the national days of april

This month, Madison Heth covers four of April's spectacular national days.

April National Days

By Madison Heth

Happy April, Scrollians! May your month be filled with wonder and entertainment from these national days.

national go for broke day: Apr. 5

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team in WWII. Image Credit: PICRYL

Life has many challenges and those can become exhausting. It is the challenges of life, however, that produce perseverance. National Go For Broke Day, celebrated on Apr. 5, takes the valiant story of the United States Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team and uses it to honor the unwavering effort the military unit held, along with encouraging people to give their best effort in work, school, athletics, and life in general.

With the onset of World War II–fought against Germany, Italy and Japan–American armed forces were in great demand. However, with the injustice at the time, very few minorities were allowed to enlist alongside white Americans. Japanese-Americans specifically were barred from military enlistment due to the fear resulting from the attack on Pearl Harbor in Dec. 1941 and, quickly, the whole population of Japanese descendants were pushed into internment camps. Despite this setback, much of the Japanese-American population was still eager to help America fight in some shape or form and, to their luck, they were allowed to join areas of the military such as the 100th Infantry Battalion, 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion, the Military Intelligence Service, and–most notably–the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT).

Activated on Feb. 1, 1943, the 442nd RCT began training at a camp in Mississippi and in June 1944 were deployed alongside the 100th Infantry Battalion to fight in Italy. The 442nd RCT was awarded nine Distinguished Service Crosses, and the 100th Infantry Battalion–also made up of Japanese Americans–earned three. In mid-August of 1944, the two military units combined and with their union came the motto “Go for broke.” With incredible drive and teamwork, the now bigger unit was assigned to multiple extra areas of combat, such as rescuing a battalion during the invasion of southern France and guarding the French/Italian border. Alongside an all-African American unit (the 92nd Infantry Division), the group was able to drive the Germans out of northern Italy. Between the two conjoined units, individual soldiers earned 18,000 decorations and, as a group, achieved seven Presidential Unit Citations, two Meritorious Service Plaques, 36 Army Commendation Medals, and 87 Division Commendations.

The U.S. Department of Defense wrote regarding the 442nd, “For their heroic actions in combat and steadfast loyalty in the face of ethnic discrimination, more than 450 Japanese American soldiers of World War II were honored in December 2011 with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award for service given out by the U.S.” They also explained that Apr. 5 was chosen as Go For Broke day in honor of the 442nd RCT’s first Medal of Honor recipient, Pfc. Sadao Munemori, who was killed in action sacrificing himself for the men in his unit when they were pinned down by enemy fire while fighting in Italy on that day in 1945. National Today expressed this about the fully Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team: “their grit and commitment to duty made them a well-reckoned unit worthy of remembering.”

The phrase “go for broke” is not restricted to only war, but it is a phrase people should practice in all areas of life. “Go For Broke” most vividly is a phrase of encouragement. It is used to push people to give their all in anything and everything they do, and it is meant to inspire people to keep pressing on with perseverance no matter the challenge being faced. All of these attributes were well-demonstrated by the 442nd Regimental Combat Team’s effort in World War II.

national barbershop quartet day: Apr. 11

Barbershop Quartet. Image Credit: Flickr

From a first perspective, it is quite trivial to hear barbershop and quartet in the same sentence but, traveling back in time, the two concepts were an exciting hit.

Music has its way of bringing to surface all sorts of emotions, and joy is one of the greatest for people to experience. Barber shops in the late 1800s and early 1900s added music to the haircut experience through the introduction of barbershop quartets, and Apr. 11 recognizes just that.

A barbershop quartet consists of four singers who, together, are able to match their voices in a way that ascends into a “seventh heaven”. The term “seventh heaven” comes from the fifth voice of the four-person group, which occurs when all four voices perfectly synchronize, creating the illusion of a fifth voice. An article from the website Spin describes the singing structure as follows: “The second tenor sets the stage with a lead melody line, which the first tenor lays a high harmony on. The baritone singer handles mid-range, while the bass, the deepest voice of the four, lays a solid foundation.” It is considered a harmonic coincidence that a fifth voice is created, but it is a result from a highly technical vocal chord containing an exact frequency ratio of 4-5-6-7, one that cannot be reproduced by technology.

It is said that the early form of “barbershop” music could have started in 1700s England but, for America, the barbershop quartet was an 1870s African American creation. Four-part hymns and folk songs were key in African American culture and, after the abolition of slavery, groups began expressing songs on street corners and in social parlors. Barbershops were a key socializing place in the era, and it is there that African Americans instituted the barbershop quartet. The African Americans who brought about the barbershop quartet are said to have been major pioneers in the movement of Jazz music, as well.

Barbershop quartets are not just musical groups but also a musical genre that emerged from cultural traditions. The musical form known as “barbershop” consists of the vocal technique that barbershop quartets created. In 1938, two men, Rupert Hall and O.C. Cash, joined forces to preserve the legacy of barbershop and bring greater awareness to the new generations. They found like-minded individuals who wanted to continue their love for barbershop and began the “Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America”, which met on a hotel rooftop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Growing to 200 members by only the third meeting, the amount of noise occurring on the rooftop attracted a reporter, which when the reporter’s article was published, it brought national recognition to the group.

