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TODAY'S
ISSUE
D-Day's anniversary:
How troops were put in fighting mood
By
Noel Griese
Special to GwinnettForum.com
(Editor's Note: Noel L. Griese is an Atlanta
author of "Arthur W. Page: Publisher, Public Relations Pioneer,
Patriot." He has written for GwinnettForum today to help
explain this remarkable person's accomplishments in regard to
the D-Day landings. The book is published by Anvil Publishers,
428 pp. w/index, casebound, US $24.95. http://www.anvilpub.com.)
JUNE 8, 2004 -- June 6, 2004, marked the 60th anniversary of D-Day,
when the Allies launched the all-important opening of a Western
front in Europe.
In the spring of 1944, 3.5 million men in arms were being prepared
in the south of England for Operation Overlord, the planned Allied
invasion of the European mainland.
Shortly after midnight on June 6, 20,000 men of the U.S. 82nd and
101st, and British 6th, Airborne Divisions began landing well behind
German lines. They went to their destinations in 1,200 transport
aircraft and 700 gliders. The American airborne forces were to take
and hold key roads in enemy rear lines to prevent enemy reinforcements
reaching Utah and Omaha beaches.
At 6:31 a.m. on June 6, an invasion armada of 5,000 ships began
unloading the first contingent of 170,000 troops on the beaches
of Normandy. Fighting men, support troops and materiel were poured
into the foothold established.
Some 2,400 Americans died in the initial invasion, and thousands
more were injured.
The American forces that participated in Overlord had to be mentally
prepared. On April 5, 1944, Arthur W. Page departed for England
on a secret 100-day mission for Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson.
His main assignment was to oversee indoctrination of American forces.
As he had in World War I, when he served on Gen. John "Black
Jack" Pershing's staff, Page declined a commission. He went
to England as a civilian, with the assimilated rank of colonel.
He helped Col. Oscar Solbert and his staff prepare troop information
for the "Stars and Stripes" newspaper, "Yank"
magazine, daily broadcasts of the Army News Service (ANS), Army
films and newsreels and troop information meetings. He prepared
schedules of what was to be said to soldiers each week, sat in on
military staff meetings as emissary of the secretary of war and
wrote the statement to be given to soldiers as they embarked for
the Normandy beaches.
Page recognized the effectiveness of combat information printed
in "Stars and Stripes." "After the first three or
four days of the invasion the Germans tried the same old 'white
flag' trick and offered to surrender, but when our men went up to
get them they were shot down," he said. "The men wounded
in that were interviewed and it was printed in the paper. About
four days later a G2 officer asked if we would not please write
how to take prisoners safely. They… had not taken any in the
last few days."
After visiting the Cherbourg peninsula, Page returned to the United
States to work on announcement of the atom bomb's use at Hiroshima.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Neat
day trip from Gwinnett is visit to Little White House
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
JUNE 8, 2004 -- Visiting the Little White House at Warm Springs,
Ga. is a particularly good trip these days, since there's a newly-opened
Museum to wow you.
 It's
a good one-day trip from Gwinnett, and also puts you close to Callaway
Gardens, always a beautiful site to visit.
A recent Sunday we visited the site, about 100 miles from Gwinnett.
Few visitors were there. We learned that Sundays usually have the
fewest number of visitors of the week!
Recently opened at the site, which comes under the supervision
of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, is a gleaming new
$6 million museum. Rangers speaking to visitors remind us that with
the museum just opened, displays might have errors or mis-spellings
"so if you see one, let us know." Early on a visitor detected
that two pictures in the Roosevelt time line were reversed, with
one picture in 1941 misplaced to 1937!
Franklin Delano Roosevelt started coming to Warm Springs in 1924
to enjoy the soothing waters, as did others with mobility problems.
He was seeking a cure for the infantile paralysis (polio) that had
struck him in 1921. Swimming in the warm, buoyant spring waters
brought him no miracle cure, but it did bring improvement. Pictures
at the memorial show him frolicking with others in the pools there.
The museum does a good job of showing the problems of this president
with polio. You see his leg braces (he was a tall man, the metal
braces make you realize.) You also see his Ford touring car, with
its top down, and see how the president overcame his limp legs when
driving the car by manipulating levers.
He built what became his "Little White House" as a retreat,
then visited there often and enjoyed the surrounding area. Altogether,
Roosevelt visited the area 41 times. And it was here, on April.
12, 1945 that he died from a stroke, while sitting for a portrait,
called now the "unfinished" portrait. It is on exhibit
at the site.
By the way, while at the site, the short "walk of the States"
allows you to see something relatively unique. Each of the states
has a type of rock from that state, along with the flag of that
state. It is a simple but interesting walk.
While here, you get a glimpse of the overall Roosevelt story through
a short film, narrated by Walter Cronkite, to begin your museum
tour.
