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The “Díky, Ameriko!” (Thank you, America) monument commemorates the liberation of Pilsen, Czechia (then Czechoslovakia) by soldiers of the US 3rd Army on May 6th, 1945. It features two pillars with inscriptions in English and Czech, and the seals of the US and Czechia. A round plaque on the ground features a map depicting American forces’ advance across Western Europe and lists divisions of the 3rd Army.

There are other commemorations of WW2 in Prague and the US liberation of the city, most notably a General Patton museum.

This bronze tomb was created in 1831-3 by Johann Baptist Stiglmaier (1791-1844) for Caroline von Mannlich (1784-1830). She was the daughter of Johann Christian von Mannlich, who was the court painter of and architect for the duke of Zweibrücken and director of the king of Bavaria’s art galleries. Today, the tomb is on display in the Munich City Museum.

Really more of a skirmish, the Battle of Corydon happened on July 9th, 1863, as part of Morgan’s Raid. In June 1863, Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan led a force of 2,500 cavalrymen and 4 cannon north from Tennessee through Kentucky to disrupt Union military operations. Despite orders not to cross the Ohio River, Morgan decided to take his force further north into Indiana.

As the river was swollen after heavy rains, Morgan’s men were unable to ford, instead hijacking two boats to ferry the force across the river: the John T. McCombs and the Alice Dean. The Alice Dean was then set afire and sank.

Governor Oliver Morton had already called up the Indiana Legion, the state’s militia. 100 men from this force, along with local men, prepared to defend the town of Corydon, the former state capital of Indiana. Numbering only about 450 men altogether, they were wildly outnumbered and lacked any artillery. In addition, few of the men had any real military experience, apart from a handful of veterans of the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and a few soldiers recently returned from the front lines. The defenders of Corydon built a line of breastworks south of the town.

The Union forces managed to hold off the initial Confederate attacks, but the Confederates’ superior numbers, better experience, and cannon took a toll. Eventually, the Confederates outflanked the entrenchments on each side, causing the Union forces to rout and flee back into the town. In total, the battle lasted about an hour. 11 Confederates were killed and 40 wounded; the Union suffered 4 killed and 4 wounded (the Confederates also killed 3 civilians).

After capturing Corydon, Morgan’s raiders looted the town, robbing businesses and townspeople. They also demanded ransom money in order not to burn government buildings and businesses.

That evening, they continued on in their raid. Eventually, Morgan and his men were trapped and captured in Ohio.

The Battle of Corydon was the only Civil War battle to occur in Indiana, and was the last battle ever fought in Indiana. Today, a small portion of the battlefield is preserved as the Corydon Battle Site, operated by the Harrison County Parks Department. A cabin that was on the battlefield (though moved to a different spot), a cannon, a monument remembering the dead, and a mooring chain and anchor post recovered from the Alice Dean commemorate the events. The day I went, there were also 2 interpreters who did a good job explaining what happened. If you go, it is also worth visiting the town of Corydon itself, including the 1st state capitol building of Indiana.

Famed actor Marlene Dietrich actively supported the war effort in the United States during WW2. Despite being originally from Germany, she was a firm opponent of Nazism. She frequently went on tour around the country to promote war bonds and also visited troops to make shows for the USO. It was joked that she was at the front lines more than Eisenhower.

In May 1945, she made a special performance in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia for a crowd composed of both American and Soviet troops, as the two armies had finally met up. While in Pilsen, she stayed at the Hotel Continental.

Only months earlier, the hotel had been hit by a bomb, killing 70 people sheltering in the basement, including the hotel owner. After American forces liberated the city, it was used as the headquarters of the 2nd division, commanded by General John Hinds. It was during this time that Marlene Dietrich stayed in the hotel.

I knew absolutely none of the hotel’s background when I showed up, so I was super pumped when I found out! You can also stay in the room General Hinds used.

John Riley Tanner was born in Indiana in 1844, moving to Illinois as a child. After serving in the Union army in the Civil War, he worked in the farming and lumber industries. In 1870, he entered politics, successfully running for sheriff on the Republican ticket. He subsequently was elected to higher and higher positions, until he was elected Governor of Illinois in 1896.

As governor, Tanner oversaw a number of reforms to the state’s finances, education, and prisons. He also was the first governor in the country to have his state’s military forces ready during the Spanish-American War.

He is best known for his stances on organized labor and racial equality. Unlike many previous governors of Illinois and governors of other states at the time, Tanner was often willing to use the state’s resources to protect strikers and labor organizers, rather than in the interest of business owners. He likewise used state resources to protect African Americans from violence, as well as staffing the 8th Illinois with black officers (the first regiment in American history to be commanded by black officers).

