The Greatest War Stories Never Told
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Davy’s Death: Unsolved Mysteries of American History by Paul Aron. How Did Davy Die? by Dan Kilgore.
Tea Party: The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage.
Spencer’s Legacy: A Hanging Offense: The Strange Affair of the Warship Somers by Buckner F. Melton, Jr. The Chi Psi Story, edited by George Ray. “A Brief History of the United States Naval Academy” (www.nadn.navy.mil).
Terror from the Skies: Taking Flight by Richard P. Hallion. “Bombardment by Means of Balloons.” Scientific American, March 14, 1849. Aeronautics in the Union and Confederate Armies by Frederick Stansburgh Haydon. The Pocket Book of Aeronautics by Herman Moedebeck.
The Art of War: Robert E. Lee by Emory Thomas. Whistler, a Life by Gordon Fleming.
Dressed to Kill . . . or Be Killed: Fighting Words: From War, Rebellion, and Other Combative Capers by Christine Ammer. “Why the Charge of the Light Brigade Still Matters,” by Sean Coughlan, BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3944699.stm).
Over the Hump?: The U.S. Camel Corps by Odie B. Faulk. “The Short Unhappy Life of the U.S. Camel Cavalry,” by Stanley Kramer, American History Illustrated, March 1987. Documents from the consolidated camel file (on microfilm) at the National Archives.
Bite the Bullet: Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics by Jack Kelly. Encyclopedia of Events That Changed the World by Robert Ingpen and Philip Wilkinson. “Sepoy Mutiny Echoes Muslim-Western Clash,” by Andrea Varin, ABC News (http://www.abcnews.com).
Red Cross: A Memory of Solferino by J. Henry Dunant. “From the Battle of Solferino to the first Geneva Convention and Beyond” (www.icrc.org).
The Pig War: The Pig War by Michael Vouri. “The San Juan Island’s ‘Pig War,’” by Michael D. Hay-dock, American History, August 1997. “The Pig War,” San Juan Island National Historical Park (www.nps.gov/sajh/Pig_War_new.htm).
Native Guards: The Louisiana Native Guards by James G. Hollandsworth, Jr. The Civil War: Fredericksburg to Meridian by Shelby Foote.
Twenty-four Notes: Army Letters 1861–1865 by O. W. Norton. The Army of the Potomac: Mr. Lincoln’s Army by Bruce Catton. “24 Notes That Tap Deep Emotions,” by Jari A. Villaneueva (www.west-point.org/taps/Taps.html).
Three Cigars: The Civil War: Fort Sumter to Perryville by Shelby Foote. The Army of the Potomac: Mr. Lincoln’s Army by Bruce Catton.
Unleaded Zeppelin: The Eagle Aloft, Two Centuries of the Balloon in America by Tom Crouch. Above the Civil War: The Story of Thaddeus Lowe, Balloonist, Inventor, Railway Builder by Eugene B. Block.
Burial Ground: Second Only to Grant by David W. Miler. Monument of Silence by Owen Andrew.
A Bitter Harvest: Come Retribution by William Tidwell. “Purloined Poisoned Letters,” US News and World Reports, July 24, 2000. Ulric Dahlgren’s miliary service file at the National Archives in Washington D.C. (Here, among other things, can be found Judson Kilpatrick’s handwritten letter claiming that he had no knowledge of the alleged orders to burn Richmond and assassinate Davis.)
The Day the Irish Invaded Canada: “Fenian Invasions of Canada,” by P.G. Smith, Military History (http://www.thehistorynet.com/mh/blfenianinvasionsofcanada). The Canadian Encylopedia (www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com). “The Fenian Fiasco” by A. Welsey Johns, from a collection of essays entitled Niagara Land: The First 200 Years (http://ah.bfn.org/h/essays.html).
Chew on This: Chewing Gum by Michael Redclift. Encyclopedia of New York City by Kenneth T. Jackson. “History of Gum,” Cadbury Adams (www.gum-mints.com/history).
Paris Post: Travels in the Air by James Glaischer. The War Animals by Robert Lubow. The Pigeon Post into Paris, 1870–1871 by J. D. Hayhurst.
