Ernie Pyle, Capt. Waskow and the common soldiers who died for America
Most journalism is, at most, the 'first rough draft of history.' Occasionally, however, there is some journalism — even of the most perishable kind: a column — that attains an immortality because of its simple sufficiency. It leaves nothing to be said, the words having perfectly suited a moment.
One such was the most famous piece by a columnist who soared from obscurity to a place in the nation's consciousness unmatched before or since. On this Memorial Day, take a moment for Ernie Pyle's 'The Death of Captain Waskow,' a man in his mid-20s from Belton, Texas. The dispatch was datelined 'AT THE FRONT LINES IN ITALY, January 10, 1944.'
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Los Angeles Times
35 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
This national landmark had to move because of a landslide. Inside what's next for Wayfarers chapel
A year ago, one of the Los Angeles region's most beloved buildings was busy being dismantled, stone by stone, beam by beam. The Wayfarers Chapel, also informally known as the 'tree chapel' or 'glass church,' had since 1951 stood serenely on a lightly forested bluff in Rancho Palos Verdes, overlooking the waters of Abalone Cove. Designed for the nature-loving Swedenborgian Church by Lloyd Wright, the talented son of Frank Lloyd Wright, the building seemed to disappear into the redwood grove that surrounded it, thanks to its glass walls and ceiling, craggy Palos Verdes stone walls and laminated timber frame, which formed circles and squares symbolizing, among other things, the primal elements, the oneness of God and the unity of all life. No wonder it was the chosen site for 800 weddings a year. But the eerily shifting lands of the Portuguese Bend landslide — which also prompted the 2024 evacuation and loss of dozens of homes in the area — presented an existential threat to the chapel, and last May the church made the painful decision to take down what had just months before been named a national historic landmark, put its parts in storage and try to find a new home. 'We had no idea if we'd be rebuilding in one year or five,' said Katie Horak, a principal at the Los Angeles office of Architectural Resources Group, or ARG, which, with Gardena-based K.C. Restoration, led the dismantling. 'We just knew we had to save what we could.' Now a new site has been identified, although not yet secured. Over the weekend, Wayfarers Chapel's website began showcasing renderings, produced by ARG and landscape architects Agency Artifact. They showed the chapel, perched on an ocean-hugging hilltop a little more than a mile from its original location. The 4.9-acre parcel, which also houses a World War II-era bunker, is a former military installation called Battery Barnes, owned by the U.S. Coast Guard. It's a few hundred feet southwest of Rancho Palos Verdes City Hall. Rancho Palos Verdes City Manager Ara Mihranian confirmed that the city, which owns most of the land encircling the potential chapel site, was strongly supportive of Wayfarers moving to the proposed location. 'Wayfarers is one of our iconic symbols. It's been here longer than the city was incorporated. It's part of our landscape, our cultural DNA,' he said. Mihranian confirmed that the Coast Guard had begun the process of divesting the land to the city, which would then lease or sell it to the church. (Mihranian said the city would prefer to lease the land, but the church has said it would prefer to buy it, or swap it for its previous site.) The divestiture process could take a year or two, maybe more, said Mihranian, who noted that the chapel and the city recently submitted a letter to U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu, whose 36th District includes the site, to help expedite the process. 'It's not a done deal yet,' added Robert Carr, Wayfarers Chapel's administrative director. 'But we're closer than we've ever been. There's goodwill all around. We just have to make it happen.' Carr added that the site, abutting the Alta Vicente nature preserve, would be an ideal fit for the church. Geological surveys show no shifting land underneath, and in many ways it's similar to the original location. 'It's a high hilltop with a steep slope that has views a quarter mile away of the cliffs and the points and the bays,' Carr said. Horak added that it also works well from a preservation standpoint: 'It's close to the original location, shares the same coastal breeze, orientation and microclimate. That's critical for the sensitive materials we salvaged. The light, the view, even the way the wind moves across the hill — it's as if it was meant to be.' Carr said rebuilding would likely take place in stages, starting with the chapel, followed by a new bell tower, meeting hall (lost to a landslide in the 1980s), stone colonnade and facilities like a café and museum, which could be installed inside the site's former bunker, Carr said. The city and chapel have discussed a community hall that could be used for city events during the week and wedding receptions on the weekend. Fundraising, Carr said, has just started, but the chapel hopes to raise around $10 million by summer 2026 for the chapel. The group eventually wants to raise about $30 million for the entire project. Both figures, he said, could change as a design emerges. ARG and Agency Artifact created schematic designs for the chapel in its new location; the project's final design team has not been chosen. Putting the chapel back together in a way that preserves its integrity, Horak said, will be no easy task, no matter who works on it. Her team was able to save many of the building's component parts, like the wood building frame, steel window frames, stone walls and many of the roof tiles. It was also able to take a digital scan of the original building. But the glass will have to be new, as will the bell tower, which couldn't be saved (although its bells were). The chapel will need new seismic strengthening, and trees and landscaping will need to be planted along its periphery. But compared to what Horak described as the 'adrenaline-fueled' disassembly, which couldn't employ cranes or scaffolding due to the shifting earth, the process will be less stressful. 'At least we can use heavy equipment,' she said with a laugh. A museum at the new site could showcase, among many other things, Lloyd Wright's work on the chapel, Carr said. That would be a triumph for the architect, who designed important buildings in Los Angeles but never gained the recognition many think he deserved. One case in point: His astounding, X-shaped Moore House in nearby Palos Verdes Estates was unceremoniously demolished by its owners in 2012. 'Very few people can actually point to his work,' said Adrian Scott Fine, president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Conservancy. As for the chapel's design, he said: 'There's nothing else like it. This is a place that people would go to almost like a pilgrimage.' Rev. James Lawrence, president of the Swedenborgian Church of North America, added that the crystalline Wayfarers had become the church's most prominent symbol. Several cities around the country, he said, had offered to house the reconstruction. 'We had a national cathedral in Washington, but Wayfarers became the national cathedral psychologically. There's something aesthetic and symbolic and powerful about the chapel that has made it such a well-known place around the planet.'
