military post since Jan. 20, 1778.
Brewster Morgan, Wyllis Cooper and Rush Hughes again take part in the program.
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[January 25, 1942]
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[January 31, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Weather Is Subject of Sunday Show
How the United States air corps trains its cadets to know what kind of weather
to expect and, what is more important, when to expect it, is pictured
dramatically for KGLO-CBS listeners Sunday at 1 p. m., when "Spirit of '42"
sets up its microphones in the weather station at the department of
meteorology at New York university.
New York university established its department of meteorology in 1838, and for
the last two years has turned its facilities over to government agencies,
including the navy and federal weather bureau. At present a class of 60 men
from the various government sources is studying there, with a new class
scheduled to enter in March.
After completing the course of training, the men are sent to other weather
stations as weather officers.
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[February 1, 1942]
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[February 7, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Mechanics of Air Corps on Spirit of '42
From an army airfield "somewhere in New England," Columbia network's "Spirit
of '42" brings radio listeners a report on army air corps maintenance as it
goes out on KGLO Sunday from 1 to 1:30 p. m.
The program dramatizes the work of mechanics, in the base and mobile units, as
they go about their duties of keeping planes flying for the Atlantic patrol.
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[February 8, 1942]
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[February 15, 1942]
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[February 21, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Stay-at-Home Marines on Spirit of '42
"Spirit of "42" sets up microphones in New York, Washington and Chicago on
Sunday at 1 p. m. to bring KGLO-CBS listeners stories on the Class 4
enlistments in the United States marine corps.
The marine corps is accepting ex-marines in its ranks, men up to the age of 50
years who have served in other wars. These men are the Class 4 marines,
confined to home duty, whose unselfish actions release younger men for active
duty.
Many are businessmen, family men, men who have given up much to "join up." All
have stories to tell. They'll be interviewed for radio listeners by Brewster
Morgan, Wyllis Cooper and Rush Hughes.
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[February 22, 1942]
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[February 28, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Training of Officers Is Air Subject
How does Uncle Sam go about the important job of training officers to lead his
armed forces?
The question is answered—as far as the infantry is concerned— when Columbia
network's "Spirit of '42" takes KGLO listeners Sunday at 1 p. m. to the
officer's candidate school, Fort Benning, Ga.
The broadcast, beginning with an eye-witness report on the acquisition of
officer material, with Brewster Morgan, Wyllis Cooper and Rush Hughes at the
microphones, gives a nutshell demonstration of what infantry officers are
taught. Listeners are taken into the army classrooms and shown how military
theory is developed, and are given a vicarious trip to the firing range when
37 mm. antitank guns, various machine guns, and the 60 mm. mortar are put
through their paces.
Music for the program is by the 29th infantry band of Fort Benning, one of the
crack bands of a crack regiment which has for the last decade been testing and
perfecting infantry developments.
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[March 1, 1942 - Washington Post "Today's Radio Highlights" column]
... 2 [p.m.], WJSV -- Fort Benning's Officers Candidate School, how it
functions and its importance, occupies Spirit of '42 with Brewster Morgan,
Wyllis Cooper and Rush Hughes. ...
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[March 7, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
MILITIA UNIT GOES ON AIR
"Spirit of "42" to Visit Outfit at Delavan, Ill.
"Spirit of '42" momentarily deserts the roar of big guns and rumble of tanks
in the nation's training centers to set up its microphones Sunday in the
little town of Delavan, Ill., home of Company L, 6th regiment (infantry), of
the Illinois reserve militia. KGLO airs the show.
The history of Delavan's militias dates back to the outbreak of the Civil war
when, with a population of less than 300, the township raised the nucleus of
two companies of infantry. The company was called into federal service during
the Spanish American war but, like other Illinois regiments was not ordered
into action. During World war I it became Company B, 122nd Machine Gun
Battalion, and saw active service abroad.
Today Company L is commanded by Captain H. S. Alexander, the town's local Ford
dealer. Members of the company are even now standing by to be ordered to guard
duty at important bridges at Pekin, Ill.
