Revisionist History:
1)
Today is the sixty-fifth anniversary of Operation Overlord, the June 6, 1944 Normandy invasion known as D-Day.
The outcome was far from certain.
Here is a statement Eisenhower was prepared to give if the invasion failed-
“Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.“
2)
The first successful manned lunar landing was on July 20, 1969.
There was concern that the lunar module would not be able to take off again and rejoin the orbiting command module.
Here is the speech William Safire wrote for Richard Nixon to deliver in that eventuality-
These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.
They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.
In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.
In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.
1)
2)
(Not quite. John Kerry picked John Edwards)
3)
4)
(Still the granddaddy of blundering journalism)
5)
(If only.)
This was so any currency captured by Japan in a successful Hawaiian invasion could be instantly rendered useless.