Winds of War: “Typhoons and Hurricanes: The Storm at Apia, Samoa, 15–16 March 1889,” Naval Historical Research Center (www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq102-3.htm). Various articles from the New York Times, October 1888–April 1889.
Fighting Joe: General James Longstreet: The Confederacy’s Most Controversial Soldier by Jeffrey D. Wert. The Spanish-American War, 1898 by Albert A. Nofi. Various articles from the New York Times, May 1898.
A Tale of Two Generals: American Caesar by William Manchester.
Glory Deferred: The Complete Book of the Olympics by David Wallechinsky. Patton by Martin Blumenson.
The Last Charge: “Return to Gettysburg,” by James Wensyel, American History Illustrated, July–August 1993. Fiftieth Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg: Report of the Pennsylvania Commission.
Flying Circus: The Incurable Fillibuster, by Dean Ivan Lamb. Various news clippings collected by the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Research Institute (http://cepme.maxwell.af.mil/heritage/info/pdf/lamb.pdf). Records of U.S. Attorneys and Marshals: Transcripts of Grand Jury Testimony in the Alger Hiss Case, Harry Truman Presidential Library.
Lights! Camera! War!: The War, The West, and the Wildnerness by Ken Brownlow. The Life and Times of Pancho Villa by Friedrich Katz. “Villa at the Front: ‘Movies’ Sign Him Up,” New York Times, January 7, 1914. “Admits He’s a ‘Movie’ Star,” New York Times, January 8, 1914.
The Battle of the Luxury Liners: The Ship That Hunted Itself by Colin Simpon. Information provided by Cunard Lines.
Christmas Truce: The War in the Trenches by Alan Loyd. Weird History 101 by Richard Stephens. Silent Night by Stanley Weintraub.
The Black Swallow of Death: The Black Swallow of Death by P. J. Carisella. “Eugene Bullard, Ex-Pilot, Dead. American Flew for French in ’18,” New York Times, October 14, 1961.
One Against War: Jeanette Rankin, America’s Conscience by Norma Smith. “Ex-Rep Jeannette Rankin Dies,” New York Times, May 20, 1973. “The Lone Dissenting Voice,” by Glen Jeansonne, American History, April 1999.
The Female Lawrence of Arabia: Desert Queen by Janet Wallach. “The Uncrowned Queen of Iraq,” a segment in the history channel® series The World Before Us, written and produced by Rick Beyer.
Enigma: Codebreakers’ Victory by Hervie Haufler. The Codebreakers by Simon Singh.
The Good Man of Nanking: The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chan. “The Rape of Nanking,” written and produced by Jim DeVinney for the history channel® program This Week in History, featuring interviews with Iris Chang and Ursala Renhardt.
The Rescuer: The Odyssey of C. H. Lightoller by Patrick Stetson. A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. “Dunkirk Remembered,” a collection of BBC news stories commemorating the sixtieth anniversary (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2000/dunkirk/default.stm).
The Man Who Saved Buckingham Palace: “Unearthed: Story of the WW2 Pilot Who Saved the Palace,” by Anthony Barnes, London Independent, May 9, 2004. “Archeologists Dig up World War II Plane,” Associated Press, June 1, 2004. “Nazis Crash into London Streets. Crowds Dance and Cheer RAF On,” New York Times, September 15, 1944.
The Lady Is a Spy: American Spies and Traitors by Vincent Buranelli. Naked at the Feast by Lynn Haney. Josephine by Josephine Baker and Jo Boussion.
Heroes O’Hare: Capone: The Man and the Era by Lawrence Bergreen. Fateful Rendezvous: The Life of Butch O’Hare by Steve Ewing and John B. Lundstrom.
Gadzooks! “Bob Burns Dead. Radio Comedian,” New York Times, February 3, 1956. Stars and Stripes, March 1, 1918.
An Offer He Couldn’t Refuse: The Luciano Project: Secret Wartime Collaboration of the Mafia and the Navy by Rodney Campbrell. Ike’s Spies by Stephen Ambrose. Strange but True Stories of World War II by George Sulllivan.
