The period just after World War 2 has always been fascinating, not only to see the wave of emerging nations from former colonial rule, but also the shaping of the Cold War atmosphere that would be such a part of life for decades after. A pivotal period of time, to be sure.

While the ink on the Surrender documents was still drying, a Conference was held in Moscow by the former Allies to start hammering out a plan for the post-war world. Needless to say, it wasn't terribly successful, but Secretary of State James F. Byrnes did come back with some interesting proposals, which of course never saw fruition, including one for Korea.

Sec. of State James F. Byrnes: “The Administration of Korea has been a trying problem since the surrender of Japan. For purposes of Military operations the occupation of Korea was divided North and South of latitude 38 into Soviet and American areas. The continuation of this division after the surrender has been very unsatisfactory. The movement of persons and goods and the functioning of public services on a nationwide scale has been greatly hampered. Under our agreement at Moscow the two military commands are to form a joint Soviet-American Commission to solve immediate economic and administrative problems. They will make recommendations to the governments of The United States, The Soviet Union, Great Britain and China for the formation of a Korean Provisional Democratic government. They will also make proposals to these governments regarding a four power trusteeship to prepare Korea for its independence within five years.”

Nice words but . . .it didn't happen. In fact the shooting war got started just around the time the proposed Independence time frame was supposed to have taken place.

There's something about looking at history from the viewpoint of "what could've happened, what should've happened and what did happen" that makes it interesting and frustrating at the same time.

And then there's that hindsight thing. . . .

Here is Secretary of State James F. Byrnes' address on the outcome of the Moscow Conference which he delivered on December 30, 1945.

With news on the latest flare up in North/South Korean hostilities, I was reminded of an anniversary of sorts and our involvement in Korea in November of 1950 and how, around this time, it wasn't going terribly well for the United Nations troops as indicated in this broadcast of Voice and Events from the first week of December 1950.

President Truman: “Gentlemen, I have a statement to make; recent developments in Korea confront the world with a serious crisis. The battlefield situation is uncertain at this time. We may suffer reverses as we have suffered them before. But the forces of the United Nations have no intention of abandoning their mission in Korea. The forces of the United Nations are in Korea to put down an aggression that threatens not only the whole fabric of the United Nations, but all human hopes of peace and justice. If the United Nations yields to the forces of aggression, no nation will be safe or secure. If aggression is successful in Korea, we can expect it to spread throughout Asia and Europe and this hemisphere. We are fighting in Korea for our own national security and survival.”

Not that we're necessarily going to get involved in another "police action", but just a reminder that we have a history in the region and it goes back quite a way.

A Day full of hearings, this March 21st in1951.

Starting with the New York Crime Committee Hearings and testimony by former New York Mayor/now Ambassador O'Dwyer over receipt of $10,000 in cash from a certain John P. Crane, head of the Uniformed Firemen's Union and his adamant denial, despite Crane's adamant accusation. To be overheard in the hearing room; "someone is lying".

Meanwhile in Korea - U.S. troops were making advances and meeting little resistance, which was either a good thing or bad thing. But in any event, casualty reports came in at 1,100 for the month with 56,000 since the conflict started.

A call for a joint meeting between Labor and Management was given by Economic Stabilizer Erich Johnstone in light of brewing discord among the unions.

In other hearings - the legendary HUAC Committee was embarking on its Hollywood odyssey with such luminaries as actor Howard DiSilva taking the Fifth. Actor Larry Parks, on the other hand, admitted to being a member of the Communist Party from 1941-1945 but later thought better of it and quit, even though he refused to name names.

And the Government concluded its case against three defendants accused of spying for the Soviet Union and sending Atomic secrets to Moscow. One of the defendants, Julius Rosenberg, took to the stand and vehemently denied he was ever involved in a spy ring. The name Julius Rosenberg and his wife Ethel would wind up becoming very prominent in spy news in the future.

But for now . . . .

And that's what happened on this March 21st in 1951 as reported by Edward R. Murrow and The News from CBS Radio.

Another day our news was absorbed with war - Cold and Korean.

February 2nd 1951 and reports came in of marginal advances towards Seoul on the 9th day of a UN offensive in Korea. Reports also came in of an alarming increase of Frostbite cases among the troops, with an estimated 10-20% of those cases requiring amputations of one sort or another. The question of morale was on the minds of many, including those responding to rumors from "high placed officials" that a line of defense would be established at the 38th Parallel in Korea. The rumors were flatly denied, saying it would be detrimental to the morale of the troops if such a strategy was considered. Ironically, it was - but at the time, no one would admit it.

General Eisenhower was scheduled to make an Address To The Nation at 10:45 pm (EST) on the need for an increase in military strength around the world, including Europe. It was hinted Gen. Eisenhower would ask to establish a military draft of 18 year olds to shore up the sagging troop numbers.

On Capitol Hill a call for relaxation of the Wage Freeze was being considered, as well as legal action against key participants in the Railroad strike, saying the strike was doing harm to the war effort as much needed winter supplies were being delayed in shipping as the result (i.e. the frostbite report).

