Season 8, Episode 10

Tukufu: THIS WEEK ON HISTORY DETECTIVES, WHAT CAN THIS CURIOUS ARTWORK TELL US ABOUT THE BEGINNINGS OF SOME OF OUR MOST BELOVED CARTOON CHARACTERS?

SO WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME IS THAT BUDDY WAS GOING HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH MICKEY MOUSE.

Elyse: WHAT STORIES DO THESE FADED LEGAL PAGES REVEAL ABOUT A REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO'S ROLE IN AN UNEXPECTED LOVE AFFAIR?

Wes: AND IN AN ENCORE PRESENTATION, WHY WOULD AN AMERICAN ARMY CAPTAIN HAVE ENDED UP WITH MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER?

Elvis Costello: ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ I GET SO ANGRY WHEN THE TEARDROPS START ♪ ♪ BUT HE CAN'T BE WOUNDED 'CAUSE HE'S GOT NO HEART ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ Tukufu: OUR FIRST CASE ATTEMPTS TO ANIMATE THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF THESE CARTOON DRAWINGS.

MARCH 1935: PORKY PIG MAKES HIS DEBUT IN "I HAVEN'T GOT A HAT" AND QUICKLY BECOMES THE STAR OF WARNER BROS. LOONEY TUNES SERIES.

A PARADE OF GROUNDBREAKING CHARACTERS FOLLOW: DAFFY DUCK, BUGS BUNNY, THE ROAD RUNNER.

BY THE 1940s, PORKY PIG AND HIS LOONEY TUNES ENTOURAGE OVERTHROW THE REIGNING KING OF CARTOON SHORTS, WALT DISNEY'S MICKEY MOUSE.

BUT DID AN EARLIER CARTOON CREATURE ATTEMPT TO TOPPLE KING MICKEY FROM HIS THRONE?

BRUCE COCKERILL OF SAN RAMON, CALIFORNIA, HAS MADE A DISCOVERY THAT MAY SHED LIGHT ON THE SCRAPPY EARLY DAYS OF CARTOON ANIMATION.

I FOUND THESE DRAWINGS IN A SALVAGE YARD IN BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE.

I'M TUKUFU ZUBERI, AND I'M TAKING A FIRST PEEK AT BRUCE'S CURIOUS DRAWINGS.

HERE, I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU.

ALL RIGHT, WHAT DO YOU GOT?

WHERE DID YOU GET THESE FROM?

AT A SALVAGE YARD IN BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

INTERESTING.

I MEAN, THIS DOESN'T LOOK LIKE ANYTHING I'VE EVER SEEN.

AND I WATCHED CARTOONS WHEN I WAS A KID.

ME, TOO, AND I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THEM, EITHER.

DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS GUY IS OR THIS CHARACTER IS?

NO IDEA.

WELL, I SEE MICKEY MOUSE IN ONE.

YEAH, THIS IS DEFINITELY MICKEY MOUSE.

THEY'RE ON PLASTIC.

HMM.

SO THIS CAME WITH THESE.

RIGHT.

DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS PERSON IS, CHARLOTTE DARLING?

NO IDEA.

ALL RIGHT, WHAT IS IT YOU WANT ME TO FIND OUT FOR YOU?

HOW THEY ENDED UP TOGETHER AND TO KNOW IF THEY WERE AN IMPORTANT PART OF CARTOON HISTORY.

DO YOU MIND IF I SPEND A LITTLE TIME JUST LOOKING AT THEM?

SURE, THAT'S FINE.

[ ♪♪♪ ] WHILE I RECOGNIZE SOME OF THE CARTOON CHARACTERS, SEVERAL I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

LET'S LOOK AT THIS ONE.

KIND OF A DRAWING AND A PAINTING ON PLASTIC.

THE PLASTIC ITSELF FEELS CRINKLY AND BRITTLE, AND YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE PAINT IS CHIPPING OFF IN PLACES, MAKING ME THINK THESE ARE FAIRLY OLD.

AND THIS THING HERE, IT'S JUST, LIKE, ALMOST OUT OF PLACE.

THE DRAWING OF THE WOMAN IN BED IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER CHARACTERS: THERE'S SIGNATURES AND A MESSAGE.

"WE HOPE YOU'LL SOON BE UP AND WELL.

CHARLOTTE DARLING."

ONE THING THAT'S COMMON IS THIS LITTLE BOY HERE IS THE MOST FREQUENTLY ILLUSTRATED IMAGE.

MY COLLEAGUE ELYSE LURAY HAS APPRAISED MANY CLASSIC CARTOONS.

SHE'S RECOMMENDED I MEET MIKE VAN EATON, A CARTOON EXPERT AND COLLECTOR WHO OWNS VAN EATON GALLERIES IN SHERMAN OAKS, CALIFORNIA.

WELCOME TO VAN EATON GALLERIES.

WELL, SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT.

LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT I GOT.

WHAT IS THIS?

THIS IS A PRODUCTION DRAWING.

OKAY, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

IT'S PART OF THE PROCESS OF MAKING ANIMATION FOR CARTOONS.

EVERYTHING STARTS WITH THE DRAWING.

AN ANIMATOR DRAWS IT IN PENCIL ON PAPER.

OH, GREAT.

NOW, THESE ARE PRODUCTION CELS.

CELS?

AND EXACTLY WHAT IS A CEL?

MIKE EXPLAINS THAT CEL IS SHORT FOR CELLULOID, A FLEXIBLE, TRANSPARENT SHEET OF PLASTIC WHICH WOULD BE LAID OVER THE PRODUCTION DRAWING TO BE TRACED AND PAINTED.

HE CAN TELL BY THE FEEL EXACTLY WHAT KIND OF CELLULOID IT IS.

NOW, THIS ONE'S MADE OUT OF NITRATE, SO I KNOW IT'S FROM THE EARLY '30s, MAYBE INTO THE MID-, MAYBE EARLY '40s.

OH, REALLY?

YEAH, IT'S A TYPE OF MATERIAL THEY USED THAT WAS ACTUALLY VERY FLAMMABLE.

LATER ON, THEY CHANGED TO A MORE MODERN MATERIAL CALLED ACETATE.

THAT HELPS US DATE THESE CELS.

THE CELS WOULD THEN BE FILMED ONE AT A TIME, AND WHEN THAT FILM WAS PLAYED BACK, YOU HAD AN ANIMATED CARTOON.

I SHOW MIKE SOME MORE OF BRUCE'S COLLECTION.

THEN I HAVE THIS STUFF.

WOW, THIS IS GREAT.

THIS IS EXTREMELY RARE; I DO KNOW THIS CARTOON.

IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST COLOR CARTOONS EVER MADE.

OH, REALLY?

YEAH, THIS WAS CALLED "THE SNOWMAN."

IT'S DONE BY A GUY IN NEW YORK NAMED TED ESHBAUGH BACK IN THE EARLY '30s.

AND OF COURSE, THAT'S MICKEY MOUSE RIGHT THERE.

NOW, THESE ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.

THIS WAS SOMEBODY PRACTICING THE INKING TECHNIQUES, SEE, JUST DOING THE BLACK LINES ONTO THE CEL.

THAT'S WHY IT'S NOT PAINTED ON THE BACK, IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY NUMBERS ON THE BOTTOM LIKE THESE, WHICH INDICATE THE SEQUENCE, OR THE ORDER, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO FILM.

MIKE IS EXCITED TO SEE SUCH AN EARLY MICKEY.

HE EXPLAINS HOW, BY THE EARLY 1930s, WALT DISNEY'S MOUSE HAD BECOME THE UNDISPUTED KING OF CARTOONS AFTER THE SUCCESS OF "STEAMBOAT WILLIE" IN 1928.

IT WAS THE FIRST DISNEY CARTOON WITH SYNCHRONIZED SOUND, AND THE AUDIENCES COULDN'T GET ENOUGH.

SO I HAVE SEVERAL OF THESE.

OH, YEAH...THAT'S GREAT.

DO YOU KNOW THIS CARTOON?

MIKE IS FAIRLY SURE HE RECOGNIZES THE CHARACTER.

IT TAKES A LITTLE RUMMAGING, BUT WE SOON FIND A SIMILAR DRAWING.

YEAH, YOU'VE GOT A PRETTY GOOD EYE.

THAT'S BUDDY, AND HE'S A WARNER BROS.

STUDIO CHARACTER FROM THE EARLY 1930s.

1933, HE CAME OUT WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND, COOKIE.

UNFORTUNATELY, THEY WEREN'T THAT POPULAR.

SO AFTER ABOUT TWO YEARS, HE WAS GONE.

WOW, SO NOW WE KNOW OUR GUY IS BUDDY.

AND YOU KNOW IT'S FROM WARNER BROS.

STUDIO.

BUT MIKE'S NOT SURE WHY WE HAVE SUCH A CURIOUS MIXTURE OF PRODUCTION CELS AND DRAWINGS FROM COMPETING ANIMATION STUDIOS.

SO I HAVE ONE MORE THING TO SHOW YOU.

GREAT.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS?

THIS IS NOT A PRODUCTION CEL AT ALL.

MIKE GUESSES IT'S SOME KIND OF GET-WELL CARD FOR CHARLOTTE DARLING.

AND ALTHOUGH HE DOESN'T KNOW THE NAME, HE HAS AN IDEA WHO SHE MIGHT'VE BEEN.

SHE PROBABLY WORKED IN THE INK-AND-PAINT DEPARTMENT SOMETIME IN THE EARLY '30s.

