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A cultural theme pervading the latter part of the twentieth century was the recognition of the accelerating scope and impact of electronic technology \u2013 manifested through networked computers – upon the availability, access, and ubiquity of \u201cinformation\u201d.\u00a0 In a popular vein, examples of this were evidenced by the publication of Scientific American\u2019s <\/em>1995 Special Issue, \u201cThe Computer in the 21st Century\u201d; Time\u2019s<\/em> Spring, 1995 Special Issue , \u201cWelcome to Cyberspace\u201d, and, The New Yorker\u2019s<\/em> October 1997 \u201cNext\u201d issue, which covered such topics as \u201cThe NEXT Space Odyssey\u201d, \u201cThe NEXT Big Thinker\u201d, \u201cThe NEXT Frontier\u201d.\u00a0 In essence, the complimentary spheres of human endeavor \u2013 the intellectual and physical \u2013 whether embodied in the worlds of science, the military, economics, government, academia, and inevitably pop culture \u2013 were increasingly characterized and transformed by a transition from largely physical, \u201ctraditional\u201d methods of information storage and retrieval, to the retention and near-instantaneous provision of text and images in electronic \u2013 \u201cdigital\u201d \u2013 formats.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Depending on one\u2019s priorities about the retention and preservation of information \u2013 ease of access, storage space, speed of replication, redundancy, physical survivability, and (inevitably) cost, all of which can be measured – arguments can be posited in favor of either physical or virtual information storage.\u00a0 But, maybe a there\u2019s another factor for which – refreshingly! – metrics may be irrelevant:\u00a0 Luck.\u00a0 Which leads to the images in these two posts\u2026\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In <\/span>Philadelphia, during the mid-1990s, I discovered that Drexel University’s Hagerty Library possessed a full \u201crun\u201d of The New York Times<\/em> in 35mm microfilm format, commencing with its first issue, from September of 1851.\u00a0 Similarly, the University of Pennsylvania\u2019s nearby Van Pelt Library possessed a \u201crun\u201d of The Philadelphia Inquirer, <\/em>and, other periodicals in the same media.\u00a0 Having long been interested in the history of the Second World War, I knew I was \u201cin luck\u201d.\u00a0 Solid and profound luck, at that.\u00a0 The opportunity to access the Times<\/em> and Inquirer<\/em> gave me ready and immediate access to a deep and expansive trove of information about that conflict.\u00a0 Internationally, in terms of the breadth of military and political reporting.\u00a0 Culturally, as perceived and reported from the vantage of the New York and Philadelphia Metropolitan areas.\u00a0 Photographically, given the commonality and quality of images and artwork \u2013 whether news or advertisements – presented in these newspapers.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So, I began<\/span> to peruse issues of the Times <\/em>and Inquirer <\/em>published between 1940 through 1946, to \u201csee what I could see\u201d, using the microfilm reader \/ printer machines at both universities.\u00a0 By nature and default, this was a purely visual review, done chronologically; roll by roll.\u00a0 An examination entirely independent of search strings, Boolean Operators, truncation (suffix or<\/em> prefix!), the quantity of \u201chits\u201d, or, the number of \u201clikes\u201d.\u00a0 These criteria were irrelevant, because, with the exception of the time period – with each microfilm storage box labeled with the time-frame of the film contained within – there was <\/em>no other search criteria.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But, what about serendipity?\u00a0 What about simple, straightforward, chance?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s how, while reviewing the Times<\/em> for January of 1944, I discovered the composite four-photo image you see below:\u00a0 A photographic sequence showing an F4F Wildcat carrier-borne fighter plane being ditched in the roiling waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, in October of 1943.\u00a0 These pictures were entirely new to me.\u00a0 From my earliest days of building model aircraft \u2013 particularly WW II military aircraft; especially 1\/48 scale Fujimi, Hawk, Monogram, and Tamiya plastic models \u2013 my avid reading of Wings, Airpower, <\/em>and occasionally Air Classics<\/em>, and, all manner of books about WW II aviation \u2013 I\u2019d never, ever seen these images before.\u00a0 And, I wanted to learn more about them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Times\u2019<\/em> photo captions contained two clues: The pilot\u2019s name \u2013 \u201cLieut. Julius R. Brownstein\u201d and his wartime address \u2013 \u201cChicago\u201d.\u00a0 In 1997, I was fortunate to locate, contact, meet and interview him (no longer quite a Lieutenant) “in person”, 54 years after the incident.\u00a0 I learned more about the ditching of his Wildcat; about his experiences as a naval aviator in VC-13; about his life in general.\u00a0 He generously shared his photographs and memorabilia, images of some of which accompany these postings.\u00a0 (That I located Mr. Brownstein via Switchboard.com does lend more than a little irony to this essay, but hopefully does not refute its main undercurrent! *Ahem.*)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I eventually found both the four images that comprised the item published in The New York Times<\/em>, as well as five other images in the series that had remained unpublished, in the holdings of the United States National Archives at College Park, Maryland.\u00a0 These images are part of NARA\u2019s Record Group 80 – \u201cGeneral Records of the Department of the Navy, 1798-1947\u201d, and were reviewed and scanned in the Archives\u2019 Still Picture Research Room.<\/span><\/p>\n Photographic portraits, the complete sequence of images of the ditching, and excerpts from an interview I conducted with Mr. Brownstein, appear in these three postings.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n![\"Brownstein,](\"http:\/\/thepastpresented.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Brownstein-Julius-R-Lt-JG-New-York-Times-1944-01-27.jpg\")
<\/a>The photographs, as published in The New York Times<\/em> (and beyond…)<\/span><\/p>\n