And the fourth Atomic Test took place in Yucca Flats Nevada, with reports of sizable earth tremors being felt in Las Vegas and the explosion being clearly visible In Los Angeles, some 300 miles away.

Coinciding with news of the Nevada Tests it was also revealed that radioactive particles were turning up in snowfall around Canada and other parts of the Eastern U.S. - although the AEC were quick to assuage fears by claiming the amounts were only trace and posed no harm to living things. No mention of plants or ground water, but people and animals were in no direct fear of becoming radioactive.

And all of this talk of The Bomb, the War and The Soviet Union had Americans clamoring for institutions of religion. A dramatic uptick in Church attendance and construction of new churches, of religious studies at colleges and Universities led many to believe this was all the result of the overwhelming fear that had gripped the world in 1951. That somehow the world had just become too dangerous a place to live without some higher authority being consulted. Clearly, we were losing control.

And that's the way it looked on this February 2nd, 1951 as reported by Don Hollenbeck, substituting for Edward R. Murrow on Edward R. Murrow And The News over CBS Radio.

In 1952 the issues surrounding the Presidential election of that year were a bit different, only because we had the all-pervasive Cold War hanging over America's collective head.

But aside from that, not much has changed. In 1952 we were stuck in Korea, an undeclared war that, as of March 1952 had already claimed some 103,000 lives. A Foreign Policy that was woefully short-sighted. Corruption in Government, and an Internal Security System that many felt left us ripe for "enemy takeover".

In 1952 we were hot in the midst of a Cold War and everyone employed by the Government was under suspicion of taking orders from The Kremlin. It was disclosed that over 16,7000 Federal employees were under investigation by the FBI and the list of "undesirables" was growing.

And of course, the argument was this never would have happened if there was a Republican in the White House. All the country's ills were laid solidly at the foot of Harry Truman and his Commie invested Administration on Capitol Hil.

At least that's the way Republican Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois put it. Countering the partisan blast was and Oklahoma Senator Robert Kerr, a Democrat who casually reminded listeners that the Republicans were a notoriously backward thinking party and that their hearts were solidly in the 19th Century (some things never change).

The irony was that Everett Dirksen sought to paint the Republicans as a party of Peace, saying that in the previous 90 years (from 1952 which meant roughly 1870), not one single American had died as the result of war fought during a Republican Administration. Oh. Well, I guess the Spanish-American War of 1898 during Republican William McKinley's tenure wasn't actually a war and the sea battle in Manila Bay which lead to U.S. control over the Philippines had nothing to do with war either. Or the land-grab wars involving all the tribes of our indigenous folk during Republican Ulysses S. Grant's Administration in the 1870's wasn't really considered anything remotely war-like. No. Those must've been peace missions gone awry.

At any rate - the arguments are the same and on this episode of American Forum Of The Air, which was broadcast on March 3, 1952, it makes it abundantly clear Politics and the two party system don't really veer much off course, no matter what. We just don't have Joe Stalin and the Kremlin to deal with anymore - they've been traded in for the Taliban and airport security.

The faces and names change. The rhetoric may be a bit more off-the-wall now than it was in 1952, but then consider what people were used to then and it may be the insanity is the same then as it ever was.

That's what politics and looked and sounded like in 1952.

The week ending November 18, 1950 was a real grab bag of sorts. On the one hand, preparations were underway for Thanksgiving, coming up in a little under a week. On the other hand, fighting was going full speed ahead in Korea.

In between you had news regarding Football Coach Herman Hickman of Yale being handed a 10 year contract. Playwright Robert Sherwood made an appeal to the Theater community to keep The Theater alive, since Broadway was in danger of dying again, this time with Television looming on the horizon. A look back at Thanksgiving's past with FDR giving thanks in 1938 and how there became two Thanksgivings for a while. Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, debate was heating up over Foreign Policy with a particularly prickly showdown between Senator Robert Taft (R-Ohio) and Secretary of State Dean Acheson getting underway. The Cold War was front and center again, owed in no small part to the situation in Korea with characterizations of Stalin and Mao as a kind of tag-team in Asia. The legendary Kefauver Crime Committee Hearings opened in Los Angeles with testimony from Mickey Cohen - long on words and short on substance.

And, if you can believe it, the biggest song to hit the airwaves this particular week in 1950 was called "The Thing" and it was largely speculated to be a song about Communism and the Cold War. But then, they tried to make that analogy about a lot of seemingly benign things. Bad music was not immune.

And that was the week that was for November 18, 1950 as reported by NBC Radio News Special Features program Voices And Events.