THE INK-AND-PAINT DEPARTMENT, WHAT IS THAT?

WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT, RATHER THAN TRY TO EXPLAIN IT, PROBABLY BEST I SHOW YOU, AND I'LL GIVE YOU A DEMONSTRATION.

MIKE TAKES ME TO WOODBURY UNIVERSITY IN BURBANK TO MEET DORI LITELL-HERRICK, THE CHAIR OF THE ANIMATION DEPARTMENT.

SO THIS IS ANIMATION ART, WHAT WOULD'VE COME TO THE INK-AND-PAINT DEPARTMENT.

AND I'M GOING TO GET A CEL.

I'M GOING TO INK THE DRAWING.

NOW, IS THIS HOW THEY WOULD'VE DONE IT IN THE 1930s?

IT'S SIMILAR TO WHAT THEY WOULD'VE DONE.

I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO USE A NEW PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY, A PAINT PEN; THEY WOULD'VE WORKED WITH QUILLS.

DORI EXPLAINS THAT THE ANIMATION DEPARTMENT, MADE UP ENTIRELY OF MEN, CREATED ALL OF THE INITIAL PRODUCTION DRAWINGS.

ALTHOUGH SHE'S NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE NAME CHARLOTTE DARLING, DORI TELLS ME SHE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN AN ANIMATOR, BECAUSE WOMEN WERE EXCLUDED FROM THESE HIGHER-PAID POSITIONS.

INSTEAD, THEY WORKED IN THE INK-AND-PAINT DEPARTMENT AND WERE OFTEN PAID LESS THAN $3 PER DAY FOR THE PAINSTAKING WORK OF TRACING THE DRAWINGS ONTO CELS AND PAINTING IN THE COLORS.

IT WASN'T UNTIL THE LATE '30s THAT ANIMATORS WERE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY FORM UNIONS SUCH AS THE SCREEN CARTOONISTS GUILD.

THE INK-AND-PAINT WOMEN WERE REALLY TALENTED ARTISTS.

THEY BROUGHT A LOT OF SKILL TO THE ANIMATION FILMMAKING PROCESS IN THE WAY THEY INKED.

THE LINES YOU SAW ON THE SCREEN WHENEVER YOU LOOKED AT AN ANIMATED FILM IN THE DAYS OF INK-AND-PAINT WOULD HAVE BEEN DONE BY THE WOMEN IN THE INK-AND-PAINT DEPARTMENT.

OKAY, SO BACK IN THE 1930s, ABOUT HOW MANY OF THESE CELS WOULD THEY NEED TO PAINT FOR A TYPICAL CARTOON?

THEY'D PAINT ABOUT 5,000 CELS, MAYBE 10, FOR A REGULAR CARTOON.

Van Eaton: AFTER THEY INKED THESE 10,000 OR SO CELS AND PAINTED ALL THESE CELS AND THEN FILMED THEM ONTO THE CAMERA, THE STUDIO NORM WAS TO WASH THEM OFF SO THAT THEY COULD REUSE THE CEL MATERIAL AGAIN.

HERE YOU GO.

WOW.

IF MOST CELS WERE EVENTUALLY ERASED AND REUSED, WHY DID SOMEBODY SAVE SO MANY BUDDY CELS?

JERRY BECK IS A CARTOON HISTORIAN AND WARNER BROS.

EXPERT.

MM-HMM, THESE ARE AMAZING.

HE SAYS THE BUDDY CARTOONS ARE A REAL FIND.

HE WAS PART OF THE EARLY, EARLY PERIOD OF THE LOONEY TUNES.

THEY DATE FROM A MOMENT IN ANIMATION HISTORY WHEN WARNER BROS. WAS LAUNCHING AN ATTACK ON DISNEY'S MICKEY MOUSE EMPIRE.

MICKEY WAS THE BIG CHARACTER THAT DISNEY HAD, AND ALL THE OTHER HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS WANTED TO COMPETE.

FOR EXAMPLE, THIS IS BOSKO.

HE WAS THE FIRST STAR OF THE VERY FIRST LOONEY TUNE IN 1930.

LIKE MANY EARLY CARTOONS, BOSKO WAS A MINSTREL CHARACTER BASED AROUND THE RACIAL STEREOTYPES OF BLACKFACE VAUDEVILLE PERFORMERS.

BUT JERRY EXPLAINS THAT BOSKO'S DUEL WITH MICKEY WAS SHORT-LIVED.

THE PROBLEM WAS THE TWO ANIMATORS WHO CREATED HIM WANTED MORE MONEY, THEY WANTED TO MAKE THE CARTOONS BETTER.

THEY HAD A LITTLE DISPUTE WITH THE PRODUCER AND THEY SPLIT.

THEY SAID, "BYE-BYE, WE'RE GOING TO TAKE OUR CHARACTER AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE."

WARNER BROS. WAS LEFT SCRAMBLING FOR ANOTHER CHARACTER TO TAKE ON DISNEY.

SO THEY CAME UP WITH SOMETHING REALLY, REALLY FAST.

IT WAS KIND OF A DERIVATIVE VERSION, A STAND-IN VERSION OF BOSKO, WHICH THEY CALLED BUDDY, WHO WAS JUST A LITTLE BOY.

SO WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME IS THAT BUDDY WAS GOING HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH MICKEY MOUSE.

WHY DON'T WE KNOW WHO BUDDY WAS?

WE KNOW PORKY PIG, WE KNOW BUGS BUNNY, WE KNOW ALL OF THE LOONEY TUNES, BUT WE DON'T KNOW BUDDY.

BUDDY WAS REALLY THE END OF AN ERA.

HE WAS THE LAST OF THE SINGING-AND-DANCING, OPTIMISTIC, DEPRESSION-ERA, MICKEY MOUSE-LIKE CHARACTERS THAT REALLY ALL THE CARTOON STUDIOS WERE DOING BACK THEN.

IN 1935, WARNER BROS. FOUND A TEAM OF YOUNG ANIMATORS WITH NEW IDEAS, AND BUDDY AND COOKIE WERE SHOWN THE DOOR.

THE IDEA OF BUDDY AND HIS MUSICAL CARTOONS WAS A LITTLE TOO STIFLING FOR THESE NEW YOUNG GUYS.

THESE YOUNG GUYS INCLUDED CHUCK JONES AND BOB CLAMPETT AND TEX AVERY AND FRANK TASHLIN.

THEY WERE JUST THE AMAZING GROUP THAT CREATED WHAT WE THINK OF AS THE WARNER BROS. CARTOONS, THIS NEW COMEDIC ATTITUDE WHERE THEY BROKE THE FOURTH WALL AND TALKED DIRECTLY TO THE AUDIENCE, YOU KNOW, FOR A GAG.

You know, that duck's screwy.

IT WAS THIS INNOVATIVE STYLE WHICH VALUED COMEDY OVER CUTENESS THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY HELP MAKE LOONEY TUNES THE MOST POPULAR SHORT CARTOONS IN AMERICA.

JERRY'S ALSO CONFUSED WHY CELS FROM DISNEY AND INDEPENDENT ANIMATORS ARE MIXED IN WITH A COLLECTION DOMINATED BY WARNER BROS.

CHARACTERS.

HE THINKS THIS CEL, THE ONLY ONE IN THE COLLECTION NOT OF A RECOGNIZABLE CARTOON CHARACTER, MIGHT BE THE KEY.

OBVIOUSLY IT'S A GET-WELL CARD, AND THE LADIES SIGNED IT.

AND THEY MADE A LITTLE CEL FOR HER TO PUT, YOU KNOW, IN HER HOSPITAL BED.

AND WHAT'S GREAT FOR ME IS THAT THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF NAMES ON THERE I NEVER HEARD BEFORE.

THESE ARE THE UNSUNG ARTISTS IN ANIMATION HISTORY.

BUT ONE NAME JERRY DOES RECOGNIZE, CHARLOTTE DARLING.

HE SAYS SHE WAS PART OF WARNER BROS.' INK-AND-PAINT DEPARTMENT AND SUGGESTS I SPEAK WITH SOMEONE WHO KNEW HER BACK THEN.

MARTHA SIGALL ALSO WORKED IN WARNER BROS.' INK-AND-PAINT DEPARTMENT IN THE 1930s.

ALL RIGHT, SO THIS IS WHAT I HAVE.

THAT LOOK FAMILIAR TO YOU?

A LITTLE BIT, YES.

THAT'S BUDDY.

AND THERE'S BUDDY IN THE CAR WITH COOKIE.

OH, YEAH, THAT'S CUTE.

OH, YEAH, THAT'S WONDERFUL.

OH, GEE, THESE ARE REALLY OLD.

THEN I HAVE THIS.

NOW, DO YOU KNOW THE WOMEN HERE?

I RECOGNIZE EVERY ONE OF THEM.

THEY WERE INKERS WHEN I CAME TO WORK THERE.

JERRY BRIMHALL, SHE LEFT HER GOOSENECK LAMP ON.

THESE CELS ARE FLAMMABLE, AND IT GOT TOO CLOSE TO THE CELS AND STARTED A FIRE.

OH, MABEL ANDES, SHE WAS A PAINTER.

SHE WAS A FABULOUS WOMAN.

WE HAD SUCH A DEEP APPRECIATION FOR EACH OTHER.

EVERY DAY THERE WAS SOMETHING FUN.

I COULDN'T WAIT TO GET TO WORK IN THE MORNING.

ISN'T THAT AMAZING?

CHARLOTTE STARTED AS AN INKER.

