Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Historic Plaque stolen from Lexington Green

Bronze Plaque Stolen

A nearly 100-year old bronze plaque marking the former site of the Old Belfry on Lexington Green was stolen sometime last week, as reported in the Boston Globe and elsewhere. The plaque was mounted on a large boulder on the Green in 1910. The 20-inch by 20-inch plaque was inscribed with a drawing of the Old Belfry and the following inscription: ''The site of the Old Belfry from which the alarm was rung, April 19, 1775. This tablet was erected by the Lexington Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution 1910."

The original belfry was moved to a nearby hillside where it was destroyed by a storm. A new belfry was built in its stead where it still stands today. It is assumed that the plaque was stolen by vandals for the intrinsic value of its metal, but it may very well end up in the hands of an unscrupulous collector.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941, on a Sunday morning, aircraft from the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the U.S. Army and Naval forces stationed in Hawaii. Most notably the attack centered on the naval ships at Pearl Harbor. Over two thousand soldiers and sailors were killed in the surprise attack and several warships were sunk or damaged.
Speaking to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, President Franklin Roosevelt on December 8 called for a declaration of war upon Japan and famously referred to December 7 as "a date that will live in infamy". With the declaration of war by Nazi Germany on December 11 the United States was finally, reluctantly drawn into a world war.