Ironically, today, May 30th was Memorial Day in 1942. Anything but a holiday where war was concerned.

Word from London was the arrival and settling in of U.S. troops in Northern Ireland; the first leg of the journey that would eventually lead to Invasion of Europe. Reports as of this day claimed the troops were well behaved and everyone in Belfast seemed to like them. Not so much with the IRA though. As it was also reported those elements of the organization, sympathetic to Germany, were routinely reporting troop arrivals to the German Embassy in Dublin, causing a security concern.

Meanwhile, RAF bombers were busy striking at munitions factories outside Paris, as well as raids on Cherbourg and Dieppe, in addition to air strikes at industrial centers in Germany. Fighting in the Libyan desert was escalating with news of British advances in the region.

Reports from Moscow told of the first shipments of U.S. tanks being put to work almost immediately on the Eastern Front.

From the Pacific. Reports out of Australia concerned recent air attacks on Japanese ships outside Port Moresby and talk about a drastic change in priorities of supply shipping.

And it was disclosed that recent British cargo shipments, dodging enemy submarine and air attacks, were carrying such "essentials" as costume jewelry, golf balls and party favors. The Americans didn't fare much better as it was revealed one shipment arrived in Australia carrying some 70 tons of nothing but bottled soft-drinks. The heavily censored report went on to say that one General, dismayed over the soft-drink fiasco, said it would have been much better had the 70 tons been of ammunition instead. Priorities were still skewed at this still-early stage of the War.

In Washington - since it was a holiday, there was little Capitol Hill news to report, aside from reports that it was no holiday for Defense Plant workers and that production was going at full-speed. It was also noted that Congress was anticipated to be getting closer to abandoning draft deferments for Married men and that they would be in the mix along with everyone else of draftable age shortly.

And that was the story on this Memorial Day (May 30) in 1942, as reported on the Blue Networks World News Roundup.

News for this May 25th in 1942 was hopeful and cautious. Reports from Moscow told of the Russian Army regaining Kharkov after fierce fighting and that advances were being made along the Eastern Front.

From Australia it was reported Allied Bombers struck at Japanese airfields in Rabaul, New Guinea with the loss of one U.S. bomber and extensive damage to Japanese planes stuck on the ground. Also from Australia came news of a substitute being devised for gasoline by way of burning coal. Sounded messy, but according to reports, it worked in a pinch.

From London came news of RAF Bombers heading off to Cologne for a significant raid on that German city. There was also news of the Labour Party holding a conference that weekend, discussing stepped up Government aid in the war effort.

From Stockholm came reports that the Finnish Front was wavering, even though it had gotten back all the territory it had lost to Russia in the 1939 war. News that some 20,000 Finnish refugee Children were heading to Sweden amid reports of widespread starvation.

On Capitol Hill - reports of attempts to come up with a solution to the gasoline shortage by way of substitutes. It seemed the Australian coal-burning solution was being considered. Also being discussed was the possibility of extending the draft to include 18 and 19-year olds. And some circles were claiming the Allies would achieve Air Superiority in the war sometime in 1943. Some even went as far to say victory could be achieved by then. Although some were skeptical, saying 1944 was a more realistic estimate.

In any event, the war dragged on as reported by NBC News Of The World for May 25, 1942.

News on this day was all about the War in Europe and its impending end. The country was still in mourning over the loss on April 12th of President Roosevelt, and the White House was getting ready to usher in the new President; Harry Truman.

But the War in Europe was grounds for cautious celebration. Unofficial word from Moscow was the Russian army's final push to Berlin, with over 2 million troops heading to within 27 miles of the Berlin City limits.

Among the bulletins and dispatches was news that the Allied Air Force had destroyed some 633 German planes in one day, effectively knocking out the Luftwaffe from any further involvement in the war. The Air Force also announced that there were virtually no industrial targets left in Germany and that the role of the Air Force would switch in the coming days. General Eisenhower was set to announce plans for VE Day and news that General Patton's Third Army had reached the Czech frontier, effectively cutting Germany in two. News the Allied 7th Army had entered the German city of Nuremberg and that the Allied Armies on all fronts were advancing to Berlin.

Meanwhile, in the Pacific - it was announced by the Air Force that Tokyo's Industrial capacity was believed to have been completely destroyed and there were unconfirmed reports that the fires in Tokyo could be seen 100 miles out to sea.

And that's the way this day went on April 16th, 1945 from NBC's News Of The World.

Not a terribly upbeat day, this February 15th in 1942. Seventy years ago the news was anything but optimistic for Allied forces fighting around the globe.

From Radio Tokyo came rumors the British forces in Singapore were asking the Japanese for an armistice, but no word of confirmation from London. Meanwhile, The Japanese were launching an offensive in Sumatra aimed at taking the oil fields in Palembang, which were the largest in the Far East and the main source for fueling Allied ships in the Pacific. The Dutch were readying destruction of the fields.

In Britain, further fears of a pending invasion were fueled by reports of the sighting of German warships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the English Channel. Speculation had it the ships, largely unopposed, could provide cover for an invasion force as a sizable German fleet was now in the North Atlantic. For our part, it also fueled speculation that the Germans could conceivably stage a "prestige raid" of the East Coast of the U.S. since our navies were stretched way too thin to be effective. As one government official put it we were "fighting a two ocean war with a one ocean navy".

