Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 1953 May 21, 1953By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Whereas the bodies of our war dead lie buried in hallowed plots throughout the land, and it has long been our custom to decorate their graves on Memorial Day in token of our respect for them as beloved friends and kinsmen and of our aspiration that war may be removed from the earth forever; and Whereas it is fitting that, while remembering the sacrifices of our countrymen, we join in united prayers to Almighty God for peace on earth; and Whereas the Congress, in a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, provided that Memorial Day should thenceforth be set aside nationally as a day of prayer for permanent peace and requested that the President issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day in that manner: Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, Saturday, May 30, 1953, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning at eleven o'clock in the morning of that day, Eastern Daylight Saving Time, as a period in which all the people of the Nation, each according to his religious faith, may unite in solemn prayer. Let us make that day one of twofold dedication. Let us reverently honor those who have fallen in war, and rededicate ourselves through prayer to the cause of peace, to the end that the day may come when we shall never have another war—never another Unknown Soldier. In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed. DONE at the City of Washington this twenty-first day of May in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-seventh. publicdomainpictures.net RankWarYearsDeaths1World War II1941–1945291,5572American Civil War1861–1865214,9383World War I1917–191853,4024Vietnam War1955–197547,4345Korean War1950–195333,6866American Revolutionary War1775–17838,0007Iraq War2003–20114,4248War of 18121812–18152,2609War in Afghanistan2001–present1,83310Mexican–American War1846–18491,733Wikipedia

How Much is that Doggie in the Window, written by the novelty tune specialist Bob Merrill and sung by Patti Paige, reached No. 1 on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts in 1953, and sold over two million copies.

In 1912 the amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson claimed he had discovered the missing link between ape and man in the Piltdown Man bone fragments. Although there were doubts from the beginning, the authenticity of the find was broadly accepted until 1953 when a hoax was definitively demonstrated. A scientific review in 2016 established that Dawson was responsible for the fraudulent evidence. Source: Wikipedia

In March 1953 Joseph Stalin died of a stroke at his personal dacha near Moscow. After a state funeral, his body was interred along with Vladimir Lenin in a mausoleum within the Kremlin. Like America's President Roosevelt, Stalin's health had deteriorated towards the end of World War II. He was a heavy smoker, suffered from atherosclerosis, had a mild stroke in May 1945 and a severe heart attack in October 1945. In 1961, as the de-Stalinization era was initiated by Nikita Krushchev, Stalin's body was removed from the mausoleum and buried outside the Kremlin wall.

https://youtu.be/sfwb9piy9WQ In November 1953 American Airlines began the 1st regular non-stop commercial NY-LA air service with the Douglas DC7 . yesterdays airlines.com 1932 First scheduled cross-country passenger flights with no change of plane 1933 Transcontinental passenger flights in as little as 20 hours on the Boeing 247 1934 First three-stop airline flights (TWA DC-2) 1946 First one-stop airline flights (United DC-4 and TWA Constellation) 1953 First sustained nonstop airline flights (TWA may have flown some LA-NY nonstops in 1947) Source: Transcontinental flight - Wikipedia

In 1953 Hugh Hefner and Eldon Sellers founded Playboy Magazine featuring Marilyn Monroe as its first cover girl and nude centerfold. Although best known for its centerfolds of nude and semi-nude models known as playmates, Playboy has published short stories by novelists such as Arthur C. Clarke, Ian Fleming, Vladimir Nabokov, Saul Bellow, Chuck Palahniuk, P. G. Wodehouse,Roald Dahl, Haruki Murakami, and Margaret Atwood. The magazine also showcased notable cartoonists, including Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Cole, Eldon Dedini, Jules Feiffer, Shel Silverstein, Erich Sokol, Roy Raymonde, Gahan Wilson, and Rowland B. Wilson. Source: Wikipedia Wikipedia https://youtu.be/PrZQHWfLnWg    

