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BYU HistoryV-E Day–May 8, 1945
May 6, 2009
D. Reed Jordan was assigned to the public relations section of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). He writes the following about May 7, 1945:
“We got word that the Germans were willing to meet our demands for an unconditional surrender shortly after midnight on May 7, 1945. I wrote Special Communique Eight, releasing this long-awaited news to the world. I had only a very short time. I realized I would never pass down another document that would mean so much to people worldwide….
“I was witness to the German signing of World War II surrender documents in the war room in SHAEF Forward Headquarters in Reims, France. It was 2:00 A.M. There were no reporters or photographers present.
It took only fifteen minutes; there was no messing around. It was a time of joy, but also a time to lament the horrible suffering and loss of life and the appalling destruction of property. It had been a vast calamity. For my part in this ceremony, I was awarded the Bronze Star, a decoration usually reserved for men in combat.”–Saints at War, Edited by Robert C. Freeman and Dennis A. Wright.
The surrender went into effect on May 8, 1945 and there was literally dancing in the streets in London.
More from Richard Junius Petit
March 16, 2009
When we last left Richard Petit, he and his crew were trying to decide where they should land. Here is more on their adventure: There was slight chance of finding England beneath the clouds. If we went that direction, we would probably have to land in the ocean–if we escaped the German fighters
Off to the left we could see the tops of the Alps. Should we try for Switzerland?
To me, the plane commander, the best chance was to try for Switzerland. Even then, if we made it, we would probably be unable to find a suitable place to land because of the cloud cover, and that meant bailing out. We had done that once before, so I gave the crew a choice.
I called the crew and said, “If any of you men have appointments tonight, I don’t think we’re going to make it. By the way, should we crash land, or should we jump?”
I got a one hundred percent response: “Crash land!” We had jumped once before. They didn’t want to do it again. So, towards Switzerland we headed.
We didn’t know where the German-Swiss border was. We could see mountains off to our left, above the clouds. I headed for them, thinking that Switzerland was in that general direction. I had an outline map of Europe, but it didn’t show any national borders. I did see a peculiarly shaped lake in the general direction we wanted to go, however. Becaus the enemy fighters didn’t see us leave the formation, we were not attacked.
Suddenly an opening in the clouds appeared and that strange-shaped lake was visible. I had recognized it as being on the border of Germany and Switerland, so I headed for the far side of the lake and, still descending because of the engine problems, looked for a flat place to set down. I hoped that the snow on the ground would cushion our landing somewhat.
As we came down through the opening, a Swiss fighter picked us up and escorted us to a mini-size air field. We weren’ gliding, but we were underpowered. Two engines were not working right. The fighter led us to the field, but we knew we couldn’t make it from that approach angle because of the small size of the field. So we swung right and went between mountains, then came back around and in at a diagonal. It is a mystery that the Swiss fighter did not shoot us down, as the Swiss had others, when we did not follow orders and land at once. We knew we would have to take every foot of that open field to land. The co-pilot still insists that we took off a chimney from a house as we came in too low.
We landed on the snow, fences ahead of us and coming up fast. I cramped one brake and revved the outboard engine. That stops your forward motion. I skidded with the brakes and slid sideways into a ground loop, coming to a stop just a few feet from the fence.
Celebrating Wallace Stegner
February 18, 2009
Today marks the 100th birthday of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Wallace Stegner. Stegner, who spent part of his teenage years Salt Lake City and received a BA from the University of Utah, wrote short stories, novels, and non-fiction. He was also a well-known conservationist and teacher, who mentored such acclaimed contemporary American authors like Edward Abbey, Wendell Berry, Ken Kesey and Larry McMurtry.
Several of his books are about Utah or take place in Utah settings: his 1943 novel Big Rock Candy Mountain follows its characters through a period of residence in Salt Lake City; nonfiction works like The Gathering of Zion (1964) and Beyond the Hundredth Meridian (1954) examine the exploration and settlement of Utah in the 19th century.
Special Collections owns first editions of many of Stegner’s works, as well as this 1955 letter to Jeanne W. Gunn (MSS SC 1483). Gunn had inquired about Stegner’s career; in his reply Stegner discusses his time at the University of Utah and getting his first book, Remembering Laughter, published.
POW during Christmas
December 5, 2008
George Easton Brown (MSS 2350 no. 359) was a prisoner of war in Manchuria during the Christmas season of 1944. 
He wrote the following about the experience:
It was Christmas Eve, and we could cut the gloom that engulfed us with a knife. What a way to spend Christmas Eve. One man by the name of Glen Pope was an excellent whistler, and he started to softly whistle “Silent Night.” We could see tears in the eyes of some. Bud Harmon began to sing, and after the first verse the entire crew joined in. Heads came up, we looked at one another, and as a group, sang “Silent Night.” The Japanese guards just stood and watched. The atmosphere changed. Some sobbed openly, but we all continued to sing. And as the song ended, each man turned and wished the others a Merry Christmas. We all stood and joined in a circle where I was asked to lead in prayer. A humble Mormon prayer that the Lord heard and answered, assured us all that Jesus was the Christ, that He was the Savior of the world and was mindful of a few captured airmen in those cold cells in Manchuria. We all came home to share the memories of Christmas Eve 1944 with our families.
In Honorable Remembrance: Thomas L. Kane and the Latter-day Saints
November 7, 2008
BYU’s L. Tom Perry Special Collections has been gathering Thomas L. Kane family papers into its collections for many years. We now have the largest collection of Thomas L. Kane manuscripts in the world (regarding Kane’s life and work see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_L._Kane). For this Exhibit, we are drawing from this rich archive original manuscripts, rare books and photographs that document Kane’s relationship with the Latter-day Saints from his first meetings with them in 1846, to his role in calling the Mormon Battalion and obtaining permission for the Mormons to reside on Indian lands in Nebraska at Winter Quarters, his March 1850 Address to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (published as The Mormons), to his role as a peacemaker during the Utah War of 1857-58, but also his subsequent relationship as friend and counselor to Brigham Young and other Mormon leaders.
The Exhibit will display some 43 items, including an original letter from Pres. James K. Polk to Kane; an original map of Winter Quarters and several drawings by Thomas L. Kane himself of the Mormon camps in 1846; letters to and from Brigham Young; Elizabeth Kane’s St. George diary and a manuscript copy of her Twelve Mormon Homes (1874) which grew out of Thomas and Elizabeth’s visit to Utah in 1871-72 and subsequent journey south to St. George with Brigham Young.
We also have arranged a series of monthly lectures by various scholars that focus on some aspect of Kane’s relationship with the Latter-day Saints. We hope that you will join us this coming Wednesday, November 12, at 3 pm in the HBLL Auditorium for the Kane Lecture by William P. MacKinnon, a recognized authority on the Utah War, who will address the topic of “Thomas L. Kane and the Utah War,” after which we will have a reception and the official opening of the Kane Exhibit in Special Collections.
Kane, who never joined the LDS Church, was given a Patriarchal Blessing by John Smith, the Church Patriarch, in September 1846, in which he was blessed to live a long life (he was very ill), would marry and have children (he was then a confirmed bachelor), and would be held in honorable remembrance by the Latter-day Saints for his efforts to assist and defend them [a copy of the original blessing will be on display]. Our exhibit seeks to continue this promised blessing, to “honorably remember” him. We invite you and your students to learn more about this remarkable man and to help pass this knowledge on to the next generation.
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