Honoring Our Veterans: Children's Book Edition

The concept of Veterans Day began back in World War I when a cease fire, or armistice, went into effect November 11, 1918 at 11:00 AM. In 1938, an act was signed making Armistice Day an official annual holiday in the United States. After World War II and the Korean Conflict, the name was changed to Veterans Day reflect the service of all Americans who served during wartime. Mississippi is home to nearly 200,000 veterans. These men and women served in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

The following children's books all feature children and teens whose parents, friends, and neighbors serve in the United States military. In some of the young adult titles, a teen soldier not much older than the intended audience is featured. For younger children, these types of books can help them grasp the difficult concept of war, as well as bring them to a better understanding of why people they know serve their country. For older children and teens, the books tackle more complicated issues like disabling injuries, PTSD, and death.

• While You Are Away
  Eileen Spinelli and Renee Graef
  Preschool-Grade 2
  Contemporary
• How My Parents Learned to Eat
  Ina Friedman and Allen Say
  Preschool-Grade 3
  Contemporary
  
• My Red Balloon
  Eve Bunting and Kay Life
  Preschool-Grade 4
  Contemporary  
• Fish in a Tree
  Lynda Mullaly Hunt
  Grades 4-6
  Contemporary

• The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story
  Gloria Houston and Barbara Cooney
  Kindergarten-Grade 3
  World War I
• The Poppy Lady: Moina Bell Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans
  Barbara Walsh and Layne Johnson
  Grades 2-5
  World War I
• The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage
  Walter Dean Myers and Bill Miles
  Grades 5-8
  World War I
• Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers: Volume I
  Arigon Starr (editor)
  Grades 7-Adult
  World War I, World War II, Korea

• All Those Secrets of the World
  Jane Yolen and Leslie Baker
  Preschool-Grade 3
  World War II
• Across the Blue Pacific: A World War II Story
  Louise Borden and Robert Parker
  Grades 2-5
  World War II
• Lily's Crossing
  Patricia Reilly Giff
  Grades 3-7
  World War II 
• Eyes of the Emperor
  Graham Salisbury
  Grades 7-12
  World War II

• Heroes
  Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee
  Kindergarten-Grade 3
  World War II, Korea, Vietnam
• Devotion
  Adam Makos
  Grades 10-Adult
  Korea

• The Wall
  Eve Bunting and Ronald Himler
  Preschool-Grade 3
  Vietnam
• Almost Forever
  Maria Testa
  Gr. 4-7
  Vietnam 
• Fallen Angels
  Walter Dean Myers
  Grades 7-12
  Vietnam

• Operation YesSara Holmes
  Grades 4-7
  Afghanistan
  
• The Saturday Boy
  David Fleming
  Grades 5-7
  Afghanistan
• I'll Meet You There
  Heather Demetrios
  Grades 9-12
  Afghanistan

• Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine, and a Miracle
  Brian Dennis, Mary Nethery, and Kirby Larson
  Grades 2-5
  Iraq
  
• Peace, Locomotion
  Jacqueline Woodson
  Gr. 4-6
  Iraq
• Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am
  Harry Mazer
  Peter Lerangis
  Grades 7-12
  Iraq 
• The Impossible Knife of Memory
  Laurie Halse Anderson
  Grades 9-12
  Iraq 

Though these are difficult topics to approach with anyone, using books to tackle these issues can smooth the way to asking tough questions and help children realize that they are not alone in their situation. Books like these remind us of our history and keep us grounded in our past.

Thank you to all who served and still serve our country. We hope you find your story reflected on these pages and share them with the children in your life. Until next time, happy reading!

 https://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

Meebo Musters Up The Military




Confederate artillery defending Charleston, 1863

Last week, I received a reference request from one of our Meebo patrons. (You remember Meebo, right? We're mlcreference if you need to ask a question!) This particular patron wanted to know about:

1. The difference between a regiment and a battalion
2. Harper's Regiment, CSA in Mississippi

I found my first answer in Dictionary of Military Terms:

A battalion is a tactical unit of one branch of a ground army's combat arms, varying in size and composition but generally in the range of 500 to 1,000 troops and usually commanded by a lieutenant colonel. It normally consists of three to five of the basic combat units of its branch (company for infantry, battery for artillery, company or troop for armor). Three or four battalions are usually combined to form a regiment or a brigade (Dupuy et al. 30-31).

