Strange-but-true stories from the Vietnam-era
For International Peace Month, we’re looking at significant turning points toward a more peaceful world highlighted by the records of the National Archives. Today’s post comes from Thomas Richardson, an expert archives technician at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri. “It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in … Continue reading Making Tomorrow Better: International Peace Month
Today's post comes from Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs Specialist at the National Archives. There is perhaps no single figure whose own life and career embodies the promise, success, and continued challenges of civil rights for Black Americans than John Lewis. We mourn this tremendous loss and look back on his incredible history through our holdings … Continue reading We Remember Civil Rights Legend John Lewis
Today's post comes from Joshua Cain, an archives technician at the National Archives in College Park, MD. The Peace Corps has had a large impact on my life. I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Belize from 2007 to 2009. I didn’t know much about the agency before I applied except that it involved … Continue reading The Peace Corps in Retrospect
Woodstock was a three-day music festival held in Bethel, New York, August 15–18, 1969. Plagued by poor planning and bad weather, the expected audience of 100,000 ballooned to over 400,000. There wasn’t enough food, water, or bathrooms, and frequent rains turned the festival’s picturesque farmland into a field of knee-deep mud. Though a logistical and … Continue reading Woodstock: Three days of Peace, Music, and Toilets
Shooting for the stars for the past 60 years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Better known as NASA, this independent agency has been overseeing the civilian space program and conducting research in aeronautics and aerospace since 1958. Use #ArchivesInSpace to be part of the NASA and the National Archives … Continue reading Celebrating NASA’s 60th Anniversary
Today's post comes from Kerri Lawrence, Writer-Editor for the National Archives News. This year marks the 50th anniversary of 1968, a year of turmoil and change in the United States and the world. In reflection, 1968 was a year of triumph and tragedy. International and national events changed the landscape of America and the world around … Continue reading The National Archives and 1968: A Year of Triumph and Tragedy
Today’s post comes from Madie Ward in the National Archives History Office. The Vietnam War (1955–75) was a time of great controversy in the United States. Cold War tensions ran high as the country relentlessly fought against the alleged evils of communism. At the same time, advances in video and audio recording enabled both easier … Continue reading Vietnam: The First Television War
This May we celebrate both Public Service Recognition Week and the centennial of the birth of a President closely associated with public service: John F. Kennedy. In Kennedy’s first inaugural address, in 1961, he made his famous call to public service by asking Americans “to ask not what your country can do for you—ask what … Continue reading A Call to Public Service: the Peace Corps
We are wrapping up our celebration of Black History Month. Today’s post comes from Hailey Philbin. On a sunny day in 1944, young Sara Jackson walked along the noisy DC streets right into the National Archives and asked for a job. Sara Dunlap Jackson receiving the Houston Civil War Round Table's Frank E. Vandiver Award, … Continue reading The Wild, Wild West . . . of Pennsylvania Avenue
October is American Archives Month! We're celebrating the work of archivists and the importance of archives with a series of blog posts about the Presidential libraries. The records created by Presidents while in office will become part of the National Archives, and eventually will be used by researchers. Here's how it happens! Today’s post comes … Continue reading Ernest Hemingway and the JFK Library
