The 2 AM History Detective

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My dear mother of blessed memory would tell me that I always had a penchant for staying up way the heck past my bedtime. She said I’d pull my hair out as a baby to keep from going to sleep. (Turns out that was just trichotillomania.) Of course, now that I’m older and don’t have a set time to get up, why should I go to sleep at 10 PM? Of course, You Tube doesn’t help any. If you have an account, they will suggest videos based on searches you’ve done or other videos you’ve watched. Earlier this month, when I went to Camp Atterbury, I saw a display in the museum of the late, great World War II correspondent and Indiana native, Ernie Pyle. Pyle was killed in 1945 by enemy fire because he chose to be “up front” with the troops instead of interviewing them in some cushy USO bar. I decided to check out the newsreels on You Tube (there’s tons of newsreels there, so you, too, can stay up all night watching them if you want! ), to see now the beloved columnist’s death was reported. Then earlier this week, as I was looking for some nice white noise (waterfalls, rain, wind blowing) to put on so I could sleep, You Tube decided to give me some suggestions based on the newsreel search. Enter the 2 AM History Detective!!! I saw a newsreel item about the execution of William Joyce. Wait, I thought, isn’t there an author by that name? He was executed? (No, that was James Joyce, the Irish author who wrote Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man and died of surgical complications in 1941.) Off I go! William Joyce was an American-born British traitor. He was given the unflattering nickname of “Lord Haw-Haw” for his propaganda broadcasts to England during World War II. Nearly a month after Germany surrendered Joyce was captured by British troops. He was tied for high treason in England and convicted; and, on January 2, 1946, became the last person executed for high treason in England. Couldn’t I have learned this in the daytime? Sure, but why delay knowledge? Wonder what other interesting history I’ll stumble over tonight as I prepare for sleep! The newsreel that started me off on a 2 AM adventure: