December 23: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

December 23, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WITH AMERICAN FORCES ON THE WESTERN FRONT (U.P.) ― A single, battered American regiment was all that stood between the Germans and Luxembourg’s capital during the first 48 hours of the Nazi offensive, but that thin line held and saved the city through probably the most critical hours of the western war. The identity of the regiment still cannot be disclosed, but it can be revealed that its doughboys fought an entire German division to a standstill in an incredible battle near the Luxembourg border town of Echternach. Spread out over a wavering 10-mile line, the regiment’s cooks, company clerks and MPs fought side by side with the combat troops and beat off incessant attacks by German infantrymen for two days and nights. The Germans attacked at dawn last Saturday after an all-night artillery barrage. Their first onrush overran all the regimental outposts and observation points and carried more than a mile through American lines before it was halted. ‘We knew they were coming, but we didn’t know where or when or how many,’ the commanding colonel said. ‘My regiment was spread over 10 miles and a whole reinforced German division hit us. At the end of the first day the Germans had penetrated into our lines nearly a mile, and that night they even infiltrated into our artillery positions a good distance behind the lines. For 48 hours we were desperate, but by a miracle the boys held on. We had cooks and company clerks and MPs fighting in the line. I called the division and told them I urgently needed reserves. They sent 60 MPs.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, Eagle columnist Jack Lait Jr. said, “It’s been announced that Gov. Warren will drop California’s Daylight Saving Time at 2 a.m. the morning of Jan. 1. There’s been a bitter controversy over retention of this law for power-saving purposes. The early risers ― farmers, commuters, etc. ― have been squawking about the discomfort and inconvenience of getting up and going to work while it’s still dark. The opposition, doubtless far in the majority, claim these minor nuisances are trivial and are far outweighed by the added hour of daylight which gives office workers a chance to play a round of golf or do some puttering in the garden after work. But the strongest voice in the dispute is one seldom heard by the average citizen ― the voice of the organized theater and movie interests. These interests work like little beavers against Daylight Saving because it hurts their business. For one thing, as stated above, it gives people an extra hour of daylight activity in the early evening and hence keeps them out of the theaters. And secondly, even a lot of people who aren’t otherwise occupied simply have a psychological disinclination to go to a theater while it’s still light outside. So now the theater people, along with the farmers, commuters, etc., have won their fight, and the golfers and the garden putterers have lost. Being none of these, I don’t give a hoot either way.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “It seems that ‘Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl’ is finally approaching the stage. When originally published several years ago to enthusiastic praise from the literary critics, this true-life diary of a Jewish youngster, who was killed during the Nazi occupation of Holland, aroused considerable interest among the Broadway producers, as well as a dispute over ownership of its dramatic rights. It is now set for production by Kermit Bloomgarden, who will place the script dramatized by Albert and Frances Hackett into rehearsal early next month for a March opening on Broadway. The co-authors and Garson Kanin, who will direct the play version, ‘Diary of a Young Girl,’ arrived from London this week to confer with the producer. While abroad, Kanin and the Hacketts visited Amsterdam to meet Mr. Frank, father of Anne, and to study the locale of her book.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1954, the Eagle reported, “It is said there is no such thing as flying saucers, but they cannot be ruled out in the future if a recent announcement from Washington is any criterion. The combined efforts of the military services are being devoted to studies of earth satellites or space ships. These would be launched several hundred miles out and attain a speed of 18,000 miles an hour as they swung in an elliptical pattern around the earth. We admit we are staggered. And we wonder how the ships would be manned. Would they be another patronage plum and a convenient way of seeking to reward the politically deserving small fry or would it be a signal honor to be thus assigned. We can hear harassed leaders say as they run down the list of the unrewarded faithful, ‘Well, we can always send them into outer space.’”

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Finn Wolfhard
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “This is Spinal Tap” star Harry Shearer, who was born in 1943; “All My Children” star Susan Lucci, who was born in 1946; Pro Football Hall of Famer Jack Ham, who was born in 1948; original Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips, who was born in 1951; political analyst William Kristol, who was born in 1952; Iron Maiden guitarist Dave Murray, who was born in 1956; singer-songwriter Victoria Williams, who was born in 1958; L.A. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was born in 1963; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), who was born in 1964; former Cleveland Indians catcher Victor Martinez, who was born in 1978; actress and model Estella Warren, who was born in 1978; Miss Brooklyn 2010 and Miss America 2013 Mallory Hagan, who was born in 1988; and “Stranger Things” star Finn Wolfhard, who was born in 2002.

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THE MONEY TREE: The Federal Reserve system was created on this day in 1913. Established pursuant to authority contained in the Federal Reserve Act, the system serves as the nation’s central bank, with the responsibility for execution of monetary policy. It is called on to contribute to the strength and vitality of the U.S. economy, in part by influencing the lending and investing activities of commercial banks and the cost and availability of money and credit.

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CURRENT EVENT: The transistor was introduced on this day in 1947. John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley of Bell Laboratories shared the 1956 Nobel Prize for their invention, which led to a revolution in communications and electronics. It was smaller, lighter, more durable and more reliable and generated less heat than the vacuum tube, which had been used up to that time.

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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.

Quotable:

“It is in disaster, not success, that the heroes and the bums really get sorted out.”

— Medal of Honor recipient James Stockdale, who was born on this day in 1923