Propaganda Leaflet,Tiffany Window & Spanish Civil War Eulogy

Wes: THIS WEEK ON HISTORY DETECTIVES: [ airplane engine buzzes ] HOW DID THIS SCRAP OF PAPER HELP CHANGE THE COURSE OF WORLDWAR II?

OH.

THAT IS AMAZING.

Tukufu: WHAT CAN THIS FADED DOCUMENT TELL ABOUT A U.S. VOLUNTEER FIGHTING IN ANOTHER COUNTRY'S CIVIL WAR?

"I PROMISE YOU, WE WILL PAY THEM BACK!"

Gwendolyn: AND WHAT CAN THIS WATERCOLOR REVEAL ABOUT THE UNEXPECTED WORLD OF ONE OF AMERICA'S GREAT ARTISTS?

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 ♪ Wes: OUR FIRST CASE TAKES US FROM A TINY SLIP OF PAPER TO THE TITANIC STRUGGLE FOR HEARTS AND MINDS IN THE PACIFIC THEATER.

MARCH 1945: THE UNITED STATES IS FIGHTING AN UNPRECEDENTED WORLD WAR ON TWO FRONTS.

WHILE THE CAMPAIGN IN EUROPE IS ENTERING ITS FINAL BLOODY WEEKS, U.S.

BOMBERS ARE DROPPING THOUSANDS OF TONS OF HIGH EXPLOSIVES ON JAPANESE CITIES, KILLING NEARLY 100,000 IN TOKYO IN ONE NIGHT ALONE.

[ bombs whistling and booming ] BUT THE UNITED STATES ALSO HAS A DIFFERENT KIND OF AMMUNITION IN ITS ARSENAL, A SECRET WEAPON WHICH KILLS NO ONE.

NOW TWO WOMEN FROM FRISCO, TEXAS, THINK THAT THEY'VE DISCOVERED A WORLD WAR II TREASURE WHICH HAS BEEN HIDDEN IN A BOX FOR 60 YEARS.

I FOUND THIS AMONG MY LATE HUSBAND LLOYD'S POSSESSIONS.

I'D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT IT IS.

I'M WES COWAN, AND I'M IN TEXAS TO MEET DONNA STEVENS AND HER SISTER-IN-LAW MARJORIE LEHMAN.

HI, WES.

I'M DONNA STEVENS.

HI, DONNA, HOW ARE YOU?

SO, LADIES, WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR ME?

I HAVE THIS BOX THAT I FOUND AMONG MY HUSBAND'S BELONGINGS.

THERE'S A NOTATION ON HERE THAT TELLS A LITTLE MORE ABOUT IT.

"THIS BOX CONTAINS AN ORIGINAL PROPAGANDA LEAFLET "WHICH THE AMERICANS DROPPED ON JAPAN.

"I KNOW THE WOMAN WHO DID MOST OF THE ARTWORK AND PRINTING "FOR THE U.S.

PROPAGANDA LEAFLETS.

SHE GAVE THESE TO ME."

HUH.

AND IT HAS A LEAFLET IN IT.

LET'S TAKE A LOOK.

BOY, THESE ARE GREAT GRAPHICS, AND IT'S FULL OF JAPANESE CHARACTERS.

HUH.

SO HOW DID THIS GET TO THE UNITED STATES?

THE BOX BELONGED TO MY HUSBAND, LLOYD.

MY HUSBAND WAS IN THE NAVY IN HONOLULU, AND THIS WAS GIVEN TO HIM BY SOME FRIENDS OF OURS, WAYNE AND ALICE DUNCAN, WHO LIVED IN HONOLULU.

OKAY, SO I WANT TO GET THIS SORT OF STRAIGHTENED OUT HERE.

YOU ARE... LLOYD STEVENS IS MY BROTHER.

OKAY, BROTHER.

AND YOU ARE... HIS WIFE.

OKAY, DID LLOYD EVER TALK ABOUT THIS LEAFLET?

DID YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT?

NOT AT ALL.

IT WAS IN A BOX THAT PROBABLY HADN'T BEEN OPENED IN ABOUT 60 YEARS, AND I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT IT.