After Joseph Stalin’s death in March 1953 and the execution of the powerful state security chief, Lavrenty Beria—which Khrushchev engineered—Nikita Khrushchev engaged in a power struggle with Georgy Malenkov, who was Stalin’s heir apparent. https://youtu.be/BFz7YFHDPiU https://youtu.be/JYXk3rOLszs Khrushchev soon gained the decisive margin by his control of the Soviet Communist party machinery. In September 1953 he replaced Malenkov as first secretary. Main source: Britannica

https://youtu.be/RVpcykngYqs http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1953.html In 1953 women's hemlines, waistlines and hairlines grew shorter. ... The semi-fitted suit with a narrow jacket very slightly indented at the waist and the form-fitting sheath dress were introduced. 1950s Fashion: Styles, Trends, Pictures & History - RetroWastehttps://www.retrowaste.com › fashion-in-the-1950s Pinterest Leisure wear for men became very popular in 1953. Men would dress in suits for business in the morning and change into more comfortable clothing when they returned home. For uniformed workers, many employers provided lockers so men could change into street clothes before heading home. On the weekends men wore lounge clothes at home, sport clothes for athletic events and swim clothes for the beach .

https://youtu.be/b61zp4lQCHk   In October 1953, the democratically elected People's Progressive Party (PPP) of British Guyana was removed from power by the British Government—its colonial ruler at that time. The overthrow of the PPP, which had won a landslide victory in the April 1953 election, was engineered through a suspension of the Guyana's constitution by the British Government and the simultaneous landing and deployment of British troops in the country. The British governor dismissed government ministers and the House of Assembly, then appointed an interim Government composed of political opponents of the PPP. Many leading members of the PPP were detained without trial while, under a state of emergency declared by the Governor, civil rights were suspended. The British Government took this drastic action after it was convinced that the PPP was a "communist organisation" bent on "subverting the Government" and making it an ally of the Soviet Union. Source: Wikipedia

https://theeconreview.com The recession of 1953 was the first recession occurring in the United States since the Great Depression of the 1930s. With high expenditures to purchase  equipment during the Korean War, the inflation rate in the U.S. soared up to 10%, which was far above its pre-war level of 2%. The end of the Korean War substantially reduced government spending. But, at the same time, the recovered post-war economy resulted in less tax revenue and the federal government experienced a wide budget deficit.  To curb inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve tightened money supply. Although the inflation rate was gradually dampened, the adverse impact of less money supplied to the economy particularly affected the banking sector. The cost of borrowing soared and interest rates increased. With high interest rates, the demand for loans declined and  the real economy contracted. GDP growth declined from 6.8% in the second quarter of 1953 to  -2.4% in the second quarter of 1954—the lowest economic growth during the recession. The unemployment rate gradually elevated from 2.5% to 6.1% in the summer of 1954, four months after the recession officially ended. The crisis lasted for 10 months,  ending in the first quarter of 1954.  Source: The Post Korean War Recession Of 1953 - Recession Tips

https://youtu.be/1oIY05cDU5w In 1953 The Robe was released by 20th Century Fox as the first film released in the widescreen process called CinemaScope.  CinemaScope an anamorphic lens series was used from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that could be screened in theaters with existing equipment and a lens adapter. The anamorphic format shot a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio.  Although the system became obsolete with later developments (e.g.,Panavision), CinemaScope's anamorphic format continues today. Telling the story of a Roman military tribune who commanded the unit responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus, The Robe starred Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, and Michael Rennie with co-stars Dean Jagger, Jay Robinson, Richard Boone, and Jeff Morrow.

https://youtu.be/bFzEp0vuC7Y Operation Moolah - in 1953 U.S forces in Korea offered $100,00 and political asylum to the first pilot who defected to South Korea with a combat-capable MiG-15. In September 1953, a MiG- 15 piloted by Senior Lt. No Kum-Sok of the North Korean Air Force, landed at Kimpo Air Base in South Korea. Powered by a copy of a British Rolls-Royce jet engine that was improved to produce a higher thrust, the MiG-15 was superior to the American P-51 Mustangs, F-80 Shooting Stars, and the F-84 Thunder jets. Almost capable of Mach 1 speed, the MiG-15 was maneuverable at high altitude, armed with cannons, and could stay in the air for over 1 hour.

