I just finished reading a letter from C. B. Hansen in the September 2000 issue. I feel certain American Heritage misinterpreted his letter, which states he was Gen. Omar Bradley’s assistant division commander during World War II. I suspect Hansen’s letter gave the initials ADC, which also mean aide-de-camp. Chester B. ("Chet") Hansen was indeed one of two aides that General Bradley had during the course of that war, Lewis D. ("Lew") Bridge being the other. Hansen, incidentally, was also Bradley’s aide while the general was serving as the nation’s first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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January 2011
Collinsville lies about 15 miles west of Hartford. Two good places to stay in the area are the Avon Old Farms Hotel in Avon (800-836-4000 or
Ron Anglin, the manager of the Midway Refuge, says about the Fish and Wildlife’s union with Midway Phoenix: “It’s a marriage. Like all marriages, it was sex and fireworks at first. Now it has to get into compromising.” Midway Phoenix is responsible for maintaining the physical facilities and for getting visitors to and from the island. Right now the private company says it is losing $2.5 million a year on the operation. To break even, it needs 65 paying customers on each Aloha flight. So far the numbers have proved elusive. The arrangement with Fish and Wildlife, says Dave Holmer of Midway Phoenix, “is still evolving. Their mission is to protect and preserve, and humans are often the antithesis to that. But we need them, and they need us. The fact that this is protected, a pristine refuge, is appealing to guests.”
Thank you for “Jazz and America,” your delightful interview with Geoffrey C. Ward (December/January 2001). We were especially thrilled to see the contributions of Italian-American musicians in New Orleans given their due.
The photo on page four of your November issue is my husband, Forrest Heistermann. Indeed, Mr. Duncan never asked the man his name, as he did not ask the names of any of the men in his photos. Forrest recalls having his picture taken and making the comment “Give me tomorrow.” He is a proud member of the Chosin Few, survivors of the Chosin Reservoir.
The canal is in operation from early May though late November. call the New York State Division of Tourism at 800-CALLNYS, or go right to the New York State Canal Authority’s comprehensive Web site— www.canals.state.ny.us —for information. You can find out where to rent a canal- or houseboat on the Web site. This includes places like Canal Princess Charters in Tonawanda, which rents houseboats for up to a week, and Mid-Lakes Navigation and Collar City Charters, in Skaneateles and Troy respectively, which provide traditional canalboats for self-piloted trips. For less ambitious mariners, Mid-Lakes also offers a variety of excellent piloted cruises. Boaters will want to obtain the Canal Authority’s Cruising Guide to the New York State Canal System.
In your February/March letters column, reader Tom Justice writes that “if I am not mistaken, the Marine in your November 2000 ‘Frontispiece’ is a fellow named Bill Sievers. . . .” Mr. Justice was mistaken. The Marine in the photo is Fred Merritt.
In his letter to the readers of American Heritage in the November issue, the editor quotes author James Brady as saying, “Korea gave us ... no great novel or film.” Another author who shared Brady’s first name, Michener by surname, wrote a fine short novel published in 1953 about the carrier-based air war over Korea, The Bridges at Toko-Ri . It’s understandable how Marine Corps officer Brady would have missed it; he was busy fighting the ground war at that time.