SHE WAS A VERY GOOD ARTIST.

SHE WAS ALWAYS DRESSED VERY SOPHISTICATEDLY.

REALLY, SHE WAS A SHARP DRESSER?

SHE WAS A SHARP DRESSER.

ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR THE GUILD, AND SHE WAS ALWAYS TRYING TO RAISE MONEY A FEW CENTS AT A TIME.

MARTHA EXPLAINS THAT THE SCREEN CARTOONISTS GUILD PLAYED A BIG ROLE IN THEIR LIVES.

WHILE THE WOMEN LOVED TO COME TO WORK, MANY BELIEVED THEY WERE BEING PAID TOO LITTLE BECAUSE THEY WERE WOMEN.

CHARLOTTE WAS ONE OF THESE PROTESTERS.

KIND OF POLITICALLY LEFT-WING.

ONE OF THE GIRLS SAID TO HER, "CHARLOTTE, ARE YOU A COMMUNIST?"

AND SHE SAID, "YES, I AM, AND I'M PROUD OF IT."

AND SHE SAYS, "WE'RE NOT TRYING TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT.

"IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK.

"WE JUST WANT TO MAKE WORKING CONDITIONS AND LIFE BETTER FOR PEOPLE."

SO... WOW.

THAT WAS CHARLOTTE.

SO SHE WAS A PRETTY INTERESTING WOMAN.

VERY INTERESTING WOMAN.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A CEL LIKE THIS, OR DO YOU REMEMBER THIS CHARACTER?

NOT AT ALL.

I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT CHARACTER.

SO THIS IS A PIECE BY A GUY NAMED -- I THINK IT'S TED ESHBAUGH.

OH!

HE WAS A... THAT STRIKES A BELL, BECAUSE CHARLOTTE DID WORK FOR HIM.

MARTHA SAYS CHARLOTTE HAD ALSO WORKED FOR OTHER TOP ANIMATION STUDIOS, INCLUDING DISNEY AND HANNA-BARBERA.

THE COLLECTION HAD EVIDENTLY BELONGED TO CHARLOTTE.

IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THAT GET-WELL CEL, I DON'T THINK WE'D EVER KNOW.

I CAN'T WAIT TO TELL BRUCE THE STORY BEHIND HIS COLLECTION, BUT JERRY BECK WANTS ME TO SWING BY A MOVIE THEATER IN WEST HOLLYWOOD.

IT SEEMS HE'S MADE ANOTHER DISCOVERY.

SO WHICH FILM IS THIS?

THIS IS "BUDDY'S DAY OUT."

WAIT A MINUTE.

WHAT I SEE NEXT WILL CERTAINLY INTEREST BRUCE.

WE WERE ABLE TO FIND OUT THAT THIS GUY WAS A VERY PIVOTAL CHARACTER IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMATION HISTORY IN THIS COUNTRY.

HIS NAME IS BUDDY.

BUDDY WAS GOING TOE-TO-TOE WITH MICKEY MOUSE.

BUT THE CONNECTION IS CHARLOTTE DARLING, BECAUSE CHARLOTTE WORKED FOR ALL OF THE MAJOR ANIMATORS IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF ANIMATION, AND THIS IS A CARD THAT HER COLLEAGUES MADE HER, AND THEY WERE IN THE INK-AND-PAINT DEPARTMENT.

OH, MY GOODNESS; WOW.

BUT YOUR STORY DIDN'T END THERE.

I TELL BRUCE ABOUT MY SURPRISE VISIT TO THE MOVIE THEATER WITH JERRY BECK.

WAIT A MINUTE.

THAT'S THE SAME SCENE PICTURED IN OUR CEL.

YES, THAT'S THE EXACT DRAWING, THAT'S THE EXACT CEL THAT'S BEEN PHOTOGRAPHED IN 1933, AND HERE IT IS IN THIS FILM.

THIS IS THE FIRST LOONEY TUNES CARTOON TO STAR BUDDY AND COOKIE AND THE BABY, ELMER.

SO YOU'VE GOT A SERIES OF CELS FROM THE VERY FIRST BUDDY CARTOON.

THESE ARE VERY, VERY RARE.

YOU'RE HOLDING NOT JUST A PIECE OF THE FILM; YOU'RE HOLDING THE ORIGINAL -- ORIGINAL ART.

IT'S LIKE -- IT'S LIKE TOUCHING JUDY GARLAND OR, YOU KNOW, FRED ASTAIRE.

IT'S THE ACTUAL THING THAT WAS PHOTOGRAPHED BY THE CAMERA.

THIS IS THE VERY FIRST BUDDY CARTOON.

THESE CELS WERE USED TO MAKE THIS CARTOON.

I'M SPEECHLESS.

THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

NOW, SO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS COLLECTION NOW?

UM, I HAVE TO PUT IT IN A BANK VAULT OR SOMETHING.

[ laughing ] I'M DUMBFOUNDED.

OH, THAT'S FANTASTIC.

THIS IS TRULY A JEWEL, YEAH.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

AMAZING.

DECADES AFTER ENCOURAGING HER COWORKERS TO UNIONIZE, CHARLOTTE DARLING'S ACTIVISM AND COMMUNIST ASSOCIATIONS APPARENTLY CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.

IN 1953, SHE WAS CALLED TO TESTIFY IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE IN LOS ANGELES.

SHE CONFIRMED HER MEMBERSHIP IN THE COMMUNIST PARTY UP UNTIL 1946, BUT STATED THAT HER INTEREST STEMMED FROM HER DESIRE TO ORGANIZE CARTOONISTS.

IN HER TESTIMONY, SHE ALSO NAMED THE NAMES OF FOUR OTHER COMMUNIST PARTY MEMBERS.

IN 1985, CHARLOTTE RECEIVED A GOLDEN AWARD FROM THE SCREEN CARTOONISTS GUILD FOR 50 YEARS OF SERVICE IN THE INDUSTRY.

CHARLOTTE DIED IN 1990.

IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT TO ANIMATE ME INTO ONE OF THESE FILE FOLDERS.

FIRST, I'M VIDEOTAPED READING MY LINES AGAINST A PLAIN WHITE BACKGROUND.

NEXT, THIS VIDEO OF ME IS DIGITIZED INTO THE EDITING COMPUTER.

AN EDITOR LAYS ME OUT ON A TIMELINE ALONGSIDE THE OTHER IMAGERY THAT HE'LL USE TO ILLUSTRATE THE STORY.

HE DECIDES WHEN HE WANTS ME TO APPEAR ONSCREEN... AND WHEN HE DOESN'T.

AND HE CHOOSES APPROPRIATE ACCOMPANYING MUSIC.

ONCE THE IMAGES AND MUSIC ARE IN PLACE, I'M READY TO BE ANIMATED.

FIRST, A GRAPHICS PRODUCER USES THIS VIDEO OF ME TO BLOCK OUT THE TIMING OF THE ANIMATION AND DETERMINE WHEN TO CHANGE LAYOUTS.

NEXT, THE ANIMATOR COMPOSES THE BACKGROUNDS -- A SERIES OF PAGES WITHIN THE FOLDERS -- AND PLOTS OUT THE CAMERA MOVES.

HE THEN CHOOSES A LAYOUT FOR EACH IMAGE.

DEPENDING ON ITS SIZE AND THE LEVEL OF DETAIL WE WANT TO SEE, IT MAY BE DISPLAYED ALMOST FULL-SCREEN OR PLACED INSIDE A SMALLER POLAROID GRAPHIC.

THE NEXT STEP IS TO DECIDE HOW TO BRING EACH IMAGE ONTO THE FOLDER.

THE ANIMATOR CAN HAVE ME FLY IN FROM OFF-SCREEN AND BACK OUT AGAIN, OR HE CAN STACK ME UP ONE ON TOP OF ANOTHER.

AFTER THE ANIMATION IS COMPLETE AND THE STORY IS TOLD, ALL THAT REMAINS IS TO CLOSE THE FOLDER.

Elyse: OUR NEXT CASE INVESTIGATES A COLLISION OF POWER, RACE, AND UNEXPECTED LOVE IN REVOLUTIONARY-ERA NEW ORLEANS.

1779: AS THE AMERICAN WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE RAGES INTO ITS FOURTH YEAR, THE BATTLE LINES MOVE SOUTH.

IN LOUISIANA, A SPANISH TERRITORY, GOVERNOR BERNARDO de G䰠VEZ PICKS UP ARMS TO DEFEND THE AMERICAN COLONIES, ASSEMBLING A MILITIA AND ROUTING THE BRITISH FROM THEIR GARRISONS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

HIS HEROIC ACTIONS HELP SECURE FREEDOM FOR THE YOUNG AMERICAN NATION.

BUT DID HE ALSO SEEK TO SECURE THE FREEDOM OF A SINGLE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SLAVE?

NOW MICHAEL HENDERSON FROM SUGAR HILL, GEORGIA, HAS COME ACROSS A DOCUMENT THAT HE THINKS TIES THIS REVOLUTIONARY FIGURE TO THE EMANCIPATION OF HIS DISTANT RELATIVE.

MY FAMILY HAS LONG WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THESE PAPERS TELL US.

I'M MEETING MICHAEL IN NEW ORLEANS, WHERE HIS STORY BEGINS.

HI, MICHAEL; ELYSE.

HI, ELYSE, HOW ARE YOU?

GOOD.

COME ON IN.

THANKS.

OKAY, WHAT DO YOU HAVE?

WELL, I HAVE A MANUMISSION DOCUMENT.

