1946.04.06 “It must be kept in force!"
By Edmund Waller “Ted” Gale (1886-1975)
13 x 17 in., ink on board
Coppola Collection
Ted Gale joined the Los Angeles Times in 1907 until he left in 1934 in a dispute over editorial policy. From there he went to the Los Angeles Examiner. Gale was also the man who created the iconic "Miss Los Angeles."
Army Day's was first celebrated on May 1, 1928, by the Military Order of the World War, to overshadow a communist holiday. The date was later changed to April 6, 1929, to commemorate the US entry into World War I. In 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of Armed Forces Day to replace separate service days, including Army Day. It is currently designated as the third Saturday in May.
April 6, 1946 (NYT): “For the first time since 1941 we are celebrating Army Day today in an atmosphere of peace. The men who march up the Avenue are not on their way this spring day to Guadalcanal or Tarawa or Okinawa, to Omaha Beach…”
Harry Truman – Address in Chicago on Army Day, 1946 [Broadcast nationally at 3 pm]:
On this Army Day, freedom-loving men all over the world rise with us to salute our fighting men and devoted women of the Army. Our American soldier is respected everywhere for his courage, admired for his fighting skill, and loved for his charm and simplicity. Like his gallant brother in arms in the United States Navy, he is the symbol of our traditions and our hopes.
From the military point of view, how can we best maintain this strength and leadership? I have, during the past year, given what I consider appropriate answers to that question, to the Congress and to the Nation. Because time passes quickly, and because delay is itself a process of decay, I emphasize those answers again today.
They are: first, unification of all our armed services in a single department; second, temporary extension of the Selective Service Act; and third, universal training.