A regiment is a military unit, particularly of infantry, cavalry, or artillery, that can be either administrative or operational... Since the late 18th century a regiment, commanded by a colonel, has usually been an operational unit of two or more battalions, and has functioned most often as a component of a division. In the modern US Army, until the mid-1960s, infantry regiments consisted of three battalions, in strengths varying from about 1,500 to 3,000 troops." (Dupuy et al. 208).

Finding Harper's Regiment in Mississippi proved a much larger task. Here are a few potential candidates:

• Harper's Battalion
  13th Mississippi Battalion Infantry
  Major N. B. Harper
  (Rowland 219)
• Harper's Reserves
  36th Mississippi Infantry, Company C
  Lt. Col. S.G. Harper
  Formed from men of Newton, Lauderdale, and Smith Counties
  Mustered 20 February 1861
  (Rowland 319)
• Harper's Battery
  Part of "Jefferson Flying Artillery"
  Captain William L. Harper
  Formed in Jefferson County May 6, 1861
  Mustered into state service at Fayette, MS April 1861
  (Rowland 479)

I relaize that not all of these are regiments, but I think it is important to keep yourself open to the idea that your source could be partially incorrect. Also, tt's possible that there are additional military units with a "Harper" moniker. A better idea of where your ancestor was located prior to and directly after the Civil War would help. Bible records, the Census (both Federal and State), and pension applications will provide you with more details. Please feel free to contact the Mississippi Library Commission Reference Department again if you have further questions!

Dupuy, Trevor N., et al. Dictionary of Military Terms. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 2003. Print.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Confederate-artillery.jpg
Rowland, Dunbar. Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898. Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, Publishers, 1978. Print.

Uncle Sam Wants You (To Get In The Water!)

A few weeks ago, I had to search through the microfilm for an article about a US transport ship that had hit a mine back in 1942. While I had to spend a little more time than usual trying to find the article, it was well worth it in the end. At first, there was some confusion as to when the ship actually sank. It turns out that although the ship went down towards the end of October, it was not released in the media until six weeks later. That's a far cry from our instant news of today, and yet, there were still journalists "embedded" with the troops.

The 22,000 ton ocean liner hit a friendly mine and started sinking quickly. The captain of the ship managed to run it aground on a coral reef (!) and proceeded to evacuate the ship in a most orderly fashion. All of the soldiers had been sent to quarters, and there they waited, playing music and passing the time, until their sections were called. Then they joined the throngs that were doing this:

Have I ever mentioned my extreme fear of heights? I'm not sure I could have climbed down the side of this ship! It seems that several of the soldiers had a bit of trouble getting off the big boat, too.

The rescue boat that carried the writer to the ship's side found one young soldier clambering down a rope that was fifteen feet short of the water. He was very calm. He held to the rope with his two hands and looked down at us.

"Jump," our coxswain shouted.

"I can't swim," retorted the soldier.

"Jump, we'll catch you," we all shouted.

"Well, I don't know," the soldier mused. "I can't swim."

A stream of profanity was directed at him, but he swung there gently, listening us out, apparently too polite to interrupt. Then he said:

"Well, all right, but I can't swim a stroke." Then he began to count.

"One," he said; "two, three," and paused.

"Well, here goes," he shouted, counting, "four, five, six, and one for good measure."

When he got to "nine," he let go and hit just off our bow. He sank like a stone. We waited, boat hook ready for him to come up. It seemed he never would come up, but finally he broke water and we hauled him on board. Then we found out he had jumped with a fully loaded cartridge belt around his waist and had just plummeted on down. When he revived, spluttering, he protested: "I told you fellows I couldn't swim." (Troops, NYT)

I wonder what he was going to do with that fully loaded cartridge belt in the ocean. Perhaps it was his special fully loaded cartridge belt?

