History News Network Oped: The Great Thing The Allies Did as Germany Crumbled

The Great Thing the Allies Did as Germany Crumbled

As we remember V-E Day (May 8, 1945) and the Allies victory in World War II Europe, let's also think of the unsung heroes. For throughout Europe there was another war raging against hunger.

US and British pilots heroically airlifted food into the Netherlands, who were starving under Nazi occupation.

A US Army Colonel, OJ Bizzozero, and a Red Cross official, Kevin Silber, advocated a great idea for feeding hungry children in recently liberated Italy.

Bizzozero exclaimed, “You would have to go into the schools. Schools are the place to go.” Silber replied, “In that way we could furnish milk to children who need it, and at the same time stimulate school attendance.” Soup and vegetables were also provided to hungry school children in Italy.

This emergency school feeding, which the Allies did throughout Europe, is one of the best ways to help the suffering children of war. It’s a lesson we should well remember because at this very moment children are hungry and missing out on education because of conflict.

See my full commentary at the History News Network.

Share Dr. King’s belief in ‘three meals a day’ for the hungry

One of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dreams was a world free from hunger, which is vital for achieving equality among all peoples. We can celebrate Martin Luther King Day by joining his quest to end hunger at home and abroad.

As Dr. King proclaimed in his Nobel Peace Prize speech, “I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.”

 

See my full commentary at the Raleigh News & Observer:

My Christmas Day column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer: Operation Reindeer!

Way back in 1953, Santa Claus took a little time out of his busy schedule to help a new president of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower. We hear a lot about presidential appointments these days. Well, that year it was Santa who was called to action by the president.

The holiday season inspired “Operation Reindeer,” Eisenhower’s plan to send Christmas food packages to hungry people around the world

See my full article in the Christmas Day Plain Dealer (page E2).

Wichita Eagle Oped: Food could be America’s greatest Christmas gift

On Christmas Eve night in 1947, President Harry Truman proudly talked about America’s most noble tradition: feeding the hungry. Truman said, “The great heart of the American people has been moved to compassion by the needs of those in other lands who are cold and hungry.”

Just days before, Truman signed legislation to provide food to European countries suffering in the aftermath of World War II.

Citizens donated as well, giving food to the Friendship Train, which collected goods for Europe.
Hungry children in France would be having school lunches again because of America’s generosity.
As we celebrate the holidays, we should remember America’s great calling to help those in need whether at home or abroad.

See my guest column in the December 25 Wichita Eagle (page 7A) or online at Kansas.com

What do the American and Syrian Civil War Have in Common?

In the story Gone with the Wind, Scarlett O’Hara experiences the food shortages caused by America’s Civil War. Hunger is a horrible fate that no one should endure.

Scarlett knows this. In the famous scene from the movie she vows, “As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again.”

The American Civil War, the bloodiest the country has ever seen, was more than a fight between the Northern Union and the Southern Confederacy. It was also a struggle against hunger.

See my full article at the Huffington Post

My History News Network Thanksgiving Oped

Imagine a mystery guest coming to your Thanksgiving dinner, one you have never met.

After World War II, that is what happened in thousands of American households. But it was an imaginary, or “silent,” guest: one of the world’s hungry.

The “silent guest” campaign of 1947-48 asked Americans to open up their hearts and share their Thanksgiving bounty. Gov. Robert Bradford of Massachusetts, a descendant of the Pilgrims who started Thanksgiving, proclaimed the new tradition of feeding a “silent guest” at the holiday meal.

Read the full article at the Cincinnati Enquirer:

My History News Network column on the Battle of the Somme

What were the news headlines 100 years ago today? Imagine what stories you would see on cable TV or in your Facebook news feed if the year were 1916.

The top story would undoubtedly be World War I and the Battle of the Somme, which started in July, 1916.

British and French forces took on the German army near the River Somme in northern France. It was a senseless slaughter that claimed thousands of lives even in the first days of the battle, which lasted for several months.

Read the full article at the History News Network.

My Easter Column in the Free Lance-Star newspaper

It was 70 years ago when President Harry Truman canceled the White House Easter egg roll.