Yet the main attraction is the Little White House itself, with
its simple but classic design, all laid out for easily accessibility
for the president in his wheel chair. Much of he cottage is as the
president left it when he died. You see the "ice box"
for real ice (there was no refrigerator at the house), and ordinary
utensils, linens, etc., that were at the house. You'll learn and
enjoy on this jaunt.
Hours are from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. daily. The site is closed Thanksgiving,
Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
Admission:$4-$7. Group rates available for 15 or more with advance
notice. Picnic area and bus parking available. Primary buildings
are wheelchair accessible. Secondary buildings have entry steps.
All walkways are hard surfaced.
Directions from Gwinnett: Take I-85 south to the second Newnan
exit (U.S. Highway 27), turn south and continue directly into Warm
Springs.
By the way, for a meal or for picnic fixings, check out Sprayberry's
in Newnan, a popular barbecue site. It's at the first Newnan exit
(Ga. Highway 34). But be alert: Sprayberry's is closed on Sunday.
For more information, go to http://gastateparks.org/info/littlewhite/.
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FEEDBACK
6/8: Improving nightmare
in Iraq will be tough for any candidate
Editor, the Forum:
I don't know which, if any, presidential candidate could improve
this nightmare in Iraq, but I know which one put us there.
He talked about weapons of mass destruction; he said Saddam tried
to purchase uranium; he said Iraq was linked to 9/11; he warned
us of "mushroom clouds." Now he concedes "bad intelligence"
but says it doesn't matter. Now, he says, we're there "to create
a free and democratic nation at the heart of the Middle East."
Afghanistan couldn't be the "democratic nation"? He couldn't
focus on the real war on terror and use all of those resources against
Al Qaeda? He couldn't use all that money to find and eradicate terror
cells? To make our borders, docks, airports, and cities safe? To
rebuild American infrastructure, American hospitals, and American
schools? If we had to sacrifice 800 American lives, 5,000 American
wounded, and two hundred billion American dollars ˆ so far
--, shouldn't we have more to show for it than lucrative, no-bid
contracts for fat campaign contributors like Halliburton and others?
Whether by arrogance, ignorance, or both, this president bombed
a country that did not attack us, deposed its leader, frittered
away the shining image of America, and broke trust with the voters.
He deserves a lot of things, but re-election isn't one of them!
-- M. Buckman, Lilburn
BOOK
RECOMMENDATION
6/8: From Norm Zoller
Circuit Executive, U.S. Court of Appeals
for the 11th Circuit
"A book of six short stories (121pp), Buying a Fishing
Rod for My Grandfather (2004), by Nobel Prize winner Gao Xing
Jian, was deceptively and mostly not about fishing. With a pace
of curious translation, one senses the rhythms and warmth of a newer
China but whose people still revere its past with temples, bicycles,
parks, and yes, a fishing rod. One story in bed before turning out
the light is about right.
"The current read (268 pp) is The Tale of Despereaux (2003),
the John Newberry Medal winner (for Distinguished Contribution to
American Literature for Children), by Kate DiCamillo. Ms. DiCamillo
periodically interjects and, among other asides and observations,
instructs, 'Reader, it is your destiny to find out . . .' Although
only about a third of the way through, I think it's a story that
could usefully be read aloud and discussed with a child or grandchild."
- An invitation: What books have you enjoyed? Send us
your best recent book along with a short paragraph as to why you
liked it, plus what you plan to read next. --eeb
ENCYCLOPEDIA
TIDBIT
6/8: Georgia ranks
third in acres of vegetables planted
 Vegetables
are the second most valuable agricultural crop in Georgia. Collectively
they are worth an estimated $650 million in farm gate value (the
value of a product when it leaves the growing site) to the state's
agricultural economy. Georgia ranks third in the United States in
acreage of fresh-market vegetables planted.
Georgia farmers produce more than 30 different vegetable crops
on a commercial scale. Vidalia onions are the leading vegetable
crop in terms of value, while watermelons are grown on the most
acres. Georgia leads the United States in production of fresh-market
cucumbers, collards, lima beans, and turnip greens. Other vegetables
produced on more than 5,000 acres include snap beans, sweet corn,
carrots, cabbage, southern peas, squash, cantaloupes, bell peppers,
and tomatoes.
Although Georgia has a long history of vegetable production, it
was considered primarily a truck crop industry until the late 20th
century. Vegetable production in Georgia increased rapidly from
the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. In 2000 nearly 197,000 acres of
vegetables were grown in Georgia. The vast majority of this acreage
is fresh-market vegetable production. Less than five percent of
Georgia's vegetables are produced for the processing market.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Realizes value now
of what was key to the world for him
"When I was young, we couldn't afford much. But, my library
card was my key to the world."
-- Actor John Goodman.
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