Barbershop quartets were in peak popularity from the 1890s to just before the First World War. Though barbershop quartets are not a common spectacle in the present, the Barbershop Harmony Society expresses, “That music is important today because it reveals musical customs of an earlier era while its lyrics carry much of the thought and many events of those more tranquil days.” Barbershop music is a supreme part of early American culture, and it is something to always be remembered and appreciated.

ellis island family history day: Apr. 17

Located in the New York Harbor, is a place called Ellis Island, which historically was the busiest and best known immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States of America. Opening its doors on Jan. 1, 1892, by 1954, the first federal immigration station allowed over 12-million immigrants to make their entrance into a new life in America. Apr. 17 nationally recognizes Ellis Island and the history of the families who, through its doors, stepped foot into new opportunity.

Ellis Island was created to combat the mass influx of immigrants craving a new start in America. Quickly, Ellis Island became known as the “Island of Hope” as it was immigrants' first step into new opportunity and the hope of a better life, however, for some people who became separated from their families, or even denied access, it was considered the “Island of Tears”. For many families, Ellis Island was an important step for the future generations, and the National Parks Service website provides insight on some of the ways Ellis Island changed the trajectory of immigrants' lives for the good.

Ellis Island. Image Credit: PICRYL

Iparhos Perdikis

In 1921, at the age of 16, the young man Iparhos Perdikis left the Mediterranean island of Cyprus with his father and mother. Immigrating to America allowed Perdikis to take up schooling in music and dance, which allowed him the opportunity to perform with the "Perzade and Jetan" dance team and follow his dreams. Perdikis was quoted regarding the city lights of New York, saying: “From that beautiful city … I got my dreams.” His statement holds much inspiration and provides illustration of the opportunity America holds, which citizens should not take for granted.

The Thomas Family

In 1892, Diab Catoni Thomas immigrated from Lebanon to the United States where he began peddling dry goods for work. After nine years, he left the U.S. to return to his home in Mtein, Lebanon where he met and married Mary Ramah, who from a very young age worked in a textile factory. The newlyweds had two children, and together decided to head to the U.S., specifically Matoaka, Virginia, where Diab Catoni Thomas opened a successful general store. The couple proceeded to have ten more children in the United States, who were able to grow up with the American dream right before their eyes.

The Stollmayer Family

Katherine Stollmayer was 18 years old when she left Hungary to meet her older brother in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Upon arrival, her brother put a housework-wanted advertisement in the local paper, which swiftly landed Katherine a successful job as a governess with a wealthy family. For 14 years she worked as a governess, until she met John Schmidt, who was also an immigrant from Hungary. They married, and in 1925, after much success in achieving her “american dream” of a better life, she sent home for her parents, who longed to see Katherine and her brother after so many years.

Ellis Island provided a gateway for people to find their “American dream” and start new lives, with new opportunities, which makes it an important part of history to reflect on.

national babe ruth day: apr. 27

Babe Ruth in Oct. 1924. Image Credit: PICRYL

For over a century baseball has held a special place in the heart of the American sports world, but no baseball player compared to the most powerful athlete: Babe Ruth.

On Feb. 6, 1895, a man by the name of George Herman Ruth Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Ruth was a troublemaker as a child, a result of his father’s long work days and mother’s battle with sickness. He would find himself running around the waterfront docks in his town and committing small bits of vandalism and theft, and even found ways to sneak into his father’s bar and steal sips of the leftover beer, all at the young age of six. Finally, with enough of Ruth’s bad behavior, his parents sent him to St. Mary’s Industrial School, which was located on the outskirts of the city. His parents would leave him at St. Marys for a few weeks, and then bring him back home in multiple attempts of reconciliation, however, he never changed enough to be allowed to stay back at home. In 1904, Ruth began his permanent residency at the industrial school. Ruth met a priest who worked at the school named Brother Matthias, who immediately took an interest in Ruth and acted as both a father figure and mentor to him.

According to the Society For American Baseball Research, Ruth stated of Brother Matthias, “ “He was the father I needed and the greatest man I’ve ever known.” Brother Matthias noticed Ruth’s talent in baseball and at one point invited Jack Dunn–who was owner of the Baltimore Orioles team–to watch Ruth play, and swiftly the players began calling him “Jack’s newest babe”, which is where the famous nickname “Babe Ruth” was born.

Babe Ruth began his baseball career as a pitcher. In 1914, he pitched in four of five Red Sox games that he appeared in, and on Jul. 11 he won his major league debut. Up into 1917, Ruth had limited appearances, yet brought incredible success to the Red Sox minor league team with his incredible power as a baseball player. Eventually in 1917, Ruth was considered “too good to be left out of the lineup on a daily basis”, which boosted him into daily play and kick-started his career even more. Playing daily with the Red Sox, he tied the major-league lead with 11 home runs and set “a single-season home run record of 29 dingers in 1919.”

In Dec. 1919, Babe Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees, leaving the Red Sox forever changed. With the Yankees, Ruth was an outfielder. He beat his 1919 record a year later with 54 home runs, when no other player that season managed more than 19. Babe Ruth brought the Yankees to a fame they had never seen before and himself to great popularity unlike any other in baseball history. In 1935, Babe Ruth retired. The official website of Babe Ruth reflected in his biography, “Babe held an astonishing 56 major league records at the time, including the most revered record in baseball: 714 homeruns.”

On Aug. 16, 1948, Ruth lost his battle to cancer. His funeral was attended by over 100,000 people, who all gathered in honor of him. The Society For American Baseball Research included in an article, “Leigh Montville, author of The Big Bam, called Ruth ‘the patron saint of American possibility … The fascination with his career and life continues. He is a bombastic, sloppy hero from our bombastic sloppy history, origins undetermined, a folk tale of American success.’” Ruth's speed and power with the bat and ball is one that will be forever impressive in the baseball world. His statistics and success are still admired today and, most importantly, his legacy still lives on.

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