On April 29, 2004, the World War II Memorial opened in Washington, D.C. 
to thousands of visitors, providing overdue recognition for the 16 million
U.S. men and women who served in the war. The memorial is located on
7.4 acres on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the National Mall
between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The
Capitol dome is seen to the east, and Arlington Cemetery is just across
the Potomac River to the west.

On April 28, 1945, “Il Duce,” Benito Mussolini, and his mistress, Clara Petacci,
(shown above) were shot by Italian partisans who had captured the couple as
they attempted to flee to Switzerland.

The 61-year-old deposed former dictator of Italy was established by his
German allies as the figurehead of a puppet government in northern Italy
during the German occupation toward the close of the war. As the Allies
fought their way up the Italian peninsula, defeat of the Axis powers all
but certain, Mussolini considered his options. Not wanting to fall into
the hands of either the British or the Americans, and knowing that the
communist partisans, who had been fighting the remnants of roving
Italian fascist soldiers and thugs in the north, would try him as a war
criminal, he settled on escape to a neutral country.

Benito Mussolini (left) with Nazi Germany’s Adolf Hitler.

Kingsmen (from left) Jack Ely, Lynn Easton, Bob Nordby, and Mike Mitchell.

The Kingsmen, a 1960s garage rock band from Portland, Oregon
are known for their 1963 recording of Richard Berry‘s "Louie
Louie". It  held the No. 2 spot on the Billboard charts for six
weeks and became a popular classic. Members Lynn Easton
and Jack Ely from David Douglas High School formed a band
that would eventually be named the Kingsmen. 

“We lost a member of our Kingsmen family today,
Saturday April 25.

Our deepest sympathies, hearts and prayers go
out to his family. RIP brother.”
(From the Kingsmen website)

WELCOME, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR team owner Richard Childress is auctioning off one of racing legend Dale Earnhardt’s cars to raise
money for coronavirus relief efforts.

The Charlotte Observer reports that this is the first time Childress
has sold or given away an original Earnhardt car from his personal collection.

A news release Thursday from Richard Childress Racing officials
doesn’t specify which of Earnhardt’s trademark No. 3 race cars is
up for auction.

Childress tweeted Friday that parting with one of his cars is “a
small sacrifice” for him to make.

Earnhardt died in a crash during the last lap of the Daytona 500
at Daytona International Speedway in 2001.

The eBay site for the auction doesn’t list a deadline for bidding
on items.

Richard Childress (below) Racing is based in Welcome, North
Carolina.

Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. ( April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001)

During the influenza epidemic of 1918, Portland converted one of its newest
and largest buildings, the Portland Auditorium, into a temporary hospital. 

The Spanish influenza pandemic became one of the deadliest events
in history. Although the Spanish flu struck Portland, Oregon more
than a century ago, how Portlanders reacted then has an uncanny parallel to what we’re experiencing now with the Coronavirus. The
first confirmed case in Portland was a soldier, a private on his way
to Texas for training.

Just a week after Portland’s first Spanish flu diagnosis, the Oregon
State Board of Health ordered all public gathering places to shut
down statewide. Parades were canceled. Church services were
suspended. Restaurants sat empty. Dance halls silent. And
suddenly, 36,000 Portland students had nowhere to go. 

In addition to the closures, stores and businesses limited hours. Portland’s famous department store, Meier & Frank, asked
customers not to come into their store but rather to make delivery orders.

Officials urged Portland residents to wash their hands and keep
at least 4 feet apart — the prototype of “social distancing.”
(OPB)

The Oregon Statesman.