I FOUND IT AND CALLED MARGIE AND SAID, "YOU'VE GOT TO SEE THIS," AND WE WERE BOTH VERY INTRIGUED.

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU GUYS WANT ME TO FIND OUT?

WE'D LIKE TO KNOW, IS IT AN AUTHENTIC PROPAGANDA LEAFLET, ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN TELL US ABOUT IT.

WHO DESIGNED IT, WHO THE LADY WAS HE REFERRED TO ON THE NOTE.

I REALLY DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT WORLD WAR II PROPAGANDA LEAFLETS, SO THIS IS GOING TO BE AN INTERESTING INVESTIGATION FOR ME.

AND I'LL BE BACK WHEN I HAVE SOME ANSWERS FOR YOU.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU.

OKAY, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THIS LEAFLET A LITTLE BIT MORE CAREFULLY.

YOU KNOW, THIS LEAFLET HAS THESE AMAZING GRAPHICS.

THERE'S THIS CLENCHED FIST CRUSHING WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND MEN.

AND THEN THERE'S, IN THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER, LOOKS LIKE A JAPANESE SOLDIER WITH A BAYONET OR A KNIFE, AND HE'S GETTING READY TO STAB AN OLDER MAN.

ON THE BACK THERE'S A GRAPHIC HERE WHERE PEOPLE ARE PUTTING BALLOTS INTO A BALLOT BOX.

AND THEN FINALLY, IN THE LOWER LEFT-HAND CORNER, THERE ARE PLANES DROPPING BOMBS, IT LOOKS LIKE ON SHIPS.

HUH, I WONDER IF THAT'S PEARL HARBOR.

OH, HERE'S ANOTHER CLUE.

NUMBER 2057 IS IN THE UPPER RIGHT.

2057, THAT'S GOT TO BE SOME SORT OF AN INVENTORY NUMBER.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO INDICATION OF WHO DID THIS, NO ARTIST SIGNATURE, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT THIS CAME FROM HONOLULU DURING WORLD WAR II.

AND WAS MADE BY A FEMALE ARTIST.

[ ♪♪♪ ] ORIGINS OF U.S. WAR PROPAGANDA DATE BACK TO COLONIAL DAYS, BUT THE FIRST WORLD WAR WAS THE REAL LAUNCHING PAD FOR GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO SWAY PUBLIC OPINION.

HUH.

IT LOOKS LIKE THAT DURING WORLD WAR I, THE UNITED STATES BEGAN PRODUCING POSTERS THAT WERE USED DOMESTICALLY TO EXPLAIN THE WAR AND TO GET AMERICANS BEHIND THE WAR EFFORT.

IT WAS IN 1942, DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, THAT THE UNITED STATES BEGAN WIDELY DISTRIBUTING PROPAGANDA OVERSEAS.

THE U.S.

ATTEMPTED TO DEMORALIZE ENEMY SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS THROUGH RADIO BROADCASTS AND ALL SORTS OF AERIAL BOMBARDMENTS: NEWSPAPERS, PAMPHLETS, AND LEAFLETS.

THEY EVEN DISTRIBUTED PACKETS OF SEEDS WITH THE AMERICAN FLAG AND MATCHBOOKS INSCRIBED WITH FDR'S FOUR FREEDOMS.

SO LET'S JUST SAY "PROPAGANDA LEAFLETS."

THIS IS LIKE SEARCHING FOR A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK.

I'VE GOT TO FIND SOMEBODY THAT CAN READ JAPANESE.

I'M AT TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY TO MEET 94-YEAR-OLD PAUL BOLLER.

YOU MUST BE PROFESSOR BOLLER.

PROFESSOR BOLLER WAS A JAPANESE TRANSLATOR DURING WORLD WAR II.

HE ALSO WAS IN CHARGE OF MAKING PROPAGANDA LEAFLETS.

PAUL, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS LEAFLET BEFORE?

NO, IT'S ENTIRELY NEW FOR ME.

I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE QUITE LIKE IT.

IT'S WHAT WE CALL NIHONGO, JAPANESE.

AND THERE ARE FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS HERE, AND THEY ALL CENTER ON THE SAME THEME, THAT THE JAPANESE MILITARY, OR GUMBATSU, GUMBATSU, HAS TAKEN OVER CONTROL OF THE GOVERNMENT IN AN ILLEGAL WAY, USURPING THE POWER OF THE EMPEROR AND THRUSTING THE COUNTRY INTO AN UNNECESSARY WAR.

