September 21: ON THIS DAY in 1945, MacArthur claims Japan will never again be a world power
ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Tokyo, Sept. 21 (U.P.) — Japan will never again become a world power, Gen. Douglas MacArthur said today in an interview with the United Press. ‘Japan industrially, commercially, militarily and every other way is in a state of complete collapse,’ MacArthur declared. ‘Her food supplies are scarce and she faces conditions in this emergency that may well become catastrophic. Her punishment for her sins, which is just beginning, will be long and bitter … The man who pursued the Japanese from Australia to Tokyo plans to remain personally on the scene, enforcing, directing and administering Allied rule over the Japanese. Reiterating that he has no political aspirations, MacArthur asserted that he started as a soldier and intends to finish as one. ‘I’m on my last public assignment, which when concluded will mark the definite end of my service,’ he said.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1934, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Kamenz, Germany, Sept. 21 (AP) — Local residents said today that Bruno Richard Hauptmann, arrested in New York in connection with the Lindbergh baby kidnaping, was the town’s bad boy. Even before he was ordered to jail in 1923 he had been in frequent conflict with police authorities. In those early days he always was let off, but finally a court sentenced him to prison. The police today declined to divulge just what the charges were against him in 1923, but they did say the sentence was for four years. Hauptmann’s father is dead, but his mother is still living. The mother, who is 69 years old, was all alone today in her own house near the outskirts of the city. When neighbors broke the news of her son’s arrest to her, she said: ‘I am used to all sorts of things from the son who has caused me much heartaches, but this news is the worst yet.’”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.