It is November 8, 1944.

The Allied breach of Germany’s western wall of defense in October 1944

has enabled journalist William Shirer to return to Germany

after a four-year absence.

He has come to Aachen, an ancient city.

It is the place where Charlemagne, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire,

held court more than a thousand years before,

and where rulers of Western Europe were crowned for six hundred years.

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Some old words about the soldiers who fought in the American Civil War.

Look at that column well, as it passes by,

Remembering Bull Run and the cocksfeather hats,

The congressmen,

the raw militia brigades

Who went to war with a flag and a haircloth trunk

In bright red pants

and ideals and ignorance,

Ready to fight like picture-postcard boys

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San Francisco Giants outfielder Willy Mays becomes the highest paid player in professional baseball, earning $105,000 a year.

Surgeon General Luther Terry warns that smoking causes lung cancer and likely causes heart disease, urging government action.

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It is the summer of 1865.

Texas ranchers are returning home from fighting in the Civil War.

And they are learning the old ways of cattle ranching are gone forever.

Their enslaved labor, which had tended the herds before the war, has left.

And their cattle have scattered across the open range.

The market for beef has changed, too.

Markets in the South have collapsed — people are broke —

but demand for beef in the North is surging.

These changes have brought an opportunity, for ranchers who could adapt,

to get back on their feet.

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It is January 9, 1961.

President-elect Kennedy has returned to his native Massachusetts to speak to the state legislature.

In eleven days, he will be inaugurated as America’s 35th president.

He begins by describing the singular role Massachusetts played in America’s founding. "Its leaders have shaped our destiny long before the great republic was born,” he says, “and its principles have guided our footsteps in times of crisis as well as in times of calm.”

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It is March 1, 1945.

V-E Day is in 68 days.

And in 42 days, FDR will be dead.

Here’s what the day’s newspaper reported.

Reports say German forces, under pressure from rapidly advancing Allied troops, are pulling back from positions along the western banks of the Rhine River in an effort to form a consolidated line of defense on its eastern side in the industrial Ruhr Valley.

This withdrawal leaves the Rhine as a formidable obstacle to the continuing Allied advance.

Allied military officials remind the public that ‘destroying the German Army is more important than territorial gains, for it is the true measure of any military success.’

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Some old words for a hard day.

Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,

In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;

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It is October 13, 1850.

Bill Warren is writing to his father while on his overland journey to the California gold fields.

“Dear Father

I take up my pen for to write you a few lines hoping they will finde you and Mother ... Lucian ... Larry and the babe (I have forgot its name) all well.

I have enjoyed good health moste of the time cince I left home.

When we got to St Joseph [Missouri] Uncle Cody had taking in a Hongarian by the name of John Cowen.

All things got right as we supposed we crossed the Missouria river Saturday the 20th and Sunday mornning we started for the Plains.

But the two horses that was hitched to the little waggon took fright and ran down the bluff and turned over the waggon broke one wheal all to smash.

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The unemployment rate stands at 15 percent and banks have begun to fail.

The public is beginning to hoard cash at home rather than deposit it in banks.

Those banks which have survived the panicked withdrawals are beginning to accumulate large cash reserves instead of lending depositor money out.

So, there is a marked decrease in the supply of money available to businesses to fund their ongoing operations.

Consumer consumption is decreasing, bankruptcies and unemployment are rising, and deflation is taking hold.

And the first US budget deficit in a decade occurs.

To fix it, President Hoover pushes tax increases through to raise revenue, but this pulls more money out of the domestic economy.

He’s made matters worse.

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It is May 12, 1968.

Larry Houck, a 24-year-old Marine helicopter pilot

aboard the USS Iwo Jima in the South China Sea,

is writing to a hometown buddy who also serves in Vietnam.

Below, an excerpt:

There’s been a lot of action up around here lately.

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