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[March 8, 1942]
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[March 15, 1942]
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[March 21, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Many Mason Cityans heard with a feeling of pride the announcement that Mrs.
Julia Flikke, former Mason Cityan, had been commissioned the first woman
colonel in the United States army, a feature of the "Spirit of '42" program on
a nationwide CBS broadcast last Sunday.
Mrs. Flikke, whose husband was Milwaukee freight agent here until his death in
1911, is head of the entire U. S. army nursing corps. She appealed via the
airlanes to unmarried registered nurses to join the nursing service which is
expanding as rapidly as possible in order to have the personnel to "go
wherever the army goes."
"I'd still rather be called Mrs. Flikke," said the colonel when she was
visiting here last summer. She felt that it might be "putting it on" to be
greeted as major, her rank at that time.
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[March 21, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
ON AIR FROM NAVY DIRIGIBLE
"Spirit of '42" to Visit East, West Coasts Sunday
From somewhere in America—or "somewhere over America"—"Spirit of '42" covers
the work of navy lighter-than-air craft KGLO-CBS Sunday at 1 p. m
The broadcast originates from both the Atlantic, and Pacific coasts, where not
only are navy men being trained in dirigible technique, but where active
patrol is in force.
With Brewster Morgan, Capt. Wyllis Cooper and Rush Hughes at the microphones,
the broadcast is to describe operational duties of the lighter-than-air
patrols as they search for enemy submarines and surface craft. Training and
qualifications of the men also are embraced.
The program is produced by Brewster Morgan in close co-operation with the
United States government.
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[March 22, 1942]
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[March 29, 1942 New York Times]
THE WAR PROGRAMS
In Which It Is Suggested That, in the Long Run, Facts Are Good Ammunition
By JOHN K. HUTCHENS
Doubtless it is a little early to be talking about what constitutes the ideal
war program on the radio -- i.e., the program best designed to stir its
hearers to an acute awareness that they are participants, each and every one
of them, in a conflict that marks a turning point in history. On second
thought, there probably is no point in discussing the ideal war program, as
such, at all. Elsewhere in the radio business the most optimistic program
department does not expect any one listener to be moved by the same degree by
drama, comedy, light and serious music, quiz shows, etc. For the same reason,
people listening to war programs (and they must include most adults capable of
turning a dial) cannot reasonably be expected to react with equal fervor to
all the special wartime fare now put before them. It becomes, then, more or
less a problem of deciding for one's self what kind of program strikes one
most forcibly.
Obviously, it is a large field to choose from, and will remain so even after
the ineffective matter has been weeded out and the remainder properly spaced
across the dial and around the clock: Arch Oboler's fierce dramas; the "This
Is War!" series that Norman Corwin is directing; the transcribed Treasury Star
Parade series; the shows produced and performed in training centers by
talented members of the armed forces; the special talks. Most of these are
legitimately planned to inspire, startle and awaken, though some of the less
direct appeals also have been effective -- such a bill as William Trenk,
formerly of the Paris and Vienna radio, recently staged for WNYC under the
title of "Old Vienna Versus the New Order," which in its nostalgic evocation
of a shattered civilization carried implications of what could happen to our
own.
And then there are those shows which, like "Spirit of '42," report as simply
and objectively as possible on the preparations for the day when America will
really take the offensive. To this listener, that kind of program is the most
telling of all.
Different Goals
That is said with full recognition of the fact that no installment of "Spirit
of '42," say, carries the same kind of impact you felt upon hearing Mr.
Corwin's superb salute to the Bill of Rights, "We Hold These Truths," or
Stephen Vincent Benét's "Your Army," which at this writing is still the best
of the "This Is War!" series. There is a distinct difference in form and
intent -- the difference between a first-rate newspaper story and any
contrived account, fictitious or otherwise. Inevitably, too, there is a
difference in the response of the individual.
