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“The mission of this Allied Force was fulfilled at 0241, local time, May 7th, 1945.
EISENHOWER”
Top secret document sent by General Eisenhower to his superior officers to inform them that his mission was fulfilled - Germany was defeated and the war in Europe was over.
-from the Eisenhower Library
(via todaysdocument)
Alan Shepard gears up for his flight as the first American in space. May 5, 1961.
This photo from the holdings of the Eisenhower Library shows astronaut Shepard preparing for his record setting flight as the first American man in space.
-from the Jacqueline Cochran Papers, Federation Aeronautique International Series. National Archives ID #7065300
This post was originally a Doc of the Week from the Eisenhower Library
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In honor of Mother’s Day, here’s an entertaining letter from JFK’s mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, to President Kennedy.
In 1962, Rose Kennedy wrote to Soviet Premier Khrushchev asking for an autographed photo. Learning that his mother had reached out to the Soviet Premier, JFK wrote her this letter asking her to please check with him before she took it upon herself to correspond with heads of state as requests like hers are “subject to interpretations.” The timing is interesting, considering JFK wrote back to Rose almost immediately after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In response to this letter, Rose Kennedy wrote back, saying: “I understand very well your letter, although I had not thought of it before. …When I ask for Castro’s autograph, I will let you know in advance!”
From the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Papers/JFK Library
Space Food, Brownies, Apollo 11
Tomorrow is Space Day at the National Air and Space Museum! The Presidential Libraries of the National Archives will be there hosting a Mission Checklist hunt.
If you are in Washington D.C., come by to accept your mission and search for Apollo items at the National Archives and the Air and Space Museum.
Among your necessities: compressed brownies sealed in 4-ply laminate.
Learn more about space food from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Photo courtesy of the National Air and Space Museum.
More — Nixon and the Apollo Program
President Obama just took off from the South Lawn of the White House.
He’s headed to Mexico and Costa Rica to reinforce the deep cultural, familial, and economic ties that so many Americans share with Mexico and Central America.
President Obama is in Mexico today, and will speak from the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City. In 1947, Mexican President Miguel Aleman greeted Harry Truman in the nation’s capital.
Here’s a photo of Aleman and Truman’s Presidential motorcade touring Mexico City. March 3, 1947.
-from the Truman Library
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President George W. Bush at work clearing brush at Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas. 8/28/02*.
The George W. Bush Presidential Library opens to the public today! If you aren’t in Dallas, there’s lots to do online, including:
Perhaps our favorite feature of the GWB Library website? The “Barney Cam” videos of the Bush family’s Scottish Terrier exploring the White House. Enjoy!
-from the George W. Bush Presidential Library
*Please note that we mistakenly published the year of the photo as 2005. The correct year of the photo was 2002.