The Youngest Hero: Dirty Little Secrets of World War II by James Dunnigan and Albert Nofi. We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History by Phillip Hoos. “Man, a Vet at 13, Seeks Discharge,” by Dan Frazier, Fort Worth News and Star Telegram, April 10, 1977.
The Wright Stuff: They All Laughed by Ira Flatow. “Silly Putty,” written and produced by Barbara Moran for the history channel® program This Week in History.
Pigeon in a Pelican: Animal Warfare by Robert Lubow. “Pigeon Pilots,” Progress Thru Research, vol. 15, no. 1 (1961).
One-Sided Battl
e: “The Battle for Kiska,” by Rhonda Roy, Espirit de Corps, vol.9, issues 4 and 5. Aleutian Islands: The US Army Campaigns of World War II by George L. MacGarrigle (this brochure from the U.S. Army Center of Military History can be found online at http://www.army.mil/cmhpg/brochures/aleut/aleut.htm). “Janfu,” Time, August 30, 1943.
A Country of Heroes: A Conspiracy of Decency: The Rescue of the Danish Jews During World War II by Emmy E. Werner. “Rescue in Denmark,” U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/denmark.htm).
The Greatest Hoax in History: Hoodwinking Hitler: The Normandy Deception by William B. Breuer. World War II: The American Story, edited by Sarah Brash.
Is Paris Burning? Is Paris Burning? By Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre. “Gen. Dietrich von Choltitz Dies. ‘Savior of Paris’ in ’44 was 71,” New York Times, November 6, 1966.
Patton’s Prayer: War as I Knew It by George S. Patton, annotated by Colonel Paul D. Harkins. “The True Story of the Patton Prayer,” by Msgr. James H. O’Neill, Review of the News, October 6, 1971.
Fu-Go: Japan’s World War II Balloon Bomb Attacks on North America by Robert C. Mikesh. “Balloon Bombs Hit West Coast in War,” New York Times, May 29, 1947.
Flag Day: Moments. The Pulitzer Prize Photographs by Sheryle and John Leekley. Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley with Ron Powers.
Shades of Gray: “Pete Gray” by William C. Kashatus, American History, June 1995.
About-Face: Presidents’ Secret Wars by John Prados. OSS: The Secret History of America’s First Central Intelligence Agency by Richard Harris Smith.
Floor It: Ever Green—The Boston Celtics: A History in the Words of Their Players, Coaches, Fans, and Foes, from 1946 to the Present by Dan Shaughnessy. “Anthony Dinatale, 88. Owned Firm That Built Garden’s Parquet Floor,” Boston Globe, May 7, 1994. Information provided by the Boston Celtics and the Fleet Center.
Bombs Away!: “Broken Arrow: Goldsboro NC” is an excellent, well-documented website (www.ibiblio.org/bomb). “The Story Behind the Pentagon’s Broken Arrows: An Arrow Is a Nuclear Weapon. A Broken Arrow is a Nuclear Disaster,” by Gary Hanauer, Mother Jones, April 1981.
G.I. Joe: G.I. Joe: The Complete Story of America’s Favorite Man of Action by John Michlig and Don Levine. “G.I. Joe” produced and written by T. J. Winik for the history channel® program This Week in History.
Acoustic Kitty: “CIA Recruited Cat to Bug Russians,” by Charlotte Edwards, London Telegraph (http://portal.telegraph.co.uk). “MI5 Planned to Use Gerbil Spy Catchers,” by Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian, June 30, 2001. Information on the chicken-powered nuke from the British National Archives. (The information about this came from a recently declassified secret document. The suggestion has been made that the scientists who originally wrote that document were just trying to see if anyone was paying attention.)
Soccer War: The Soccer War by Ryszard Kapuscinksi. “ ‘The Soccer War’ Is Still Not Over,” by Richard Severos, New York Times, July 2, 1972.
Like Father, Like Son: Brave Men Gentle Heroes: American Fathers and Sons in World War II and Vietnam by Michael Takiff. Dustoff: The Memoir of an Army Aviator by Mike Novosel, Sr.
Scrap Metal War: Fight for the Falklands by John Laffin.