What could have been a total disaster resulting in large loss of life transpired with only two deaths. Or wait, was it three? Or maybe four... Initial reports (from 1942) said that as many as four or five men died, but looking at information from after the war points to only two men out of over five thousand that died (pacificwrecks.com) What a beautiful miracle to come out of this:

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/ships/usn/president_coolidge.html
Wolfert, Ira. "Troops on Lost Ship Sing During Rescue." New York Times. 16 Dec. 1942: A1. Print.

General Meebo Eggleston

We have been having some great results with Meebo, the newest way that you can ask us questions. You've certainly been keeping us on our toes! The Reference Staff would like to remind you that in order to get your answer to you, you should either wait for an answer to your query or include your email address. Remember: no one but the staff here can see your question/email address. Because a couple of questions were received after hours or by those who disappeared before we answered their questions, we have decided to answer those questions in the blog. Look for the "meebo" label.

A recent inquiry asked how many generals are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces. According the United States Code Title 10 Chapter 526:

The number of general officers on active duty in the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, and the number of flag officers on active duty in the Navy, may not exceed the number specified for the armed force concerned as follows:

(1) for the Army, 302.
(2) for the Navy, 216.
(3) for the Air Force, 279.
(4) for the Marine Corps, 80.

There are a few exclusions where certain people (i.e., the president) in
certain circumstances (i.e., war) can add extra generals, but 877 seems to be
the average at any given point.

We also had a question about how to pronounce artist Will Eggleston's name. According to Cheim and Read Gallery in New York:

"EGG-el-stun"

These are great questions! They're just the sort of thing that we love to track down. Remember! If you don't stay on Meebo or give us your email address, we'll post the answer to your question here.

A Horse is a Horse, of course, of course... Except when He's Art

I was flipping through The New York Public Library Desk Reference (which by the way, has quickly become one of my favorite books) when I found this interesting morsel:

If a statue of a horse has both front legs in the air, the rider died in battle.
If the horse has one front leg in the air, the rider died as a result of battle.
If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the rider died of natural causes.

I'd heard of this practice of documenting the lives of military leaders before and decided to investigate. Could it be true? After some digging, I found that the oldest statue honoring a ruler is one of Emperor Marcus Aurelius on horseback in the Campidoglio at Rome. If you look at the statue, you'll see that one of the horse's front legs is raised. Unfortunately, Marcus Aurelius did not die as a result of battle. It seems that when the statue was first created, the figure of a barbarian was placed underneath the horse's raised hoof, where he cowered and hoped not to be crushed to death. At some point, the barbarian disappeared, leaving Aurelius's horse's hoof raised above the ground. Fascinating, but my quest was still on! (By the way, the reason this particular statue is still around is due to the fact that it was believed to be Emperor Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman Emperor. Otherwise, it more than likely would have been destroyed with the many other works of art deemed to be paganistic by early Christians.)
I decided to check out what Snopes had to say on the subject, which was not encouraging! Urban legend! I'm so disappointed!

It seems that I am left with the other equine fact I unearthed in my research. In Japan, it used to be a tradition in the Shinto religion to offer a horse to the temple of the gods. If one were hoping for precipitation, a black horse was given. If, however, one was desirous of clement weather, a white horse was the offering.
What's my conclusion? A horse, be it black or white, with its hoof raised above your head, must be terrifying!
Amelung, Walther, Holtzinger, Heinrich, and Strong, Eugenie. The Museums and Ruins of Rome.
Duckworth, 1906.Fargis, Paul, ed. dir. The New York Public Library Desk Reference, Third Edition. Macmillan, 1998.
Hall, James. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art. Harper and Row, 1974.
Hall, James. Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and Western Art. Harper Collins, 1994.