Veteran's Day - On A Note Of Triumph - a special 1 hour presentation by Norman Corwin in commemoration of V-E Day on May 8, 1945 and broadcast over CBS Radio.
November 11, 2011

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In observance of another war, several lifetimes ago.


Considered one of the classics of the genre, CBS Radio and the writer-director Norman Corwin did a special tribute program on the occasion of V-E Day in 1945. On A Note Of Triumph is, on its surface a curio - popular culture of a bygone age. Admittedly there are bits that are way over the top as a lot of radio during the 1940's is. It's what people listened to, read and saw during this period of time in our society. Drama was high and acting lent itself to higher voltage.

But the underlying message is timeless and even apropos now.

Narrator: “Hence forward we must do a little civil thinking every day and not pass up the front page for the sports page as we did before. Vigilance pays interest and compounds into peace. A little civil thinking every day; that is the homework. Yes, shooting your mouth off against the bare appointment and the shoddy referendum. Storming the redoubts of the local Schikelgruber. Voting in season and demanding of your representative that he be representative.”

Small wonder that Corwin, during the McCarthy period, withdrew from radio in protest of his ideals and didn't return until much later.

So as a tribute, not only to Veteran's Day but also to Norman Corwin, who passed away in October at the age of 101, I'm running On A Note Of Triumph as a reminder of where we were in 1945 and how much that relates to where we are today.

Change a few names and a few situations and it could be the last few years.

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