The War in Southeast Asia was many things to many people. To some in the Defense Department under Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, the war appeared to be a technological challenge that American know-how was meant to conquer. To find an enemy who made the most of the cloak of darkness for movement and … Continue reading The Laser Target Recognition System (LTRS): A Lesson in Bleeding Edge Technology
Military leaders by default are the safety managers of their units, although one or more individuals may be formally titled "Safety Officer" as recognition of a specific responsibility within the military organization. The Safety Officer is an unheralded position wherein one may get recognition (and not the best kind) only when something goes wrong. So … Continue reading Navy Nuclear Weapons Safety–A Story in Posters
The National Declassification Center is proud to announce that the contents of the newly-declassified Classified Central Subject Files of the U.S. Embassy Djakarta, Indonesia, 1963-1969 are now available via the National Archives Catalog. This record series, digitized through the kind efforts of the National Security Archive, consists of correspondence, telegrams, airgrams, memoranda, reports, newspaper accounts, … Continue reading Djakarta Embassy Record Series Now Available Via the National Archives Catalog
The National Declassification Center, in partnership with the privately-operated National Security Archive, is proud to announce the release of a record series that has been the object of interest for a number of researchers worldwide. The records, formally titled the Classified Central Subject Files, U.S. Embassy Djakarta, 1963-1969, have been the object of a … Continue reading NDC Releases U.S. Embassy Djakarta Records
In the NDC's last blog entry, readers discovered from the records of the United States Embassy Djakarta, how an embassy goes about its mission to protect American citizens living in a foreign country during times of trouble. This entry will look at a different mission, one that tried to protect America's overseas interests from....Americans. Meet … Continue reading Joseph B. Kennedy and the Jet Speed Air Cushion Rail System
Summers in Indonesia are notoriously hot, which is not really much of a surprise for a nation of islands that straddles the equator. The summer of 1965 was much hotter if you were an American in Indonesia. In August of that year, missionary Harold Lovestrand, his wife and four children discovered what it meant to … Continue reading The Curious Case of Harold Lovestrand
NDC staffer Jamie White provided this post about his latest find: I recently reviewed a Department of Justice project (Class 130/145 Secret Enclosures, NND 66350) which covered a portion of the civil rights movement from 1968 and part of 1969. The collection covers the Poor Peoples campaign containing movements, surveillance, informant statements and bios on … Continue reading James Meredith and his March Against Fear
By Mr. Michael Rhodes Wednesday, August 28, 2013 will mark the 50th anniversary of “The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”. The keynote speaker of that momentous event in the history of the civil rights movement in America was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As recently declassified records reveal, in the spring of 1961, the Federal Bureau … Continue reading “Martin Luther King, integrationist”
by Ms Sarah Anderson The photo was found tucked away in a folder describing the U.S. Army-Marine Corps Steering Group requirements for hostile mortar locating equipment for use in South Vietnam. Miss Hostile Mortar According to the report, during World War II and Korea "hostile mortars caused a greater percentage of casualties that any other … Continue reading "Introducing Miss Hostile Mortar Locating Equipment – Miss KQP-1 to her friends – she aims to please!"
by Mr. James Carroll IEA Area Subject Files (RG 306 U.S. Information Agency – Record Entry ID: HS1-65869038. Finding Aid: UD-2010 44). Records that have been recently declassified include cultural presentations, fairs, expositions, and educational and cultural exchanges. While recently processing declassified materials at the National Archives, College Park location, I came across some fascinating … Continue reading Lionel Hampton, Jazz legend and President’s “Ambassador of Goodwill”