To the objective, eyewitness story the reader -- or in this case, the listener
-- brings his own emotion, the intensity of which depends of course upon his
own background, personality, imagination. Ernest Hemingway once said that most
writers achieve an emotional effect by describing emotion instead of the
causes of it, his own preference being for the latter method. He, as it
happened, chose fiction as the medium for his objective technique; but the
principle holds true in such programs as "Spirit of '42" and "They Live
Forever" and, to a lesser extent, "Report to the Nation" and "March of Time."
Hearing them, you will not experience the exaltation induced by a creative
work of art, but you will know the sharp and stinging force of reality. Still
speaking in terms of personal preference, it is the notion of this column that
for the purpose at hand, which is the psychological preparation of the
American people for a fearful ordeal, this is the approach best suited to a
program that has enlisted for the duration. For it is unfortunate, but also
true and human, that the exhortatory, inspirational program can reach a
saturation point. The informational one is not likely to.
They Get Around
It can do a number of things, the informational program can, particularly when
it goes visiting to the training camps. When it arrives there, it speaks with
authority from places where things are happening, bringing you the voices of
men who are immediately in charge of preparing America for its greatest
crisis. And the voices are real -- no carefully modulated diction, but the
plain talk of men from the farms and the cities, in accents from every section
of the land. You get the sense, as you never would in a prepared address, of a
people's army in the making. And the sound effects are not "effects" in the
calculated manner of a studio production. The guns and whirring motors are as
real as the voices and terse talk of busy and earnest men, and they are
effective for the same reason.
"Spirit of '42," which skips a performance today and will shortly begin a
vacation, has set a pattern that other programs would do well to heed; and
perhaps we will get something of the sort when the "Army Hour" opens a week
from today on WEAF. With Brewster Morgan, Wyllis Cooper and Rush Hughes
setting the stage and asking the questions, "Spirit of '42" has provided
something like a combination first-rate, on-the-spot reporting and feature
writing. When you sat through half an hour with them you learned something.
You heard and, vicariously, you saw, and it would be astonishing only if you
did not feel a certain lift, a greater confidence. Morale, it is called.
Which, of course, is the idea of the whole thing.
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[April 5, 1942]
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[April 11, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Spirit of '42 Changes Style of Program
The KGLO-CBS program "Spirit of '42," which, since its first broadcast June
29, 1941, has brought listeners eye-witness reports on the training of
America's armed forces, changes the format of its weekly broadcasts beginning
Sunday, from 1 to 1:30 p. m., after which service bands of the army, navy and
marines are to make up the program.
This half hour broadcast of band music is in line with President Roosevelt's
suggestion of a few weeks ago that the nation should have more parades and
martial music.
Sunday, it's the navy band, under the direction of Lieutenant Charles
Brendler. The marine band, directed by Captain William F. Santelmann, is heard
April 19 and the army band, directed by Captain Thomas D'Arcy, plays April 26.
The bands of the three services then continue to rotate on the program series.
On each broadcast, a high ranking officer of the branch of the service
represented by the band is to speak briefly.
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[April 18, 1942 Mason City (IA) Globe-Gazette]
Kate Smith to Sing on Spirit of '42 Program
President Roosevelt has asked for stirring music and parades to reflect the
martial spirit of America, and the Columbia Broadcasting System is responding
with a thrilling new program series of marches played by the bands of the
Army, Navy and Marine corps on "Spirit of '42," with radio's great favorite,
Kate Smith as singing mistress of ceremonies on the opening program over KGLO
from 1 to 1:30 p. m.
The new series, which in the past has presented eyewitness broadcasts of a
United States training for war, snaps to attention under the production and
direction of Ted Collins, producer of the Kate Smith hour.
The program Sunday comes from the Washington Navy Yard.
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[April 19, 1942 New York Times
RADIO ROW: A COUPLE OF FOOTNOTES
... [Kate Smith] becomes mistress of ceremonies today for "Spirit of '42,"
this in accordance with the change of format which last Sunday found the show
switching to a musical program. "Spirit of '42," in its old form had not run
out of material; it had simply become too difficult to set the show up in
advance, what with sudden troop movements, censorship, etc. ...
Last updated: 17 June 2008