https://youtu.be/EtvcoAWPNJ0 McDonald's restaurant was founded in 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California. They rechristened their business as a hamburger stand, and later turned the company into a franchise, with the Golden Arches logo being introduced in 1953 at a location in Phoenix, Arizona. https://youtu.be/JqExgn-03gg McDonald's is the world's largest restaurant chain by revenue, serving over 69 million customers daily in over 100 countries across 37,855 outlets as of 2018. Source: Wikipedia https://youtu.be/mphGFOWNBb8

https://youtu.be/rASI56nNQPo In August 1953, the UN Command (UNC) released 70,183 North Koreans and 5,640 Chinese prisoners. The Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) and (North) Korean People's Army (KPA) repatriated 7,862 South Korean, 3,597 American, 945 British, 229 Turkish, 40 Filipino, 30 Canadian, 22 Colombian, 21 Australian, 12 French, 8 South African, 2 Greek, 2 Dutch, and 1 prisoner of war each from Belgium, New Zealand, and Japan. In September 1953, 7,900 North Koreans and 14,704 Chinese soldiers who declined repatriation were handed over to the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission. The PVA/KPA handed over 23 American and one Briton and 333 South Korean non-repatriates UN soldiers. By the December 23 explanation period deadline for non-repatriates, large groups of the Communist prisoners refused to listen to the PVA/KPA representatives at all. 137 Chinese soldiers chose to return to China. Two Americans and eight South Koreans chose to return to the UNC. 325 Koreans, 21 Americans and 1 Briton voluntarily decided to stay with the Communists. 21,839 Communist soldiers decided to remain in the West. In early 1954 the Korean non-repatriates were released and the Chinese were shipped by plane and boat to Taiwan, except for some 86 who chose to go with the Custodial Forces of India when they sailed for home. Main Source: Wikipedia

https://youtu.be/VlbRUwgASAQ In August 1953 a coup d'état overthrew Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in favor of strengthening the monarchical rule of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The coup was orchestrated by the United States (Operation Ajax) and the United Kingdom (Operation Boot). Main Source: 1953 Iranian coup d'état - Wikipedia Here is a distinctly-Western view of the events. https://youtu.be/nLHiNPax6UI In 2013 the CIA acknowledged orchestrating the coup https://youtu.be/xY8jW9ZOz0M

  Vaya con Dios (Go with God) was written by Larry Russell, Inez James, and Buddy Pepper, and first recorded by Anita O'Day in December 1952. The most-popular version of the song was recorded by the popular husband-and-wife musical duo Les Paul and Mary Ford and released in May 1953. The song lasted for 31 weeks on the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart, remaining at #1 for a total of 11 non-consecutive weeks.The song also reached number one on the Cash Box chart where it remained at #1 for five weeks. In 2005, the 1953 Les Paul and Mary Ford recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame. https://youtu.be/63Df09Sodpk

Throughout the late 1940s, aware that thermonuclear weapons were developed by the United States, the Soviet Union worked to develop a hydrogen bomb to counter the perceived Cold War threat. Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov (considered the father of the Soviet H-bomb) formulated key ideas that contributed to Soviet thermonuclear design and his research played a key role in the development process.  A year after the U.S. tested its first thermonuclear device in November 1952, the Soviets tested a thermonuclear bomb yielding ~400 kilotons of TNT at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan. Although the test produced a significantly smaller yield than the 1952 American thermonuclear test series, the Soviets argued that this weapon was ready for immediate use and could be delivered by a long-range bomber.  Soviet TU-4 Bomber - Wikipedia Main source: Soviet Hydrogen bomb project