WHAT'S A MANUMISSION DOCUMENT?

A MANUMISSION DOCUMENT IS THE FREEDOM PAPERS OF MY FOURTH-GENERATION GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

HER NAME WAS AGNES.

THE DOCUMENT WAS SIGNED DECEMBER 16, 1779.

I WAS ACTUALLY DOING FAMILY HISTORY, AND AT THE TIME, SHE WAS THE FURTHEST ANCESTOR THAT I WAS ABLE TO TRACE BACK TO.

AND IN DISCOVERING HER MANUMISSION DOCUMENT, OR HER FREEDOM PAPERS, OVER AT THE NOTARIAL ARCHIVES, IT ALLOWED ME TO ENTER INTO A PART OF THE FAMILY HISTORY THAT I WAS NOT AWARE OF AT THE TIME.

IN 1779, NEW ORLEANS WAS UNDER SPANISH RULE, WHICH EXPLAINS WHY THE MANUMISSION DOCUMENT IS IN SPANISH.

MICHAEL TELLS ME HE HAS HAD A SHORT SUMMARY TRANSLATION MADE.

AND WHAT DOES IT BASICALLY SAY?

IT SPEAKS ABOUT HOW AGNES ACTUALLY GOT HER FREEDOM.

THERE ARE SEVERAL PLAYERS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THIS STORY HERE.

ONE WAS NAMED MATHIEU PLATILLA, WHO ASSISTED AGNES IN GETTING HER FREEDOM.

THERE WAS ANOTHER LADY BY THE NAME OF MADAME HARANG, WHO WAS AGNES'S OWNER.

ACCORDING TO HIS TRANSLATION, MICHAEL BELIEVES HIS RELATIVE, AGNES, WAS TRYING TO BUY HER FREEDOM WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF A WHITE MAN,MATHIEU PLATILLA.

BUT HER OWNER, MADAME HARANG, WOULD NOT PERMIT IT.

AGNES IS ONLY FREED AFTER THE INTERVENTION OF BERNARDO de G䰠VEZ, THE GOVERNOR OF LOUISIANA.

THE DOCUMENT ITSELF WAS SIGNED BY BERNARDO de G䰠VEZ.

WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU WANT ME TO FIND OUT?

WHY DID THE GOVERNOR OF LOUISIANA TAKE TIME OUT TO ACTUALLY SIGN THE DOCUMENT?

OKAY, WELL, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE THE DOCUMENTS WITH ME.

SOUNDS LIKE AN INTERESTING LEGACY YOU HAVE ON YOUR HANDS.

ALL RIGHT, LET'S SEE.

WELL, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S A XEROX.

THIS COPY IS SEVEN PAGES LONG, AND THE WRITING DOES LOOK PERIOD.

IT LOOKS LIKE IT WAS PROBABLY USED WITH QUILL INK, AND THAT LOOKS GOOD.

IT'S VERY HARD TO READ, BUT IT CLEARLY SAYS G䰠VEZ HERE.

THERE WAS DEFINITELY SOME TYPE OF DAMAGE TO THIS DOCUMENT AT SOME TIME.

I'VE NEVER SEEN A MANUMISSION DOCUMENT BEFORE, SO I NEED TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ERA AND I ALSO NEED TO FIND OUT SOME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHARACTERS THAT ARE IN THIS DOCUMENT.

MICHAEL SAID THE ORIGINAL MANUMISSION PAPERS ARE AT THE NEW ORLEANS NOTARIAL ARCHIVES.

I WANT TO SEE THEM AND GET MY OWN TRANSLATION, SO I'M MAKING AN APPOINTMENT.

BUT FIRST, I WANT TO LEARN HOW A SLAVE COULD BUY HIS OR HER OWN FREEDOM.

I WENT TO SCHOOL AT TULANE UNIVERSITY, SO NEW ORLEANS IS CLOSE TO MY HEART.

THE CITY HAS LONG BEEN A WORLD TO ITSELF.

WHILE THE BRITISH COLONIES IN NORTH AMERICA OFTEN SEPARATED RACES, NEW ORLEANS FOLLOWED DIFFERENT RULES.

AFRICANS, INDIANS, AND EUROPEANS MIXED FREELY, GIVING THE CITY A UNIQUE CULTURE, INCLUDING A POPULATION OF SO-CALLED FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR.

EMILY CLARK IS A PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN COLONIAL LOUISIANA HISTORY.

I'VE TOLD HER ABOUT MY DOCUMENT.

SO THIS IS THE PART OF THE CITY WHERE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR SETTLED.

WE'RE AT THE INTERSECTION OF ROYAL AND URSULINE STREET.

THIS BUILDING IS PRETTY TYPICAL OF THE KIND OF PLACE THEY WOULD LIVE OR HAVE THEIR BUSINESS.

EMILY EXPLAINS THAT IN THE 1770s, THE CITY HAD A GROWING POPULATION OF EMANCIPATED SLAVES LIKE AGNES, WHO WERE CALLED FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR, OR LIBRES, IN SPANISH.

IT WAS A MAJORITY BLACK CITY THEN, AS IT IS NOW.

AND JUST BEHIND US IS TREMⰡ WHICH BECAME ALSO A PLACE WHERE MANY FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR LIVED LATER ON IN THE 19th CENTURY.

BUT THIS WAS THE AREA IN THE 18th CENTURY, IN THE 1770s AND '80s.

EMILY SAYS MANUMISSION PAPERS WERE COMMON AT THE TIME BECAUSE SPAIN'S LEGAL SYSTEM, AS WELL AS ITS CATHOLICISM, EMPHASIZED FREEDOM AS THE IDEAL STATE FOR HUMANITY.

THE POPULATION OF LIBRES LIKE AGNES INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY EVERY DECADE OF SPANISH RULE.

THEY WERE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE ECONOMY AND OF THE SOCIAL LIFE OF NEW ORLEANS DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME.

SOME OF THEM MARRIED OTHER FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR.

IN SOME CASES, WOMEN OF MIXED RACIAL DESCENT FORMED LIFE PARTNERSHIPS WITH EUROPEAN WHITE MEN.

SO THERE WERE ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF ARRANGEMENTS.

I WANT TO SHOW EMILY MICHAEL'S DOCUMENT, SO SHE SUGGESTS WE MOVE INSIDE TO THE LOUISIANA STATE MUSEUM, HOUSED IN THE CABILDO, THE SEAT OF THE SPANISH COLONIAL GOVERNMENT.

SO I HAVE THESE MANUMISSION PAPERS, AND I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.

WHAT WERE THEY?

THEY WERE NOTARIAL DOCUMENTS, A KIND OF BOILERPLATE DOCUMENT DRAWN UP GIVING THAT PERSON THEIR FREEDOM.

THERE WERE TWO MAIN WAYS THAT YOU COULD BECOME FREE.

ONE WAS YOUR OWNER INITIATED THE MANUMISSION PROCESS.

"YOU'RE FREE: YOU'RE FREE BECAUSE YOU'VE SERVED ME WELL, "YOU'RE FREE BECAUSE OF THE AFFECTION I HAVE FOR YOU, YOU'RE FREE BECAUSE YOU'RE A GOOD CHRISTIAN."

EMILY SAYS THE SECOND WAY FOR SLAVES TO GAIN THEIR FREEDOM WAS SOMETHING CALLED COARTACI丢, OR SELF-PURCHASE.

AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT UNDER THE SPANISH SLAVE LAW.

YOU HAD THE RIGHT TO BUY YOUR FREEDOM FOR AN APPROPRIATE PRICE, AND THAT PRICE WAS SET BY A TEAM OF APPRAISERS.

TO ME IT SEEMS STRANGE THAT SOMEONE WHO IS ENSLAVED WOULD HAVE MONEY.

I MEAN, HOW WOULD YOU HAVE MONEY TO BUY YOUR OWN FREEDOM?

WE DON'T THINK OF ENSLAVED PEOPLE AS HAVING MONEY, BUT ENSLAVED PEOPLE HAD SUNDAYS OFF, AND SO THEY COULD HIRE THEMSELVES OUT ON SUNDAYS.

AND BECAUSE THE POPULATION OF NEW ORLEANS WAS MOSTLY MALE THROUGHOUT THE COLONIAL PERIOD, THEY NEEDED WOMEN TO DO THEIR LAUNDRY, IN SOME CASES TO DO THEIR COOKING, IN OTHER CASES SIMPLY TO KEEP HOUSE FOR THEM, AND ENSLAVED WOMEN EARNED MONEY.

WHAT WOULD THEY DO IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE MONEY?

THERE WAS SOMETHING CALLED THIRD-PARTY PETITION.

SO A FRIEND, A RELATIVE COULD, ON BEHALF OF AN ENSLAVED PERSON, SUPPLY THE MONEY.

THE YEAR OF THIS DOCUMENT IS 1779, SIGNED BY G䰠VEZ.

HOW UNUSUAL WOULD IT BE TO SEE HIS SIGNATURE ON ONE OF THESE MANUMISSION DOCUMENTS?

EMILY TELLS ME 1779 WAS A BUSY YEAR FOR THE GOVERNOR.

IN SUPPORT OF THE COLONIES, SPAIN HAD DECLARED WAR ON BRITAIN IN AUGUST.

BY DECEMBER, WHEN OUR DOCUMENT IS DATED, G䰠VEZ HAD ALREADY MARCHED OUT OF THE CITY AND INTO BATTLE.

EMILY ISN'T SURE IF HE HAD RETURNED TO NEW ORLEANS IN DECEMBER.