Why?

He wanted to lead by example in conserving food when so many people were facing hunger

Famine threatened to claim hundreds of thousands of lives because of food shortages in Europe. World War II had left such destruction that famine was inevitable.

Read my full commentary in the Free Lance-Star.

Syria Needs Its Own Peace of Christmas Eve

Secretary of State John Kerry says, “the time is now to stop the killing in Syria and lay the groundwork for a government that the long-suffering people of that battered land can support.”

Ending the civil war in Syria can bring relief to the over 13 million Syrians who have suffered from food and medicine shortages. Peace in Syria can rally all the necessary power to defeat the terrorist group ISIS (Daesh) which has thrived because of the chaos of the war.

Clearly we all need peace in Syria. That would be the best holiday gift for the whole world.
See my commentary at The Huffington Post.

The Year America Saved Russia from Starvation

This holiday season there is a gathering storm of famine. El Nino related drought threatens over ten million with food shortages in Ethiopia.  Millions of war victims are starving in Syria, Iraq, South Sudan and Yemen.

These hunger emergencies demand the world’s attention. We can look to history for inspiration and remember America’s greatest Christmas gift.

It was 1921 in Russia and an AP journalist had just attended a mass in the town of Volsk. As he was leaving the church, the priest rushed after him. He had a message he wanted the reporter to share with America: Please send food and save us from starvation!

See my commentary at the History News Network.

Invite a ‘silent guest’ this Thanksgiving and help people in need

Former Massachusetts Gov. Robert Bradford was a messenger of hope. It was the Thanksgiving season of 1947 and Bradford, a descendant of the Pilgrims, made a special radio address to the nation.

The governor asked Americans to invite a silent guest into their homes for their Thanksgiving meals. This imaginary “silent guest” would be one of the hungry people in Europe.

See my full commentary at The Seattle Times.

My History News Network Thanksgiving Column

This Thanksgiving season take a moment and let your mind wander back to the autumn of 1947. That’s when the Greatest Generation again rose to meet a challenge and help those in need.

They started the tradition of setting aside a plate at the Thanksgiving table for a “silent guest,” one of the world’s hungry.

See my full commentary at The History News Network

My Time Magazine Column on the Syrian Refugee Crisis

We have seen the heartbreaking images of Syrians in desperate attempts to flee their war-torn homeland. All they want is to find safety in Europe, away from the conflict in the Middle East.

Thousands of Syrians each day are making this dangerous journey. They are tired, scared and hungry. What should the international community do? Start welcoming them.

See my full commentary at Time.com

Originally published at History News Network (HNN)

Marshall's Speech and Winning the Peace

On June 5, 1947 America's greatest peace adventure got started with a speech by Secretary of State George C. Marshall. It was a commencement address at Harvard University. It set in motion a masterful plan to rebuild Europe from the ashes of World War II.

Read the full article at The Huffington Post.

Remembering Our Greatest Mission

70 years ago the U.S. and British air forces led a life-saving mission that is a great example today, as we face some of the worst humanitarian emergencies since that time.

See my commentary at The History News Network.

Charity continues life-saving tradition

In my History New Network feature on the Syrian crisis, I wrote about the Near East Relief Charity of the World War I era. Their original name was the The American Committee for Syrian and Armenian Relief.

Read the full article at Examiner.

Abraham Lincoln and Food for Peace

As we celebrate President Abraham Lincoln‘s birthday this month, let’s remember some of his lesser known roles too. Even long after his death, Lincoln’s influence has continued in ways perhaps unexpected.

Read the full article at Examiner.

My History News Network feature article

My article The Bright Idea They Had in 1953 that Changed the World appears this week at the History News Network.

Check out the article at HNN.

My Cincinnati Enquirer Column on the Peace of Christmas Eve

Two hundred years ago this Christmas Eve, America and Britain received a special gift. Only nobody in either country knew about it.

Read the article at the Cincinnati Enquirer.

My commentary in the Philadelphia Inquirer

Two hundred years ago this Christmas Eve, America and Britain received a special gift. Only nobody in either country knew about it.

Read my commentary at the Philadelphia Inquirer.