The Domino’s Theory: “And Bomb the Anchovies,” by Paul Gray, Time, August 13, 1990. “The Battle So Far, So Good,” by George J. Church, Time, January 28, 1991. “Crusty DC Veteran Says War Is Near,” Chicago Tribune, January 16, 1991. “Pizza: The Year in Review,” Falls Church News, January 1, 2004.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The mistakes in this book are all mine, but on everything else I had a lot of help.
The Greatest War Stories Never Told came into being as an offshoot of the Timelab 2000® history minutes that aired on THE HISTORY CHANNEL®. I am eternally grateful to Artie Scheff for asking me to produce the Timelab series, and delighted to have another opportunity to acknowledge the team of talented people whose contributions made it a success, especially Alison White, Melanie McLaughlin, Jim Gilmore, Jim Ohm, Patricia Baraza Vos, Jen Pearce, Mike Mavretic, Richard Klug, Megan Reilly, Tom Yaroushek, Rob Stegman, Joel Olicker, Tug Yourgrau, Deb Cutler, Maria Loconte, Patrice Goldman, and Sam Waterston. Their efforts laid the groundwork for these books.
A number of other terrific writers and producers who have worked with me on various documentary projects contributed ideas and material that wound up on these pages. My thanks to Barb Moran, T. J. Winik, Kate Raisz, Jim DeVinney, Jacquie Jones, Julie Rosenberg, Rachel Roessler, and Lena Sheehan. Jacqueline Sheridan, my collaborator on three documentaries (with a fourth in the works), contributed to both this book and its predecessor in ways too numerous to mention. (Let me note that I mistakenly left T.J. and Jacqueline out of the acknowledgments for the first book—guys, I’m trying to make it up here!)
Special thanks to the many other people who took time to suggest story ideas, including Vance Gilbert, Diane Tiraz, the Trotter family, and of course my dad, who remains, at age eighty-five, a font of history nuggets.
Much of the research for this book took place at two great libraries: the Cary Memorial Library in Lexington, Massachusetts, and the Athenaeum in Boston. The librarians at the Cary offered tremendous assistance in tracking down all the far-flung books and articles I requested. The Athenaeum offers an unparalleled collection of nineteenth-century books (among other holdings) and is one of the few places I am aware of where you can check out and bring home books more than 150 years old. I owe a debt of gratitude to both institutions. I would also like to thank the librarians at the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the Naval Historical Research Center, and everywhere else, who assisted in my research efforts.
It takes an army of people to turn a manuscript into a book, so let me thank a few of them here: Gene Mackles, who developed the initial visual concept for the series (and created the illustration of the Acoustic Kitty); Leah Carlson-Stanisic and Judy Stagnitto Abbate, who created the interior design; Renato Stanisic, who laid out the pages; copy editor Ed Cohen (As no man is a hero to his valet, no writer is a hero to his copywriter—thanks, Ed!); Mucca Design, who did another great cover; and senior production editor Mareike Paessler.
I am enthusiastically represented by Arielle Eckstut at the Levine-Greenberg Literary Agency. No one could ask for a better agent than Arielle, who sails through even the heaviest weather with plenty of good cheer and makes everything seem easy.
At HarperCollins, Executive Editor Mauro DiPreta and Associate Editor Joelle Yudin are a great team and take very good care of me. Their patience and guidance are never ending. This is the second book they have ably guided me through, and I hope there will be many more.
My teenage children, Bobbie and Andy, force-fed history for years by their father, have both developed a keen eye for critiquing stories. I have come to give great weight to their comments. Bobbie also worked on some of the photo research, using her fluent French to track down photos her father could not. Merci!
My wife, Marilyn, is my comrade-in-arms, my rock, and my anchor. She was the first to read the manuscript in progress, and her comments were, as always, invaluable. This book is dedicated to her because it never could have been written without her love and support. May I someday be able to find words eloquent enough to truly thank her for all she does and all she means to me.
PHOTO CREDITS
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your e-book reader’s search tools.