August 15, 1951 - one those days they point to when dispelling the myth of the Dog Days of Summer. The ongoing Senate Crime Investigation Committee Hearings, focusing on Crime and New York Politics heard from Irving Sherman, an associate of former New York Mayor-turned Ambassador to Mexico William O'Dwyer. The problem was, Sherman didn't want the proceedings filmed or broadcast in any way, citing a distraction and a conflict with his "peace and serenity" (his words). The committee obliged and it created a storm of protest from the Press, including a very vocal denunciation from the Radio Correspondents Association. The proceedings went on anyway and Sherman painted a wildly unflattering portrait of his former pal and O'Dwyer's links to organized crime during his tenure in office.

Down the hall, House Un-American Activities Committee hearings were resuming regarding the Whittaker Chambers affair.

In another part of Capitol Hill. Debate on the new Foreign Aid bill was postponed and it was learned, with some consternation, that Great Britain was going to continue trading with Communist Bloc countries despite how the U.S. felt about it.

President Truman made an address the previous night where he lambasted the voices of the shrill, calling them "scandal mongers with rotten motives" while not naming names. And true to his paranoia, Senator Joe McCarthy swore Harry was talking about him and demanded equal time on TV and radio to answer Truman's charges.

Truce talks were deadlocked in Korea and the war dragged on. Iran rejected a British proposal to split oil profits 50-50 in the midst of Iran's nationalizing it's oil production.

And famed Piano virtuoso Artur Schnabel died in Switzerland at the age of 69 after a long illness.

All in a day and with far-reaching consequences, as reported by Edward R. Murrow And The News with Don Hollenbeck substituting from CBS Radio on August 15, 1951.

Sort of makes you wonder what under-the-radar news item today will come up and bite us in the future.

Sixty years ago this day we were knee-deep in war, this time Korea. Ceasefire/Armistice talks had just begun with hopeful optimism amidst a flurry of obstacles to tackle on the way to Square One. Even so, it was a start which was good news as during the previous week The Pentagon released casualty reports listing over 164 killed upping the total since June of the previous year to over 78,000.

Meanwhile there were grumblings from Iron Curtain Satellites (namely Bulgaria and Romania) that Soviet style purges were underway. A wave of anti-Semitic activity was going on in Romania over the exodus of Jews leaving for destinations Middle-East. Seems the propaganda was attempting to place the Jewish population in Eastern Europe as being on the side of Hitler during the war (?).

Domestically, Congress was twisted in knots over the Price Controls debate with Beef prices taking center stage. It prompted at least one D.C. restaurant to offer Horsemeat Filets as a not-so-gentle nudge to the warring factions that The Old Grey Mare was starting to look rather tasty.

Flooding in Kansas was threatening to be the worst since 1903 with mass evacuations from suburbs in Topeka to higher ground.

And the 250,000th refugee from World War 2 landed in the U.S. on their way to a farm in Wisconsin.

And so it went this July 11, 1951 as reported on the Edward R. Murrow News with Don Hollenbeck substituting from CBS Radio.

And now you know.

The week ending April 8, 1951 was something of a calm before the storm. Three days after this broadcast (Voices and Events from NBC Radio), President Truman would make the stunning announcement that he was firing General Douglas MacArthur from his command of the Far East and replacing him with Gen. Matthew Ridgeway. There is mention of what would be the last straw in the broadcast as MacArthur is quoted as favoring the Nationalist Chinese opening up a second front in the Korean conflict during an overseas visit. But for all the controversy there was still a war going on with no real end in sight.

Other news that week had a lot to do with the upcoming Presidential election for 1952. Speculation was rife that the hands-down candidate would be General Eisenhower, but it was unclear as to which party ticket he would run under. No one, it seems asked him what his party affiliation was. Meanwhile, the playing field was pretty much open as it appeared there were no candidates willing to take on the grueling campaign and the overwhelming responsibility. Senator Paul Douglas probably said it best that week:

Sen. Paul Douglas: “The job is really an impossible job. And it calls for the brooding qualities of Lincoln, the philosophic depth of Jefferson, the sturdiness of Cleveland, the daring of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the popular leadership qualities of Theodore Roosevelt. In addition he must be a spiritual leader. He needs the patience of Job. And must have the physique of either a Sandow, a Samson or a Charles Atlas. Any man who wants to be President of the United States needs to have his head examined.”

No doubt sage words of advice, even sixty years later.

(Frank Costello at the Kefauver Crime Committee Hearings - taking the Fifth to new vistas)

With the Korean War grinding on and the country gearing up for the 1952 elections, the big spectacle of the year on Radio and Television was the Kefauver Crime Committee Hearings on Capitol Hill. Organized crime had become a way of life and gambling was its biggest commodity. With Mafia figures lined up to testify (or refuse to testify as was the case), the country was riveted to each new revelation and intrigued by the parade of exotic names attached to the hearings and being grilled by 1952 Vice-presidential hopeful Estes Kefauver.

The Cold War was also in full bloom, with the trial of accused spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and General MacArthur relieved of his command in Korea.

All in all, 1951 was a pretty interesting year and far from a dull one.

But then, most aren't dull in retrospect anyway.

And the same is true with this one.

don't forget . .