The only good news to be had came from the Eastern Front where Russian forces were pushing the Germans back to the old Polish border and had re-taken four towns in the process. German casualties were reported as heavy during this offensive.

All this had an alarming effect on Congress, who sent out calls for stepped up War production and an investigation as to why Synthetic Rubber production hadn't been increased before Pearl Harbor when just this scenario was considered. In the interim, a demand for the immediate conservation of rubber was issued as supplies were quickly drying up. And an investigation into the causes for the suspicious fire that destroyed the French Liner Normandie in New York was issued and a request the investigation not be handled by the Navy Department.

Labor was adding to the picture as some 600 workers at the nations biggest Aluminum production facility in Detroit went on strike over a demand for Sunday double-time pay.

All in all, a pretty dismal day (for a Sunday no less), this February 15, 1942 as reported by NBC Radio on their Weekend Roundup.

The 6:00 Evening news with Don Hollenbeck from WEAF for this February 9th in 1945. News almost entirely focused on the war and how it was progressing.

News that seven Allied Armies were advancing into Germany and a 350 mile front extending from The Alps to Holland was the scene of much action.

The Canadian 1st Army had advanced 5 miles and took some 14 towns in the process. Gen Patton's 3rd Army was now 8 miles inside of Germany. Resistance had been reported as light. Continued air bombardment of German positions in Northern Italy. News that Germans were escaping in droves to neutral countries with reports that many were fleeing to South America.

During Allied air raids over Germany, the first use of Jet Fighters by the Luftwaffe was reported, flying at an estimated speed of 10 miles a minute and breaking through Allied fighter escorts.

On the Eastern Front - the Russian Army opened a new offensive against Breslau and were continuing their advance towards Berlin.

The Chinese army launched successful counterattacks against the Japanese in three provinces, re-capturing several towns and cutting off Japanese supply lines.

In the Pacific, the continued push through the Philippines was continuing with an advance on Luzon. Meanwhile, fighting was still going on in Manila with Japanese taking a scorched-earth policy.

And reports that the Japanese had moved some 177 American prisoners of War, including General Wainright to Manchuria as a precaution for an anticipated invasion of Formosa.

That, and a lot more of the goings on this February 9th in history.

News on this particular February 8th was ominous. The Japanese had stepped up their assault on Singapore with increased air attacks on the city. It was an omen for things to come as the Allies were bracing for new loses, especially in the Pacific region. Feelers were put out to Russia for military assistance, but they had their own set of problems to deal with on the Eastern front.

U.S. shipping was suffering with 20 ships sunk so far in coastal waters and reports of an oil tanker torpedoed earlier on this day.

Domestically - reports were coming in of tremendous financial windfalls for companies getting defense contracts and there were rumors the Dairy Farmers were going to unionize. All adding to the headaches of running a war.

And speaking of war - the nation was switching to War Time as of this day with clocks moving one hour ahead and would stay that way for the duration. We usually call it Daylight Savings Time, but this was going to be permanent, at least for the time.

And that's how the news went seventy years ago on this February 8th in 1942 as reported by NBC and their Morning News Roundup.

News on this day in 1941 was all about saber rattling. FDR delivered his annual Navy Day Address the previous day and it was met with wild enthusiasm in Britain and wild disdain in Germany. In either case, it signified a rapidly advancing state of open war between the U.S. and the Axis powers and one which would soon enough become a reality within weeks.

But the war was going on with or without U.S. involvement. The German Army was reported on this day to be within 30-40 miles of Moscow, although neither Radio Moscow or Berlin Radio were giving any details.

Meanwhile Syria, the former French colony, had now declared its independence and was quickly recognized by Great Britain with the hopes of gaining another ally in the rapidly deteriorating Middle East.

All in all a rather anxiety-driven day in history, as reported on NBC's News Of The World edition for October 28, 1941.

Seventy years ago this day World War Two hadn't quite involved us officially (not as far as troops were concerned, but just about everything else) so there were still reports to be had from Berlin despite heavy censorship. The news concerned the German advance East, heading deep into Russia. While reports came in of Russian air raids over Germany from the east, and British air raids over Germany from the West. News from Berlin reported on crackdowns on the Black Market, widespread over Germany with numerous death sentences handed down. News from London reported no raids over the British Capitol in the last 24 hours and rationing for Baby clothes was announced.

In Washington, there was talk of a curtailment in "installment buying" to counter fears of inflation due to increased consumer spending. The Federal Reserve Board was working on a plan for the Reserve system to ration credit to prevent runaway business in installment buying and limit Credit agencies (i.e. banks and other lending institutions) from extending credit over a ceiling amount. Can you imagine how that would go over today?

And so it was seventy years ago to the day, on August 12, 1941 as reported by NBC Radio.

A little over a month since the U.S. got involved in the fighting and January 27, 1942 was not looking good. News from Burma, The Philippines, Singapore and Batavia wasn't good, with the Japanese driving hard on all fronts. The news from the Eastern front fared a bit better, with Russian troops recapturing strategic towns while counterattacking and pushing West. News of a vast Japanese spy network that had been operating in the U.S. the previous two years was about to be detailed by the Dies Committee, and no doubt lay the groundwork for the internment of Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast only a few months later.

By accounts a nervous day sixty-nine years ago, as reported by The Blue Network on the News Of The World broadcast for January 27, 1942.