HE USUALLY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A MANUMISSION, AND SO THERE'S A BIT OF A MYSTERY.

EMILY HAS NOTICED SOMETHING ELSE UNIQUE ABOUT OUR DOCUMENT: ITS LENGTH.

WELL, I HAVE A TYPICAL ONE; IT'S MUCH SHORTER.

IT'S REALLY JUST TWO PAGES LONG.

SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, THAT THIS ONE IS SO LONG?

IT MEANS IT WAS CONTESTED.

CONTESTED, MEANING...

MEANING THAT THE PERSON WAS TRYING TO OBTAIN THEIR MANUMISSION THROUGH SELF-PURCHASE, AND THE OWNER SAID, "NO, I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THE MONEY THAT THE APPRAISER HAS SAID YOU'RE WORTH; YOU'RE NOT FREE."

THIS WAS A COURT CASE, SO THAT WAS UNUSUAL.

I NEED TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS COURT CASE AND FIND OUT WHAT GOVERNOR G䰠VEZ HAS TO DO WITH IT.

THE ORIGINAL G䰠VEZ DOCUMENT, NOW CLOSE TO 240 YEARS OLD, IS STORED HERE AT THE NEW ORLEANS NOTARIAL ARCHIVE.

SALLY REEVES IS THE CONSULTING ARCHIVIST FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS WHO HAS BEEN EXAMINING OUR DOCUMENT.

SO THIS IS THE ORIGINAL.

THIS IS THE ORIGINAL ACT OF EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVE YGNEZ, WHO WAS AGNES IN FRENCH.

NOTICE THAT THIS DOCUMENT WENT THROUGH THE FIRE OF 1788 AND THE EDGES WERE BURNED THROUGHOUT THE BOOK.

SALLY HAS OFFERED TO TRANSLATE THE DOCUMENT.

IT STARTS OFF WITH BERNARDO de G䰠VEZ, KNIGHT OF THE MILITARY ORDER AND REPRESENTATION OF CARLOS III, AND ALL OF HIS HONORS.

IN DECEMBER OF 1778, MATHIEU PLATILLA ENTERED THE GOVERNOR'S COURT.

PLATILLA IS ASKING GOVERNOR G䰠VEZ TO, QUOTE, "GIVE FREEDOM TO THE NEGRO SLAVE NAMED AGNES."

AND HE WAS OFFERING TO PAY FOR THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVE YGNEZ.

OKAY, SO HE HAD THE MONEY TO SET HER FREE AND WANTED TO SET HER FREE.

YEAH, AND IT TOOK 425 PESOS TO DO IT.

BUT AGNES'S OWNER, MADAME HARANG, DOES NOT AGREE WITH THE PRICE AND IS REFUSING.

SALLY TRANSLATES, "THAT LADY HAS NOT COMPLIED WITH THESE ORDERS AND CONTINUES IN HER CRIMINAL OBSTINACY."

IS IT UNUSUAL FOR THAT SLAVE OWNER TO SAY "I'M NOT SELLING" AFTER THAT?

IT'S NOT COMMON.

BUT MADAME HARANG HAS REFUSED, REPEATEDLY REFUSED, TO TAKE THE MONEY AND TO ISSUE THE EMANCIPATION.

THE STANDOFF ESCALATED AND LASTED MORE THAN A YEAR.

A SECOND APPRAISER WAS BROUGHT IN, AND HE, TOO, AGREED ON THE PRICE.

BUT SHE STILL WOULDN'T DO IT.

AND SO, IN THE END, THE GOVERNOR HIMSELF MADE THE DECLARATION THAT SHE IS FREE.

SALLY SUSPECTS THAT PLATILLA WANTED TO FREE AGNES SO THEY COULD LIVE TOGETHER IN COMMON LAW.

THEY COULD NOT MARRY.

IT WAS AGAINST BOTH COLONIAL LAW IN THE FRENCH AND SPANISH PERIODS AND LATER AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA UNTIL AFTER THE CIVIL WAR.

SHE FOUND A DOCUMENT DEEP IN THE ARCHIVE, MATHIEU PLATILLA'S WILL FROM 1810.

IT LISTS AGNES AS THE MOTHER OF HIS CHILDREN.

HE DOES NOT LEAVE MONEY TO HER; HE LEAVES HIS ESTATE TO THE SIX SURVIVING CHILDREN AND THE FIVE GRANDCHILDREN.

BUT HE STATES VERY CLEARLY THAT SHE IS THEIR MOTHER.

THAT EXPLAINS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGNES AND PLATILLA, BUT WHY HAD THE GOVERNOR INTERVENED IN THE CASE?

HOW UNUSUAL WAS IT FOR G䰠VEZ, WHO'S THE GOVERNOR AT THE TIME AND IS PROBABLY VERY BUSY, I MEAN, WHY WOULD HE WANT TO HEAR SOMETHING LIKE THIS?

SALLY SUSPECTS THE TWO MEN KNEW EACH OTHER AND THAT PLATILLA SOMEHOW PERSUADED THE GOVERNOR TO GET INVOLVED.

AND A PERSON WITH A LITTLE BIT OF PULL OR SOME KIND OF ENTRY WITH THE GOVERNOR COULD GO INTO THE GOVERNOR'S COURT AND LAY THEIR CASE.

WHAT PULL DID AGNES OR PLATILLA HAVE WITH THE GOVERNOR, GETTING HIM TO INTERVENE ON THEIR BEHALF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR?

I'M HEADED TO THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION.

JASON WIESE IS THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ITS WILLIAMS RESEARCH CENTER AND AN AUTHORITY ON THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR IN THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY.

I SHOW JASON OUR MANUMISSION PAPERS, AND HE IMMEDIATELY HONES IN ON THE DATE AND THE DRAMA FACING THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES IN NEW ORLEANS.

1779, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION HAS BEEN GOING ON, SPAIN IS GETTING PULLED MORE AND MORE INTO THE CONFLICT.

AFTER WAITING ON THE SIDELINES, SPAIN FINALLY DECLARES WAR AGAINST BRITAIN IN 1779.

JASON SAYS G䰠VEZ GATHERS HIS MILITIA AND MARCHES NORTH UP THE MISSISSIPPI TO A BRITISH GARRISON AT BATON ROUGE.

IT'S A MOMENT OF TENSION AND GREAT RISK FOR THE COLONIAL GOVERNOR AS HE PREPARES TO ATTACK.

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE BATTLE OF BATON ROUGE?

HE USED HIS MILITIA TO STAGE A DIVERSION WHILE HIS ARTILLERY DUG IN IN AN UNEXPECTED SPOT.

AND THEN WHEN THE FOG LIFTED AND DAY DAWNED, THE BRITISH GARRISON WERE COMPLETELY SURPRISED TO FIND A SPANISH ARTILLERY WHERE THEY WEREN'T EXPECTING IT.

G䰠VEZ'S ARTILLERY WAS BRUTAL AND ACCURATE.

HE BOMBARDED THE FORT INTO SUBMISSION VERY QUICKLY.

THEY SURRENDERED NOT ONLY THE FORT AT BATON ROUGE BUT ALSO ANOTHER FORT UPRIVER AT NATCHEZ.

HOW IN THE WORLD WOULD HE HAVE TIME TO WORK ON A DOMESTIC CASE, ON A DOCUMENT THAT HAS TO DEAL WITH FREEING A WOMAN OF SLAVERY?

IT DOES SEEM VERY STRANGE.

HE WAS THE GOVERNOR, IN ADDITION TO BEING THE COMMANDER OF MILITARY FORCES.

I THINK MILITARY PREPARATIONS WOULD HAVE OCCUPIED MOST OF HIS TIME.

BUT JASON EXPLAINS THAT OUR DOCUMENT HAD BEEN SIGNED JUST THREE MONTHS AFTER THE BATTLE OF BATON ROUGE, AND HE BELIEVES THAT MAY BE A CLUE.

I ACTUALLY DID SOME DIGGING ON THE NAMES THAT YOU SENT, AND I FOUND SOMETHING THAT MAY INTEREST YOU.

WHAT I HAVE TO SHOW YOU FROM OUR LIBRARY IS A ROSTER OF LOUISIANA SOLDIERS WHO SERVED UNDER G䰠VEZ IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

WHAT JASON SHOWS ME NEXT WILL CERTAINLY BE OF INTEREST TO MICHAEL.

MICHAEL, IT WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO LEARN ABOUT SPANISH COLONIAL LOUISIANA, WHICH I THINK MOST PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRY DON'T REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT THAT TIME PERIOD WAS FOR THE FREEDOM OF OUR COUNTRY, NOT TO MENTION FREEDOM FROM SLAVERY.

SO YOU ASKED ME WHY THE GOVERNOR WOULD SIGN THIS DOCUMENT.

AND IN ORDER TO ANSWER THAT, WE REALLY HAD TO LOOK INTO THE DOCUMENT ITSELF AND THE PEOPLE THAT WERE INVOLVED, ESPECIALLY MATHIEU PLATILLA.

AT THE TOP OF PAGE SEVEN, THERE IS A NAME.

HE HEADS THE LIST OF OTHER MILITIAMEN WHO ARE NOT SO YOUNG BUT WHO ARE NEVERTHELESS ABLE TO SERVE IN THE MILITARY.

AND THE FIRST NAME ON THE LIST IS MATHIEU PLATILLA.

AND SO IT SAYS "B" HERE.

THOSE MARKED "B" ARE PREFERRED FOR CANNON.

THAT'S RIGHT.

