The Santa Anita Ordnance Training Center Rifle Range was acquired by the Army for use as a training area for personnel stationed at the Santa Anita Ordnance Training Center during World War II. Reported use of the range included a rifle range, pistol range, transition or infiltration range, and a miniature antiaircraft range. The range was used by the Army between early 1943 and May of 1944 when the Ordnance Training Center at Camp Santa Anita was decommissioned
Citation: Santa Anita Ordnance Training Center Rifle Range. Military Museum. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://www.militarymuseum.org/SantaAnitaOTCRifleRange.html
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In this photo, soldiers participating in the Tennessee maneuvers attempt to jump over barbed wire during a training exercise. Similar training was likely happening at Camp Santa Anita during the time John was there. |
Citation: "Two soldiers jumping over barbed wire." Marion S. Coleman Peck Papers. Property of the Albert Gore Research Center, Middle Tennessee State University. Accessed April 6, 2023. https://digital.mtsu.edu/digital/collection/p15838coll15/id/106/
War movies and best picture;
During the war, two films in the war movie genre won best picture and a third would also continue the war movie success in 1946. Those films were Mrs. Miniver (1942), Casablanca (1943), and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). Many more war films were made, some even starring future American president Ronald Reagan, but those three won best picture and were made in a timely manner to the war.
The twentieth century brought about many changes and innovations into society. With world changing wars being such a big part of the first half of the century, its no wonder why these films would win best picture in their respective years. The support and approval of these films may come from a macabre sense of wanting to see wanton violence, but its more likely that it comes from a place of wanting to understand what could be going on.
Citation: Holland, Misty, and Marcus James Dixon. “Oscars: 16 War Movies That Won Best Picture.” GoldDerby, March 9, 2023. https://www.goldderby.com/gallery/oscars-war-movies-that-won-best-picture/oscar-best-picture-war-movies-the-best-years-of-our-lives/.
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
Notes – Handwritten letter dated July 13, 1943, two pages. Includes envelope, postmarked July 14, 1943, 10AM, from Camp Santa Anita, Arcadia, Calif.
Moving the 1757th and all their gear from Florida to California was a large undertaking and something of a logistical puzzle. John references the days-long process of packing boxcars full of equipment and supplies for the cross-country trip in the previous letter. In this letter, he talks about the length of the trip, and how hot it was on the train with no air conditioning. He also describes the eight hour layover in New Orleans.
What route would the 1757th have taken, and what railroads would likely have been used? For the trip from Tallahassee to New Orleans, it is likely that they would have used the Louisville and Nashville (L&N) Railroad as there was a direct line between the two cities, going around the north end of Mobile Bay in Alabama. Once in New Orleans, they would have had to switch over to the Southern Pacific (SP). We can surmise that the delay of eight hours may have been due to switching locomotives between the two railroad companies, and possibly waiting for rail lines heading west to clear.
Citations:
Wikipedia contributors, "Southern Pacific Transportation Company," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Southern_Pacific_Transportation_Company&oldid=1151451036 (accessed April 2023).
“Louisville and Nashville Railroad.” Locomotive Wiki. Accessed April 27, 2023. https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/Louisville_and_Nashville_Railroad.