https://youtu.be/N4my1PeWUrg The United States Information Agency (USIA) was established in 1953 "to understand, inform and influence foreign publics in promotion of the national interest, and to broaden the dialogue between Americans and U.S. institutions, and their counterparts abroad." The USIA was the largest full-service public relations organization in the world, spending over $2 billion per year to highlight the views of the U.S. while diminishing those of the Soviet Union, through about 150 different countries. The stated goals of the USIA were: To explain and advocate U.S. policies in terms that are credible and meaningful in foreign culturesTo provide information about the official policies of the United States, and about the people, values and institutions which influence those policiesTo bring the benefits of international engagement to American citizens and institutions by helping them build strong long-term relationships with their counterparts overseasTo advise the President and U.S. government policy-makers on the ways in which foreign attitudes will have a direct bearing on the effectiveness of U.S. policies. https://youtu.be/VT8qQAjtxHg From 1961-64 Edward R. Murrow, a prominent journalist and broadcaster at CBS, was USIA director. Well-known and respected by the American public, Murrow's short tenure gave legitimacy to the agency. The USIA was dissolved in 1999. Main sources: Wikipedia and Scribd

In July 1952 the Egyptian Free Officers Movement, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein with General Muhammad Naguib as titular head, seized control of King Farouk’s government buildings, radio stations, and police stations in Cairo. The rule of Egypt passed to military hands and all political parties were banned.  https://youtu.be/qkaaAwPJgBs In 1953 Gamal Abdel Nasser took control of the interior ministry post and pressured General Naguib to conclude the abolition of the monarchy. In June 1953, the monarchy was abolished and the Arab Republic of Egypt declared, with General Mohamed Naguib, as its first president. After a 1954 attempt on his life by a Muslim Brotherhood member, Nasser cracked down on the organization, put President  Naguib under house arrest and assumed executive office. Nasser was formally elected president in 1956. https://youtu.be/BCx_tOhqWvs Main source: History of Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser

The armistice signed on July 27, 1953, formally ended the war in Korea. North and South Korea remained separate and occupied almost the same territory they had when the war began. https://youtu.be/K1otXThthbk

On 26 July 1953, the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba was attacked by an armed group of ~135 revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro. Poorly executed, the attack failed and the surviving revolutionaries, including Castro, were imprisoned. This armed attack is widely accepted as the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. Main Source: Wikipedia https://youtu.be/ZGSL2XV1M5w Telesur is funded by multiple Latin American governments.

Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay and New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest in May 1953. Wikipedia Wikipedia Britannica

In June 1953 a strike by construction workers in East Berlin against Soviet-inspired work standards, evolved into a series of demonstrations against declining living standards and unpopular Sovietization policies across the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). With the rule of the communist government threatened, the uprising in Berlin was violently suppressed by police and Soviet tanks. https://youtu.be/hlAMgTDEXFo Source: Wikipedia

https://youtu.be/UZe_omSv8FE Queen Elizabeth II was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York. After the the abdication of his brother in 1936, the Duke became King George VI. In 1947 Elizabeth married Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with whom she has four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. When her father King George VI died in February 1952, Elizabeth became head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of the independent Commonwealth countries:  United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon.  Source: Wikipedia

https://youtu.be/b01DL8DTUGM In 1953, an Army scientist took a fatal plunge from his hotel window. In 1975, a bombshell report tied his death to a top-secret experiment.   —   Wormwood (TV Mini-Series 2017) - IMDb Frank Rudolph Emmanuel Olson  was an American biological warfare scientist employed by the United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories at Camp Detrick (now Fort Detrick) in Maryland. At a meeting in rural Maryland, he was covertly dosed with LSD by the head of the Central Intelligence Agency's MKUltra program, intended to identify and develop drugs and procedures that might weaken an individual and force confessions through mind control.       Nine days after being surreptitiously dosed with LSD, Olson plunged to his death from the window of the Hotel Statler in Manhattan. Although the U.S. government described his death as suicide, others alleged murder. In July 1975, The New York Times reported that unnamed staff sources within the Rockefeller Commission said that Sidney Gottlieb, commander of the CIA's LSD experimentation program, was personally involved in the experiment that killed the researcher Frank Olson and had destroyed the program's records in 1973.