AND DIDN'T YOU JUST TELL ME THAT IN THE BATTLE OF BATON ROUGE THAT THE ARTILLERY PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE?

WELL, THE ARTILLERY PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE IN ALMOST ALL OF THE CAMPAIGNS IN WEST FLORIDA.

SINCE G䰠VEZ HAD TO CAPTURE FORTIFIED POSITIONS, THE ONLY WAY TO REALLY DO THAT WAS BOMBARD THE FORTIFICATIONS AND FORCE THEM TO SURRENDER.

SO IT'S CLEAR HE WAS PART OF HIS MILITIA, BUT DO YOU THINK THEY KNEW EACH OTHER?

I MEAN, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE PART OF THAT MILITIA?

WELL, THERE WERE ONLY 50 PEOPLE IN THE COMPANY THAT PLATILLA WAS PART OF, SO HE CERTAINLY WOULD HAVE RECOGNIZED HIM BY SIGHT, IF NOT ALSO BY NAME.

WOW, THIS IS GREAT.

MATHIEU PLATILLA HAD BEEN PART OF THE ARTILLERY FORCE THAT HAD DEALT THE BRITISH A FATAL BLOW AT BATON ROUGE.

AND IT APPEARS THAT THE GOVERNOR HAD REPAID HIS LOYAL SOLDIER WITH A FAVOR: FREEDOM FOR AGNES.

SO YOUR ANCESTOR WAS FIGHTING FOR THE FREEDOM OF OUR COUNTRY AND AT THE SAME TIME HE WAS FIGHTING FOR THE FREEDOM OF HIS LOVED ONE.

IT'S QUITE EXTRAORDINARY.

THAT'S AMAZING.

THAT RIGHT THERE TIES THE FAMILY HISTORY INTO THIS PERIOD OF TIME THAT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY PERIOD OF TIME.

INDEPENDENCE AND FREEDOM KIND OF RUN HAND IN HAND.

THAT'S GOOD.

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE, TOO.

AFTER HE DEFEATED THE BRITISH AT BATON ROUGE, G䰠VEZ AND HIS MILITIA CONTINUED THEIR ADVANCE, ROUTING THE ENEMY AT NATCHEZ, MOBILE, AND PENSACOLA IN 1781.

G䰠VEZ'S SECOND FRONT IN THE SOUTH SECURED THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FOR THE COLONIES AND IS CREDITED WITH TAKING MEN, MONEY, AND RESOURCES AWAY FROM THE BRITISH ARMY'S BATTLE WITH WASHINGTON'S FORCES IN THE NORTH, AIDING HIS SUCCESS AT YORKTOWN.

G䰠VEZ DIED IN 1786.

THE ISLAND OF GALVESTON, TEXAS, IS NAMED IN HIS HONOR.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SPANISH INFLUENCE ON NEW ORLEANS ARCHITECTURE, VISIT HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.

SO YOU THINK YOU'VE FOUND AN AUTHENTIC HISTORICAL DOCUMENT?

HERE ARE SOME TIPS ON MAKING SURE IT'S THE REAL THING.

CHECK ARCHIVES, LIBRARIES, OR ONLINE FOR PENMANSHIP BY THE SAME PERSON.

PERSONAL MARKS, LIKE THE WAY SOMEONE DOTS THEIR I's OR CROSSES THEIR T's, AND THE SHAPES OF LOOPS ARE A KEY TO AUTHENTICATING HANDWRITING.

YOU SHOULD ALSO LOOK FOR DISCREPANCIES OF THE VERTICAL POSITIONING OF THE LETTERS, THE SPACE BETWEEN THE LINES, AND THE SLANT OF THE WRITING.

HESITATIONS, OR INDICATIONS THAT THE PEN WAS PICKED UP AND PUT DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SIGNATURE, COULD BE SIGNS THAT IT WAS TRACED.

EXAMINING THE DOCUMENT UNDER A MICROSCOPE CAN EXPOSE VARIATIONS IN THE INK THAT WOULD SUGGEST IT'S A FORGERY.

INFRARED LIGHT CAN ALSO REVEAL IF MORE THAN ONE KIND OF INK IS PRESENT.

IF YOU'RE STILL UNSURE IF YOU HAVE AN AUTHENTIC PIECE, SEEK THE ADVICE OF A FORENSIC DOCUMENT EXAMINER WHO CAN HELP YOU ANALYZE YOUR TEXT.

AND IF YOU THINK YOU'VE FOUND SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY, LET US KNOW AT HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.

Wes: OUR FINAL CASE CUTS THROUGH FAMILY LORE FOR THE TRUTH BEHIND A WARTIME SOUVENIR.

IN THE LATE SPRING OF 1945, IN SOME OF THE BLOODIEST FIGHTING OF WORLD WAR II, ALLIED FORCES MOVED NORTH THROUGH ITALY, LIBERATING TOWNS FROM FASCIST CONTROL.

ITALY'S LEADER, BENITO MUSSOLINI, IS IN HIDING.

A DEADLY CAT-AND-MOUSE GAME UNFOLDS AS MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN SPY SERVICE, THE OSS, HUNT FOR MUSSOLINI TO TRY HIM AS A WAR CRIMINAL.

BUT IL DUCE HAS TERRORIZED ITALIANS FOR 21 YEARS, AND THE U.S. MILITARY ARE IN A RACE WITH ITALIAN PARTISANS WHO WANT VENGEANCE.

JERRY STEICHEN OF RENO, NEVADA, HAS A WEAPON WHICH HE BELIEVES MAY BE CONNECTED TO THE LAST DAYS OF THE WORLD'S FIRST FASCIST STATE.

MY UNCLE GOT THIS IN WORLD WAR II.

WE WERE ALWAYS TOLD THAT THIS WAS MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER.

I'VE COME TO RENO TO EXAMINE THIS FAMILY LEGEND.

I REMEMBER SEEING THAT WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID.

WELL, YOU OBVIOUSLY WEREN'T ALLOWED TO PLAY WITH IT, BECAUSE IT'S STILL IN BEAUTIFUL SHAPE.

OH, NO, NO.

AND WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND THIS DAGGER?

MY UNCLE, CLARENCE FARBER, WAS A MAJOR IN WORLD WAR II.

HE ALWAYS TOLD ME IT WAS PRESENTED TO HIM BY THE ITALIAN PEOPLE WHEN HE WAS LIBERATING CITIES IN ITALY.

IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER.

HIS UNCLE REPEATED THE SAME STORY TO OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS, AND ALTHOUGH HE'S LOST TOUCH WITH HER, JERRY SAYS HIS UNCLE'S ELDERLY SISTER IS STILL LIVING IN ILLINOIS.

I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT IF THIS IS REALLY MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER, IT'S A QUITE VALUABLE WWII SOUVENIR.

I JUST WOULD REALLY LIKE TO FIND OUT IF THE STORY IS TRUE.

I'M GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE THIS WITH ME, IF IT'S OKAY, BUT I THINK I CAN PROBABLY HELP YOU WITH THIS STORY.

OH, I'D APPRECIATE THAT.

LOOK AT THIS BLADE.

IT HAS NEVER BEEN TOUCHED.

THIS STRIKES ME AS A DRESS DAGGER, NOT ANYTHING THAT WOULD HAVE EVER BEEN USED.

I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH ALL THESE SYMBOLS, BUT THE EAGLE WAS A POPULAR FASCIST ICON.

DOES "M" STAND FOR MUSSOLINI?

EVEN IF THE DAGGER IS PERIOD, I'M FAIRLY SKEPTICAL IT EVER BELONGED TO THE ITALIAN LEADER.

I'VE DONE A COUPLE STORIES SIMILAR TO THIS ON NAPOLEON'S SWORD, HERMANN G2RING'S SHOTGUN.

IN BOTH OF THOSE INVESTIGATIONS, MEMORY AND TIME HAD TURNED THE OBJECT INTO SOMETHING IT WAS NOT.

OVER THE YEARS, THE STORY GETS EMBELLISHED, AND BEFORE LONG, THE STORY BECOMES FACT.

HERE'S A COUPLE PICTURES OF HIM.

THE DAGGER HE'S WEARING HERE HAS A WHITE HANDLE.

THIS ONE HAS A BLACK HANDLE.

BUT WHO KNOWS, MAYBE MUSSOLINI OWNED SEVERAL DAGGERS.

DID JERRY'S UNCLE REALLY RECEIVE THIS AS A REWARD FOR LIBERATING ITALIAN CITIES?

THE AMERICAN INVASION OF ITALY IN 1943 WAS DESIGNED TO STRIKE A BLOW AGAINST HITLER'S UNDERBELLY AND DESTROY THE REMNANTS OF MUSSOLINI'S ARMY.

AFTER LANDING AT SALERNO IN SEPTEMBER 1943, THE ALLIES MET WITH INITIAL SUCCESS, BUT GERMAN COUNTERATTACKS ALMOST DOOMED THE INVASION AND CAUSED MANY CASUALTIES.

FARBER MAY HAVE WITNESSED THAT CARNAGE AND THE SUFFERING OF THE CITIZENS OF SALERNO.

SO LET'S SEE HERE.

IT LOOKS LIKE IN LATE APRIL 1945, MUSSOLINI IS TRYING TO ESCAPE FROM THE APPROACHING ALLIED FORCES AND HE'S CAPTURED BY ITALIAN PARTISANS, IT LOOKS LIKE NEAR LAKE COMO.

