This evening I was going through some of the memorabilia I've got stashed in my garage, looking for an old photo.

Along the way I started looking through some of the stuff that my grandmother saved, including a box of things from my grandfather's old barber shop. Including a photo of my grandfather standing in his old barber shop that was taken long before I came along...

According to the calendars on the wall, this was taken in April of 1941.

Also in the box was an atlas. Specifically a war atlas which was printed sometime in 1942, complete with a scary General Douglas MacArthur portrait. It was put together soon after the USA entered the war after Pearl Harbor on December 8th in the previous year...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

Inside is some rather cool historical context for the day. Like when The United Nations was an important part of America's alliance with the free world...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

And there's a recap of how we got to where we were...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

And then? BLAM! A summary of America's defensive capabilities and a history of using them in the war...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

In the middle is an atlas with maps of the world and commentary on their part in the war effort. And then there's a plan to smash the Nazis! Back when we actually fought Nazis...

You can click to embiggen so you can read it.

History fascinates me in a way that few things do.

Finds like this bring it to life.