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Family mourns loss of ‘vibrant' woman killed in Western Mass. motorcycle crash
A family is mourning the loss of 'a vibrant and spirited' woman — Madisen Taylor — who lost her life in a car crash involving a motorcycle in Western Massachusetts over Memorial Day weekend. 'Madisen's loving and warm personality made a significant impact on the lives of those who knew her,' Taylor's obituary reads. 'She will be deeply missed.' Taylor died in a crash between a car and a motorcycle in Agawam in the early evening of Saturday, May 24. Agawam police responded to the crash at the intersection of Suffield Street and Adams Street shortly before 5:10 p.m. At the scene, officers found Taylor with severe injuries. Firefighters brought her to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where she later died. Taylor grew up in Ware and attended Pathfinder High School, her obituary states. Taylor's education helped her develop 'a passion for horticulture and gardening' as well as a 'deep appreciation for the beauty of nature.' She later moved to Agawam and started working in a dog daycare business. 'This career not only highlighted her nurturing nature but also her desire to bring happiness to the lives of others,' Taylor's obituary reads. 'Madisen's spirit was one of vibrant kindness; she had a smile that could light up a room and she gave the best hugs.' Outside of work, Taylor loved to sing and spend time outdoors, including at botanical gardens, the Quabbin Reservoir and the Swift River. The 26-year-old is survived by her parents, sister, fiancé, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Meanwhile Agawam and State Police and the Hampden County District Attorney's Office are investigating the crash. No further information has been released. Super PAC coordination allegations heat up Boston's mayoral showdown ICE plans to move detained Milford student to R.I., blocking meeting with attorney Frontman of '80s synth pop band reveals Parkinson's diagnosis at 65 Late-night comics hope Trump, Musk can make up RECALL: Select ground beef sold at Whole Foods may contain E. coli, throw away ASAP Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
When is Juneteenth observed in 2025? Is there mail delivery? All about the federal holiday
America's Second Independence Day is coming soon. Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. It's the longest-running African American holiday, and it became a federal holiday a few years ago. Here's what to know about the holiday. Juneteenth will be marked on Thursday, June 19, 2025. Unlike other federal holidays, such as Memorial Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving, that are observed on a specific day of the week, Juneteenth is celebrated on the actual day. Juneteenth commemorates the day — June 19, 1865 — when federal soldiers arrived in Galveston to take control of Texas and ensure the slaves were freed per the Emancipation Proclamation, according to the History Channel. Juneteenth — short for June nineteenth — marks the end of slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863. But its effect was limited, according to the National Archives. It only applied to states that seceded during the Civil War, leaving slavery intact for slave states that stayed with the Union. It also could not be enforced until Confederate states were under Union control, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Therefore, it took until June 19, 1865, for slaves in Texas to be freed. Slavery in America was formally abolished with the 13th Amendment, which was ratified Dec. 6, 1865. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021. President Joe Biden signed legislation on June 17, 2021, according to USA TODAY, after Congress passed The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act that same month. Juneteenth began rising to prominence in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, sparked protests across the country against police brutality, USA TODAY reports. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., first introduced the Juneteenth bill in 2020 following the killings of Floyd and Breonna Taylor of Louisville, Kentucky. His initial attempt to pass the bill was unsuccessful. No. As a federal holiday, the U.S. Postal Service is closed that day, and there will be no mail delivered. FedEx pickup and delivery services will be available on June 19, according to the company's website. FedEx Office locations will also be open, USA TODAY is reporting. Juneteenth is a Federal Reserve bank holiday, meaning the organization that regulates the nation's banking system is closed, according to Banks aren't required to close for Federal Reserve holidays, but they often do. Transactions made during these holidays won't be posted until the next business day. Branches of Capital One, Bank of America, PNC, Truist, CitiBank and JPMorgan Chase will be closed on Juneteenth, USA TODAY is reporting. Capital One Cafes will remain open. The New York Stock Exchange is closed on federal holidays and will be closed on Juneteenth, according to its website. Trash pickup may be delayed because of Juneteenth, depending on the hauler. Contact your municipality or private provider to learn more. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: When is Juneteenth 2025 observed? Will banks be open? What to know