ON APRIL 28, 1945, THE MAN KNOWN AS IL DUCE, OR "LEADER," WAS EXECUTED ALONG WITH HIS MISTRESS.

HE HAD RULED ITALY WITH AN IRON FIST FOR 21 YEARS.

THE NEXT DAY, HIS BODY IS BROUGHT TO MILAN... AND PUT ON PUBLIC DISPLAY IN THE PLAZA THERE, WHERE THE ENRAGED CITIZENS OF MILAN SPIT ON HIM, KICK HIM, AND THEN HIS BODY IS HUNG UP.

IF JERRY'S STORY IS TRUE, HIS UNCLE WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE GOTTEN THIS DAGGER SOMETIME AFTER LATE APRIL 1945.

BUT I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ABOUT MUSSOLINI'S POSSESSIONS BEING GIVEN TO ALLIED SOLDIERS.

IF I'M GOING TO PROVE THAT THIS WAS MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER, I NEED TO SEARCH MILITARY RECORDS AND FIND OUT IF JERRY'S UNCLE WAS EVEN IN ITALY.

I'VE ORDERED COPIES OF FARBER'S SERVICE HISTORY.

IN THE MEANTIME, AN EXPERT IN WWII WEAPONS, GARY PIATTONI, CONFIRMS IT'S A PERIOD ITALIAN-MADE WEAPON.

THERE'S A LOT OF CLUES AS TO THE TYPE OF DAGGER IT IS.

HERE WE HAVE ON THE INSET INTO THE GRIP...

THE FASCES IS AN ANCIENT ROMAN SYMBOL OF POWER FEATURING A BUNDLE OF STICKS AND AN AXE.

IT BECAME THE SYMBOL OF MUSSOLINI'S FASCIST PARTY.

THE EAGLE WAS ALSO A FASCIST SYMBOL, AND THE "M" DOES SIGNIFY LOYALTY TO MUSSOLINI.

I'M SURE THAT THERE ARE ELEMENTS OF THIS, SYMBOLS OF RANK, THAT TELL YOU WHO WAS ALLOWED TO WEAR THIS DAGGER.

LET'S TAKE A LOOK.

IT'S A MODEL 1939.

THIS DAGGER WOULD HAVE BEEN WORN BY MEMBERS OF THE PNF, OR THE FASCIST PARTY, OR THE MVSN, OR THE FASCIST MILITIA, OFTEN CALLED THE BLACKSHIRTS.

GARY EXPLAINS HOW MUSSOLINI'S SEIZURE OF POWER WAS AIDED BY THE BLACKSHIRTS, A PARAMILITARY GROUP KNOWN FOR THEIR BRUTALITY AND CHARACTERISTIC UNIFORM.

THEY ALSO FAVORED CEREMONIAL DAGGERS.

GARY SAYS THE BEST CLUE TO WHO MIGHT HAVE WORN OUR DAGGER IS THE COLOR OF THE HANDLE.

FOR RANK OF BELOW COLONEL, YOU WOULD HAVE THE BLACK INSET.

FOR COLONEL THROUGH GENERAL OFFICERS, YOU WOULD HAVE A WHITE PLASTIC OR AN IVORINE MATERIAL, AND THEN TRUE IVORY, OR EVEN SOMETIMES FOSSILIZED IVORY, WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR SENIOR LEADERS OR GENERALS.

BECAUSE THE GRIP OF THIS DAGGER IS BLACK, THAT MEANS THAT THIS COULD HAVE ONLY BEEN CARRIED BY SOMEONE BELOW THE RANK OF COLONEL.

CORRECT.

IT'S CERTAINLY UNLIKELY THAT MUSSOLINI WOULD HAVE WORN THIS DAGGER IN PUBLIC, BASED ON HIS RANK.

FOR SUCH A RELATIVELY ORDINARY DAGGER, YOU WOULD NEED EXTRAORDINARY PROOF TO TIE IT TO MUSSOLINI.

THE HISTORY DETECTIVES OFFICE HAS LOCATED FARBER'S RECORDS.

IN HIS APPLICATION TO JOIN THE ARMY, THERE ARE SOME POTENTIALLY INTERESTING ITEMS.

FARBER HAD WORKED IN BOTH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PRISON SECURITY.

HE HAD ALSO BEEN TRAINED BY THE FBI IN COUNTERESPIONAGE.

FARBER WAS NO ORDINARY SOLDIER.

BUT THE ONLY MENTION OF HIS WAR SERVICE IS THAT HE ENTERED THE ARMY AS AN OFFICER IN 1942.

UNFORTUNATELY, HIS WARTIME RECORDS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED IN A FIRE.

JERRY MENTIONED THAT HIS UNCLE HAS A SISTER LIVING IN THE MIDWEST.

HER NAME IS RUBY VANT, AND I'VE TRACKED HER DOWN.

I'M HERE IN A LITTLE OLD TOWN ABOUT 100 MILES SOUTH OF CHICAGO, OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF ILLINOIS FARM COUNTRY.

AND I'M HERE TO SEE CLARENCE FARBER'S 101-YEAR-OLD SISTER, HOPING MAYBE SHE CAN TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT CLARENCE'S MILITARY CAREER.

RUBY, DID CLARENCE EVER SHOW YOU THIS DAGGER?

WELL, I KNEW HE HAD IT, BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER IT.

SO, RUBY, DID CLARENCE EVER TALK ABOUT WHAT HE DID DURING WORLD WAR II?

NO, HE WOULDN'T TALK ABOUT THE WAR.

MANY RETURNING G.I.s WERE QUIET ABOUT THEIR SERVICE YEARS, EAGER TO PUT THE HORRORS OF WAR BEHIND THEM.

BUT RUBY SAYS SHE MAY BE ABLE TO HELP ME.

A BOX OF HER BROTHER'S DOCUMENTS HAVE SAT IN HER ATTIC, WHERE SHE STORED THEM 30 YEARS AGO.

FROM THE OLD BOX COME FRAGMENTS OF INFORMATION.

FARBER DID SEE SERVICE IN ITALY DURING THE WAR.

IN SEPTEMBER '43, HE JOINED THE INVASION FORCES AND LANDED AT SALERNO.

IT LOOKS LIKE FARBER WAS IN THE 2675th REGIMENT ALLIED COMMISSION.

HIS MILITARY OCCUPATION IS LISTED AS PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER.

AFTER THE WAR, HE STAYED ON IN ITALY.

IT SEEMS AS IF HIS LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING WAS PUT TO GOOD USE BY THE U.S.

OCCUPATION FORCES.

HE WAS ASSIGNED TO SALERNO AS THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PRISONS AND CHIEF OF THE ITALIAN POLICE AGENCIES.

HERE IS SOMETHING THAT JERRY WAS TALKING ABOUT.

IT'S A COPY OF A PROCLAMATION FROM THE CITY COUNCIL OF SALERNO TO FARBER.

"HE WAS ALWAYS FULL OF COMPASSION "TOWARDS THOSE WHO SUFFERED AND REVEALED HIMSELF "AS POSSESSING QUALITIES OF GREAT GENEROSITY AND KINDNESS TO THOSE IN PAIN."

BUT THERE'S NOTHING ABOUT A GRATEFUL CITIZENRY GIVING HIM MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER.

THE OLD BOX DOES CONTAIN A SURPRISE, THOUGH: A LETTER WITH A VERY DIFFERENT ACCOUNT OF HOW JERRY'S UNCLE GOT THE DAGGER.

LISTEN TO THIS: "CAPTAIN CLARENCE L. FARBER AND ANOTHER OFFICER "WERE SENT TO PICK UP MUSSOLINI.

"WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THEIR DESTINATION, "MUSSOLINI AND HIS MISTRESS WERE HANGING IN THE TOWN SQUARE.

"HE AND THE OTHER OFFICER WENT TO MUSSOLINI'S APARTMENT.

"CAPTAIN FARBER PICKED UP THE DAGGER MUSSOLINI WORE "ON HIS DRESS UNIFORM.

THE OTHER OFFICER TOOK MUSSOLINI'S UNIFORM."

ALTHOUGH IT'S AN INCREDIBLE STORY, IT'S STILL ONLY FARBER'S ACCOUNT AS TOLD TO HIS SECOND WIFE.

AND THE DATES IN THIS VERSION DON'T QUITE MATCH HIS OFFICIAL SERVICE RECORD.

HE WAS AT FIFTH ARMY HEADQUARTERS IN SEPTEMBER, 1944, IN PISA, AND HE REMAINED IN PISA UNTIL JULY 1, 1945.

NOW, WHY IS THAT INTERESTING?

WELL, MUSSOLINI WAS ULTIMATELY CAPTURED AND KILLED IN THE LAKE COMO DISTRICT, A LONG WAY FROM PISA.

BUT FARBER HAD FBI ESPIONAGE TRAINING.

WAS HE SECRETLY INVOLVED IN THE HUNT FOR MUSSOLINI?

I'M AT THE SPECIAL FORCES MUSEUM IN FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL ROBERT W. JONES, JR., OF THE U.S. ARMY SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND SAYS FARBER'S MILITARY UNIT HAD AN ESSENTIAL ROLE KEEPING THE PEACE IN POSTWAR ITALY.

SO EXACTLY WHAT DID THE ALLIED CONTROL COMMISSION DO?

WELL, THE 2675 REGIMENT, ALLIED CONTROL COMMISSION, IS A MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNIT, TODAY WHAT WE CALL CIVIL AFFAIRS.

THE ALLIED CONTROL COMMISSION WAS SET UP...