Unless otherwise noted, photo credits for each page are listed top to bottom, and images are listed only the first time they appear. Credits for pages not listed can be found in the credits for the facing page. Every effort has been made to correctly attribute all the materials reproduced in this book. If any errors have been made, we will be happy to correct them in future editions.
Abbreviations
LOC: Library of Congress
NARA: Nati
onal Archives and Record Administration
Page x: © Bettmann. Page 1: Mary Evans Picture Library; LOC (Philip). Page 2: © Bettmann; Archimedes Web site by Chris Rorres http://www.math.nyu.edu/˜crorres/Archimedes/contents.html. Page 3: © Bettmann; Archimedes Web site by Chris Rorres. Page 4: LOC. Page 5: Author’s collection (top and bottom); Photo ArchÈodrome de Bourgogne (CÙte d’Or—France). Page 6: Mary Evans Picture Library. Page 7: LOC (top two); Mary Evans Picture Library. Page 8: © Michael Nicholson. Page 9: © Bettmann; LOC. Page 11: © Bettmann; © Archivo Iconografico, S.A.. Page 12: LOC. Page 13: LOC (top and bottom); Leon Weckstein. Pages 14–15: University of Newcastle/Gertrude Bell Project (castle); Mary Evans Picture Library (engravings). Pages 16–17: © Bettmann. Page 18: © Bettmann; LOC. Page 19: © Bettmann; U.S. Naval Historical Center (bottom). Page 20: Mary Evans Picture Library; LOC. Page 23: Mary Evans Picture Library; © Bettmann. Pages 24–25: LOC. Page 26: © Bettmann; LOC. Page 27: © Bettmann. Pages 28–29: © Paul Almasy; Author’s collection (bread); LOC (engravings). Pages 30–31: Korean Tourism and Republic of Korea Naval Academy Museum. Pages 32–33: Mary Evans Picture Library (engravings); Author’s collection (photographs). Page 34: Mary Evans Picture Library. Page 35: Submarine Force Museum. Page 36: © Bettmann; LOC. Page 37: © Jim Zuckerman. Pages 38–39: LOC (engravings); Picture Quest/Burke/Triolo (croissant). Page 40: National Maritime Museum; Mary Evans Picture Library. Page 41: LOC (middle). Pages 42–43: LOC (all except “Macaroni”); Catchpenny Prints. Page 44: LOC. Page 45: Catchpenny Prints (middle); NARA (bottom). Page 46: LOC; Author’s collection. Page 47: Mary Evans Picture Library (rifle); Author’s collection (pistol). Page 48: LOC. Page 49: NARA (top and middle); LOC. Pages 50–51: LOC (all except lower right); Author’s collection. Pages 52–53: LOC. Pages 54–55: LOC. Page 56: NARA; LOC. Page 57: LOC. Pages 58–59: LOC (engravings); Author’s collection (pencils). Page 60: NARA. Page 61: LOC (bottom). Pages 62–63: LOC (except for lower left); Scituate Historical Society. Pages 64–65: LOC (except for lower left); © Bettmann. Page 66: LOC. Page 67: LOC. Page 68: New South Wales Library; LOC. Page 69: © Bettmann; New South Wales Library. Page 70: NARA; LOC. Page 71: NARA (top and middle); LOC. Pages 72–73: Scituate Historical Society (except lower left); Author’s collection. Page 74: © Bettmann. Page 75: LOC (bottom two). Pages 76–77: LOC. Page 79: © Bettmann. Page 80: Paul Ecke Ranch Company; LOC. Page 81: LOC (middle). Pages 82–83: LOC (all except lower right); © Bettmann. Page 84: LOC; Author’s collection. Page 85: LOC. Page 86: LOC. Page 87: U.S. Naval Historical Center (top and bottom); LOC. Page 89: LOC (top and bottom); Author’s collection. Pages 90–91: LOC (drawing of cadet by Whistler). Page 92: LOC; © Bettmann. Page 93: LOC. Page 94: © Michael Maslan Historic Photographs; NARA. Page 95: LOC (bottom). Pages 96–97: Mary Evans Picture Library. Page 98: ICRC; LOC. Page 99: ICRC (all except portrait); LOC. Page 100: San Juan Island National Historical Park. Page 101: LOC. Page 103: NARA (top and bottom); LOC. Pages 104–105: LOC (all except lower right); Author’s collection. Page 106: LOC. Page 107: LOC; NARA; OSU Archives. Pages 