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Friday, December 16, 2016

My Dad's Story: Merle Baker Remembers WWII


Vintage Orange                        Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Sometimes the best source for history is closer than you think. 

My father, Merle Baker, enlisted in the Air Force in 1943, when he was just 17 years old. He went on to participate in Operation Crossroads, the post-war testing of atomic weaponry in the South Pacific. 

I grew up hearing his stories and seeing his original photos from those tests...Dad was trained as a photographer.. and they have always intrigued me. With last week's 75th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, I realized that Dad's stories would shed some personal light on a pivotal time in history.

I hope you enjoy his recollections as much as always have...


Thursday, December 8, 2016

Vintage Orange      Wednesday, December 7th 2016

Perhaps no other event changed the course of history in Orange County more than World War II.

Growing fields were converted to giant military bases, entire communities were uprooted, and the new aerospace industry jobs brought 1,000s of new residents to the county.

To mark the 75th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ellen Bell discusses the county before the war and then how dramatic, wartime shifts changed the landscape forever.