HE SAYS THE CIVIL AFFAIRS DIVISION WAS ESTABLISHED BY PRESIDENTIAL ORDER IN 1942.

ITS MISSION WAS TO PLAN FOR RUNNING THE GOVERNMENTS OF COUNTRIES THAT HITLER AND MUSSOLINI HAD TYRANNIZED.

THEY'RE GOING TO GO IN AFTER A BATTLE, RIGHT ON THE HEELS OF THE COMBAT TROOPS, TO ESTABLISH CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN THOSE AREAS: PUBLIC SAFETY, WATER, ROADS.

IN TOWN AFTER TOWN, FARBER'S UNIT PROVIDED IMMEDIATE RELIEF.

BUT WERE THEY ALSO INVOLVED IN THE MANHUNT FOR BENITO MUSSOLINI?

LIEUTENANT COLONEL JONES DOUBTS IT.

THAT WOULD PROBABLY FALL UNDER THE OSS.

HE SUGGESTS I SPEAK TO TROY SACQUETY, AN OSS HISTORIAN.

TROY EXPLAINS HOW THE OFFICE OF STRATEGIC SERVICES WAS AN INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION CREATED DURING WORLD WAR II.

IT WAS THE PRECURSOR OF TODAY'S CIA.

OKAY, SO WE'VE GOT THESE OSS GUYS BEHIND THE LINES, RIGHT?

RIGHT.

WHAT ARE THEY DOING, WHAT'S THEIR MISSION?

YOU HAVE SPECIAL OPERATIONS, OR S.O.

THESE ARE THE GUYS THAT ARE DEMOLITIONS, SABOTAGE.

AND THEN YOU HAVE THE OPERATIONAL GROUPS, OR O.G.s, AND THESE GUYS ARE TRAINING THE PARTISANS AND LEADING THEM IN HARASSING OPERATIONS AGAINST THE RETREATING ENEMY.

SACQUETY EXPLAINS HOW IN LATE APRIL 1945, THE ITALIAN LEADER WAS ON THE RUN FROM HIS MANY ENEMIES AND TRYING DESPERATELY TO FLEE ITALY.

MUSSOLINI WAS TRYING TO ESCAPE TO SWITZERLAND AND HE WAS WITH A GERMAN COLUMN.

IF AN OSS GROUP HAD CAPTURED MUSSOLINI, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A BIG INTELLIGENCE COUP, RIGHT?

OH, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A HUGE PROPAGANDA COUP.

IN MODERN TERMS, HE WOULD BE CONSIDERED A HIGH-VALUE TARGET.

BUT THE U.S. MILITARY WAS NOT THE FIRST TO REACH MUSSOLINI.

HE WAS STOPPED BY PARTISANS.

HE PUT ON A GERMAN GREATCOAT AND HELMET AND TRIED TO PASS OFF AS A DRUNK GERMAN SOLDIER.

THE RUSE WAS DISCOVERED AND THEY CAPTURED MUSSOLINI.

THE OSS HAD MISSED THEIR TARGET BY A FEW DAYS.

THIS IS FROM OPERATIONAL GROUP SUWANNEE, AND WHAT IS SAYS HERE IS, "MUSSOLINI REPORTED CAPTURED BY PATRIOTS.

"IF IN HANDS OF PARTISANS UNDER YOUR CONTROL, "FIFTEEN ARMY GROUP REQUESTS THEY TURN HIM OVER TO YOU TO BE HELD FOR ALLIED COMMAND."

UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS DATED APRIL 29th, BY WHICH TIME MUSSOLINI IS ALREADY DEAD.

TROY, PART OF MY STORY INVOLVES A G.I.

CAPTAIN NAMED CLARENCE FARBER.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE FIFTH ARMY WOULD HAVE SENT FARBER TO MILAN TO PICK UP MUSSOLINI TO TAKE HIM TO PRISON AND GO THROUGH HIS APARTMENT?

IT'S POSSIBLE.

AS EARLY AS THE 28th, THE ADVANCE ELEMENTS OF THE AMERICAN ARMY WERE IN MILAN.

WHAT TROY SHOWS ME NEXT GIVES ME SOME INTERESTING INFORMATION FOR JERRY.

EVERY INVESTIGATION THAT I DO FOR HISTORY DETECTIVES, I LEARN SOMETHING NEW.

WHAT I FOUND OUT WAS THAT THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF DAGGER THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN WORN BY MUSSOLINI HIMSELF.

IT'S A DAGGER THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN WORN BY SOMEONE BELOW THE RANK OF COLONEL.

BELOW COLONEL.

THE FACT IS, YOU WOULD NEED EXTRAORDINARY EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT IT WAS OWNED BY MUSSOLINI.

I SHOW JERRY THE LETTER THAT CLAIMED HIS UNCLE GOT THE DAGGER WHEN HE WAS SENT TO PICK UP MUSSOLINI.

I'VE NEVER SEEN ANY OF THIS BEFORE.

IT WASN'T UNTIL I HAD SPOKEN WITH OSS HISTORIAN TROY SACQUETY THAT I UNDERSTOOD THE LIKELY STORY BEHIND THE DAGGER.

I'LL SHOW YOU SOME THINGS HERE, PHOTOGRAPHS OF MUSSOLINI HUNG UP IN THE SQUARE.

OH, YEAH, I'VE SEEN THOSE BEFORE.

AND THESE WERE PRINTED BY THE THOUSANDS AS SOUVENIRS, BUT WHEN THEY COME BACK, THE STORY COMES IN THAT GRANDDAD TOOK THESE PHOTOGRAPHS HIMSELF AND THAT HE WAS THERE.

I GUESS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT THIS WHOLE STORY COULD BE JUST A G.I.

's MEMORY?

ABSOLUTELY.

THE DEFINING MOMENT IN THE WAR IN NORTH ITALY IS HELD IN YOUR HANDS RIGHT THERE, AND EVERYONE WANTED TO BE THERE.

I TELL JERRY HE HAS AN AUTHENTIC ITALIAN FASCIST DAGGER FROM WORLD WAR II, BUT THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE IT HAD ONCE BELONGED TO MUSSOLINI.

OKAY.

YEP.

WELL, IT'S GOOD TO KNOW WHAT I GOT.

THIS SHOULDN'T REALLY DIMINISH THE STORY ABOUT CLARENCE HERE.

RIGHT.

HE WAS GIVEN THE JOB, AMONG OTHERS, TO BRING ORDER TO A SHATTERED, WAR-TORN COUNTRY.

AND BY ESTABLISHING THE POLICE SYSTEM AND THE PRISON SYSTEM IN ITALY AS THE ALLIEDS TOOK IT OVER, HE ALLEVIATED THE SUFFERING OF THOUSANDS OF ITALIANS.

AND IN THAT SENSE, HE'S A TRUE WAR HERO, BUT LIKE A LOT OF G.I.s, BROUGHT BACK SOMETHING FROM HIS SERVICE AND MAYBE EMBELLISHED IT JUST A LITTLE BIT.

YEAH, I SEE WHERE THAT COULD HAPPEN, YOU KNOW.

Gwendolyn: PERHAPS THE BIGGEST SPOILS OF WORLD WAR II WERE DISCOVERED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IN 1945 SOME 200 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BERLIN IN MERKERS MINE.

ON APRIL 8th, THE ARMY DYNAMITED THE ENTRANCE.

INSIDE, G.I.s FOUND THE SHOCKING REMNANTS OF SIX YEARS OF WAR AND NAZI TERROR.

PILED HIGH WERE ART MASTERPIECES AND THE BULK OF THE RESERVE FROM THE GERMAN CENTRAL BANK.

THOSE RESERVES INCLUDED 8,000 BARS OF GOLD, 55 BOXES OF GOLD BULLION, AND HUNDREDS OF BALES OF FOREIGN CURRENCY.

MUCH OF THIS TREASURE HAD BEEN PLUNDERED FROM THE MUSEUMS AND CENTRAL BANKS OF OCCUPIED EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.

EXCITEMENT ABOUT THE DISCOVERY WAS TEMPERED WITH A GRISLY REALIZATION: HITLER'S SS HAD ALSO USED THE MINE TO HOARD GOLD AND JEWELS TAKEN FROM DEATH CAMP INMATES, INCLUDING DENTAL FILLINGS, WEDDING RINGS, AND PERSONAL EFFECTS.

ONE WOMAN'S HANDBAG STILL SMELLED OF HER PERFUME.

FOLLOWING THE WAR, MUCH OF THE GOLD WAS DIVIDED AMONG A TRIPARTITE GOLD COMMISSION: FRENCH, BRITISH, AND AMERICAN.

BETWEEN 1946 AND 1998, SOME OF THE GOLD WAS ALSO DIVIDED AMONG SEVERAL OTHER EUROPEAN NATIONS.

IN 1997, A CONFERENCE ON NAZI GOLD WAS ESTABLISHED TO ASSIST HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS WHO FILED CLAIMS TO THE RECOVERED PERSONAL GOLD.

LET YOUR MYSTERY UNLOCK AMERICAN HISTORY.

Wes: YOU KNOW, AT HISTORY DETECTIVES, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THAT NEXT GREAT CASE, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE JUST WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.

THE CRITERIA IS SIMPLE: THE MYSTERY MUST BE CONNECTED TO AN OBJECT... [ playing quick, random notes ] AND THE OBJECT HAS TO BE TIED TO AMERICAN HISTORY.

TO SUBMIT YOUR CASE, GO TO HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org, THEN CLICK "SUBMIT YOUR STORY."