FLASHBACK: PEARL HARBOR’S THANKSGIVING MENU, 1941
Thanksgiving Day dinner menu, Pearl Harbor, November 22,1941. NARA ID 6034662.
Just 17 days before the surprise attack, the base celebrated Thanksgiving. Their creative menu is a snapshot of a moment before everything changed.
By Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs
Notice the lighthearted theme, “Gone with the Viands” (food), a takeoff on GONE WITH THE WIND, the blockbuster film released the previous year.
* See description: “Gastronomic Orgy in Three Acts”
* See dishes named after the movie characters
Scarlett O’Hara - “Scarlett O’Berry” - Cranberry Sauce
Mammy - - Sausage Dressing
Melody Wilkes -“Melody Wilts” - Buttered Green Peas
Ashley Wilkes - “Bashful Wilts” - Buttered Asparagus
* Notice what’s served after dinner - cigars, cigarettes, and mixed nuts.
RELATED RECORDS: PEARL HARBOR
Remembering Pearl Harbor, National Archives News Special Topics page
FDR’s Day of Infamy Address
Remembering Pearl Harbor through Navy decklogs
RELATED RECORDS: GONE WITH THE WIND
Promotional poster for Combat America, a film produced by Clark Gable. See Pieces of History post, Gone with the Wind.
Report of separation for Clark Gable, signed by Capt. Ronald Reagan, part of his Official Military Personnel File, NARA ID 100342619
DID YOU KNOW that the National Archives held* a copy of GONE WITH THE WIND?
First Archivist of the U.S., R. D. W. Connor (left), accepts from Sen. Walter F. George (D-GA) the film "Gone with the Wind," 1/30/1941, a gift on behalf of GWTW’s producer David O. Selznick. Why? Section 7 of the 1934 National Archives Act authorized the National Archives to accept, store, and preserve motion-picture films and sound recordings re: to U.S. history. NARA ID 74229239.
* The multi-reel 35mm technicolor print was destroyed in a 1978 fire at the National Archives nitrate vaults at Suitland, MD. Related story: “Heated to Ignition: The 1978 Suitland Film Vault Fire.”
