June 6: ON THIS DAY in 1944, battle rages off the French coast

June 6, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle

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ON THIS DAY IN 1876, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Brooklyn enjoys few downright sensations, so when a wildcat, or in more polite phraseology, a catamount, calls upon its residents, the occasion is noted as being specially fraught with interest. An animal of this not highly appreciated species was killed near the Prospect Park Fair Ground Club House Saturday night, and the fowls in the neighborhood are all enjoying a more quiet time evenings than they have known since it commenced operations in that locality. A true catamount is a rare visitor; Mr. Olano thinks not a very desirable one — since he had to furnish for its nightly food for several nights a number of his most prized fowls.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Eagle reported, “Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force, London, June 6 (UP) — American, British and Canadian invasion forces landed in northwestern France today, established beachheads in Normandy, and by evening had ‘gotten over the first five or six hurdles’ in the greatest amphibious assault of all time … The Allies are fighting in the town of Caen, nine and one-half miles inside the French coast, Prime Minister [Winston] Churchill said today … General [Dwight] Eisenhower’s supreme headquarters revealed the Allied armies, carried and supported by 4,000 ships and 11,000 planes, encountered considerably less resistance than had been expected in the storming of Adolf Hitler’s vaunted West Wall. Nazi broadcasts reported Allied troops pouring ashore most of the day along a broad reach of the Norman coast and to the east, and admitted invasion landing barges had penetrated two estuaries behind the Atlantic Wall. The apparent key to the lightness of the Nazi opposition to invasion forces opening the battle of Europe was contained in a disclosure that thousands of Allied planes dropped more than 11,200 tons of bombs on German coastal fortifications in eight and a half hours last night and early today.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “The Brooklyn Baseball club is slated to be struck soon by the lightning of collective bargaining demands by Dodger players who have asked the American Baseball Guild to represent them. Although team members professed to know nothing about the move, Robert Murphy, organizer and founder of the Guild, came out with a flat statement that the Dodgers have taken kindly to preliminary overtures. ‘I’ve hopes that the Dodgers will join us,’ he said. ‘We already have representation n the club.’ Dodger players were unusually shy when the matter was mentioned and the clubhouse grapevine blossomed with a report that manager Leo Durocher had addressed his athletes on the topic of unionism. It was understood Durocher lacked enthusiasm for the idea. Mr. Murphy said he was pushing his plans to complete organization of the Dodgers and told Mr. Durocher that he intended to see his players tomorrow. ‘Go ahead, see if I care,’ Lippy replied.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “The first three digits of Brooklyn’s new Zip Code were announced today by Postmaster Edward J. Quigley, as this borough moved another step toward the kick-off of the National Coding Plan July 1. ‘Brooklyn, N.Y. will use the prefix 112 as the first three numerals in all correspondence,’ Postmaster Quigley said. ‘Local postal zone numbers, added to this prefix, will give you the full five-digit Zip Code for your delivery area.’ … Quigley stressed that Zip Code goes into effect nationally as of July 1, and urged that all residents and business firms of Brooklyn learn the Zip Code now for their respective delivery areas, and use the code in their return address on all correspondence. In answering mail, Zip Codes taken from return addresses on incoming mail should be used. He said that when the national Zip Code plan is fully operational, it will provide the United States with the most modern system of mail distribution and dispatch every devised.”