108–109: LOC (all except balloon Intrepid); NARA. Pages 110–111: Author’s collection (except for portrait); LOC. Page 112: NARA; LOC. Page 113: NARA (top and bottom); LOC. Page 114: Author’s collection. Page 115: Author’s collection; LOC (bottom). Page 116: © Bettmann; LOC. Page 117: Author’s collection (top and bottom); LOC. Page 118: LOC. Page 119: Author’s collection (top and middle); LOC (bottom). Pages 120–121: U.S. Naval Historical Center. Page 122: LOC. Page 123: LOC; © Bettmann. Pages 124–125: NARA (all except younger Douglas MacArthur); LOC. Page 126: Patton Museum of Cavalry & Armor; LOC. Page 127: LOC (all except tank); NARA. Page 128: Author’s collection. Page 129: LOC (top and bottom); Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Pages 130–131: National Air and Space Museum; © Bettmann. Page 132: LOC. Page 133: LOC; U.S. Senate Collection, Center for Legislative Archives, LOC. Page 134: Jeff Newman (www.greatships.net). Page 135: Author’s collection (top and bottom). Page 136: Mary Evans Picture Library; Imperial War Museum. Page 137: Mary Evans Picture Library (middle and bottom). Page 138: NARA; USAF. Page 139: NARA (top and bottom); LOC. Page 140: © Bettmann; Author’s collection. Page 141: The New York Times Company; LOC. Page 142: © Hulton-Deutsch Collection. Page 143: Printed by permission of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives at King’s College, London; University of Newcastle/Gertrude Bell Project. Page 145: Imperial War Museum (middle); City of Bydgoscz, Poland (bottom). Page 146: © Bettmann; Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library. Page 147: Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library (top and bottom). Page 148: © Hulton-Deutsch Collection; Titanic Historical Society. Page 149: LOC (top and middle). Page 152: LOC. Page 153: LOC; © Hulton-Deutsch Collection. Pages 154–155: U.S. Naval Historical Center (except lower right); © Bettmann. Pages 156–157: LOC (all except lower left); The New York Times Company. Pages 158–159: LOC (all except Normandie); © Bettmann. Pages 160–161: U.S. Naval Historical Center (except lower right); Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries. Page 162: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Page 163: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; NASA. Pages 164–165: National Institute of Standards and Technology (missile); The General Mills Archives (pigeon photos); © Bettmann. Page 166: © Bettmann; LOC. Page 167: © Bettmann; LOC. Page 168: LOC. Page 169: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (middle and bottom). Page 170: Roger-Viollet. Page 171: NARA (Patton); Janusz Piekalkiewicz (bottom). Page 172: NARA; LOC. Page 173: © Bettmann. Page 175: NARA; “Ya usin’ two blankets or three?”, Papers of Bill Mauldin, LOC (top and bottom); NARA (Patton); Charlene Ormsby. Pages 176–177: NARA. Page 178: NARA. Page 179: LOC (top and bottom); NARA. Page 181: © Bettmann; National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, N.Y. Page 182: R. Harriss Smith; LOC. Page 183: NARA (top and bottom). Pages 184–185: © Bettmann; Steve Lipofsky (www.basketballphoto.com). Page 186: USAF. Page 187: © Bettmann; National Museum of the United States Air Force (bottom). Pages 188–189: G.I.Joe® & © 2005 Hasbro, Inc. Used with permission. Pages 190–191: Atomic Weapons Establishment, Crown Copyright acknowledged (photo); Kitty illustration by Gene Mackles. Pages 192–193: Author’s collection. Page 194: © Tim Page; Mike Novosel Sr. Page 195: NARA (top and bottom); © Tim Page. Page 196: © Bettmann. Page 197: © Hulton-Deutsch Collection; © Paul A. Souders. Pages 198–199: Department of Defense (all except lower left); Author’s collection (until it was eaten).