The Battle of Pork Chop Hill comprised a pair of related Korean War battles fought between United Nations forces and the Chinese and North Korean armies from April through July 1953. Fought while the UN and the Chinese and North Koreans were negotiating the Korean Armistice Agreement, these battles were controversial because of the many soldiers killed for terrain of no strategic or tactical value—although the Chinese lost many times the number of US soldiers killed and wounded. UN forces won the first battle (depicted in the 1959 movie Pork Chop Hill) when the Chinese broke contact and withdrew after two days of fighting. The second battle was bitterly contested for five days before UN forces withdrew behind the main battle line.

https://youtu.be/iP56uHh-p5g In 1951 the American citizens Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg, were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. In June 1953 the Rosenbergs were both executed in the Sing Sing correctional facility in Ossining, New York, becoming the first American civilians to be executed for espionage during peacetime. For decades, the Rosenbergs' sons and other defenders maintained that Julius and Ethel were innocent of spying on their country and were victims of Cold War paranoia. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, much information concerning them was declassified, including a trove of decoded Soviet cables (code-name: Venona), which detailed Julius's role as a courier and recruiter for the Soviets. Ethel's role was as an accessory who helped recruit her brother David into the spy ring and she typed documents for her husband that were given to the Soviets. In 2008, the National Archives of the United States published most of the grand jury testimony related to the prosecution of the Rosenbergs. https://youtu.be/Ptvwzd-q7c0 Main source: Wikipedia

https://youtu.be/CjVCrqQPIkY The Battle of Kumsong  (Chinese: 金城战役) was one of the last battles of the Korean War. During ceasefire negotiations, the United Nations, Chinese and North Korean forces were unable to agree on the issue of prisoner repatriation.   Refusing to sign the armistice, South Korean President Syngman Rhee released 27,000 North Korean prisoners who had  refused repatriation to the North. https://youtu.be/APv07DxNQkw Outraged by the POW release, Chinese and North Korean commands launched the last large-scale offensive of the war at the Kumsong salient. (Salient = a piece of land or section of fortification that juts out to form an angle). Forces.net Nine ROK and U.S. divisions were required to block and counterattack the Chinese advance. Penetrating approximately 6 miles south, the Chinese proclaimed victory as their last counteroffensive flattened out the salient. Flattening the Kumsong salient Wikipedia Main source: Battle of Kumsong - Wikipedia

https://youtu.be/boertpylK0M 1953 Chevrolet Corvette - Wikimedia Commons In 1953, General Motors released the first model of the Chevrolet Corvette —a sports car named after the small, maneuverable warship. Wikipedia Over the years, the Corvette has become widely known as America's Sports Car, synonymous with freedom and adventure. In 1960 the TV show Route 66  featured two young men traveling across the United States in a Chevrolet Corvette convertible.  https://youtu.be/Pmc6-09PnCM

https://youtu.be/HGU3squqQ_w Lt. General Maxwell Taylor In February 1953, Lt. General Maxwell Taylor assumed command of the Eighth United States Army during the final combat operations of the Korean War. Wikipedia From 1955 to 1959, he was the Army Chief of Staff, succeeding his former mentor, Matthew B. Ridgway. During his tenure, Taylor attempted to guide the service into the age of nuclear weapons by restructuring the infantry division. 

During 1953, fighting on the ground during the Korean War evolved into a war of attrition. The war in the air, however continued with MIG-15 vs F-86 Sabre Jet dogfights and a massive US bombing campaign North Korea. Warfare History Network History.com National Museum of USAF