Tanner died a few months after leaving office in 1901. In recognition of his deeds, labor unions and African American civil rights groups raised donations to build this tomb for Tanner. It is located in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois, directly opposite Abraham Lincoln’s tomb.

The Ruhmeshalle is a colonnade overlooking the Theresienwiese in Munich, the large, open area where Oktoberfest is held every year. In 1850, a large statue was erected in front of the Ruhmeshalle depicting a female figure representing Bavaria. At the dedication ceremony, full-size bronze casts of Bavaria’s fingers were used as giant beer mugs by important dignitaries, among them King Ludwig I. This is one of the surviving examples, on display in the Munich City Museum.

Operation Anthropoid was the 1942 assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, who had been named “Protector of Bohemia and Moravia”, effectively ruling over German-occupied Czechia. The operation was carried out by Czechoslovak soldiers trained by the British SOE and dropped into Czechoslovakia.

This harness was used by one of the operatives on December 28th, 1941 when they jumped from an RAF Halifax bomber. It, along with other harnesses and parachutes, was hidden in a false grave and was recovered after the war. Today, it is on display at the Army Museum Žižkov, in Prague.

This sculpture is composed of elements made on opposite sides of the world, separated by two millennia. At the center is a sculpted head believed to come from around Guerrero, Mexico. It is of Olmec origin, dating to approximately 900 BC.

Following the Spanish conquest, it was taken to Europe, and eventually made its way into the possession of Maximilian II, Elector of Bavaria, who was a great collector of art. Maximilian had a Flemish sculptor in his court, Guillielmus de Groff, craft a body and architectural niche to accompany the head. Given the Oriental-inspired crown, clothing, and rug below the figure, it is likely that Maximilian and de Groff mistakenly believed the head came from Asia, rather than the Americas.

Today, the piece is on display in the Schatzkammer of the Munich Residenz.

Located outside the Nine Fine Irishmen pub part of the New York-New York Hotel and Casino. (I suppose this somewhat makes sense; most of the regiments in the Irish Brigade were from NY.)

This camera was brought along by the #13 plane copilot, Lt. Knobloch, during the Doolittle Raid against Tokyo in 1942. The plane’s navigator, Lt. Campbell, used the camera to take photos during the bombing run; these were the only pictures taking from any of Doolittle’s planes during the operation. The 2nd picture is an example of one of the photos.

The camera is on display at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

The patriarch of the family, John Winthrop, was an instrumental figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, serving as its governor for 12 years. He also wrote extensive accounts of this time period, and modern historians rely heavily on his writings to understand the era.

Many of his descendants also played a key role in New England history, some of whom are also buried here, including 2 governors of Connecticut, John Winthrop and Fitz John Winthrop.

This chest was made at the court of the King of Kotte in Sri Lanka, c. 1543. Panels of ivory are accompanied by decorative bands made of gold, rubies, and sapphires. The panels feature figures dancing, marching, eating, fighting and praying; some of the people depicted are dressed in the traditional, local style, others in Portuguese style. Surround the figures are decorative elements with various animals and floral motifs.

Portuguese conquest of the island was well under way, having begun in the early 16th century. This piece is a fascinating reminder of the cultural changes wrought by colonization.

Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria bought the piece and added it to the Bavarian royal treasury in the late 16th century. It remains on display in the Munich Residenz.

If passing near Joliet, IL, southwest of Chicago, the Joliet Area Historical Museum is worth a visit. The museum has some great displays on local history, including a small Civil War section. Most impressive the flag of the 100th IL, painted with the regiment’s battle honors: “Lavergne, Stone River, Chicamauga, Mission Ridge, Rocky Face, Resacca, Dallas, Lost Mount., Kennesaw, Peach Tree Creek, Atlant., Spring Hill, Frankl., Nashville”

A short distance away is the Old Joliet Prison, well worth a visit too.

This flag was flying over the light cruiser USS St. Louis during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The ship’s crew shot down 3 Japanese planes and narrowly avoided being torpedoed by a Japanese midget submarine that day. Afterwards, the St. Louis transported wounded servicemen to California.

This same flag was hoisted over the battleship USS Iowa when she sailed into Tokyo Bay to take part in the Japanese surrender ceremony at the end of the war.

The flag can be seen at the National Museum of the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

William Dawes was born in 1745 in Boston. He became heavily involved in militia activities and was a strong opponent of increasing British oversight and taxation of the colonies.

On April 18th, 1775, he was sent by Dr. Joseph Warren to give warning of a British column which was moving to seize munitions stockpiled in Concord. Several men were sent out to spread the news, though ultimately only Paul Revere is widely known today.

Dawes subsequently served as a quartermaster during the Revolutionary War. He died in 1794. There is dispute over where he is actually buried, but this marker remembers him in King’s Chapel Burying Ground in Boston.