THE GIANT HAND YOU SEE CRUSHING THE PEOPLE IS THE JAPANESE INVASION OF MANCHURIA BACK IN 1931.

THE SECOND STEP IS ILLUSTRATED WITH THIS PICTURE OF THE MENACING DAGGER.

IT REPRESENTS A SERIES OF ASSASSINATIONS CARRIED OUT BY THE MILITARY.

THE OTHER IMAGES, FROM BALLOT BOX CORRUPTION TO A 1936 INVASION OF CHINA, ALL THE WAY TO THE BOMBING OF PEARL HARBOR IN 1941, ASSERT THAT THE JAPANESE MILITARY, OR GUMBATSU, HAVE ILLEGALLY SEIZED POWER AND RECKLESSLY PLUNGED JAPAN INTO WAR.

BUT PAUL SAYS HIS OFFICE DIDN'T PRODUCE IT.

IT'S QUITE DIFFERENT.

HOW SO?

WELL, IN ITS APPROACH.

I WAS STATIONED ON GUAM AT COMMANDER NIMITZ'S ADVANCED HEADQUARTERS.

THE LEAFLETS THAT PROFESSOR BOLLER AND HIS TEAM CREATED FOR ADMIRAL NIMITZ HAD A VERY STARK MESSAGE FOR THEIR JAPANESE RECIPIENTS.

EVERY WEEK THEY'D MENTION CITIES AND SAID, "NEXT WEEK WE'RE GOING TO BOMB SOME OF THOSE, AND YOU SHOULD GET YOUR CIVILIANS OUT OF THE WAY."

SO YOUR LEAFLETS WERE BASICALLY, "YOU NEED TO LEAVE NOW."

RIGHT, ABSOLUTELY.

THOSE DIRECTIVES WEREN'T IDLE THREATS.

TOWARD THE END OF THE WAR, THE U.S. FIREBOMBED MORE THAN 60 JAPANESE CITIES, KILLING OVER 1 MILLION PEOPLE, SOME WITH A NEW INCENDIARY MATERIAL, A PETROLEUM JELLY KNOWN AS NAPALM.

WHEN I WAS IN OCCUPIED JAPAN, I HAPPENED TO RUN INTO A MAYOR OF ONE OF THE CITIES NEAR TOKYO, AND HE TOLD ME THAT THAT CITY HAD RECEIVED OUR LEAFLETS AND THAT HE'D GIVEN PERMISSION OF ALL THE CITIZENS TO LEAVE TOWN FOR THE WEEK.

AND THEY DID, AND WE HIT THEM.

AND SO ALL THESE CIVILIANS' LIVES WERE SAVED, AND I FELT PRETTY GOOD ABOUT THAT.

PAUL, DO YOU SEE THIS NUMBER HERE, NUMBER 2057?

DOES THAT HAVE ANY MEANING TO YOU AT ALL?

NOT REALLY.

WE DIDN'T NUMBER OUR LEAFLETS, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE IT WOULD BE THE 2000s OF THIS KIND.

IT'S SOME SORT OF INVENTORY NUMBER.

YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.

LOOK, PAUL, IF YOUR OFFICE DIDN'T MAKE THIS LEAFLET, WHO DID?

WELL, I THINK IT WAS PROBABLY THE OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION ON HONOLULU, AND I THINK THEY WERE DOING THINGS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM OURS.

I NEED TO DIG INTO THIS OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION.

IN THE MEANTIME, I'M PUTTING A CALL IN TO THE HISTORY DETECTIVES OFFICE TO SEE IF THEY CAN HELP ME TRACK THIS NUMBER 2057 IN GOVERNMENT RECORDS.

PROFESSOR ALLISON GILMORE HAS WRITTEN EXTENSIVELY ABOUT THE OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION.

SHE'S ASKED ME TO MEET HER IN THE COCKPIT OF A WORLD WAR II BOMBER OWNED BY SEATTLE'S MUSEUM OF FLIGHT.

SO, WES, COME ON IN, HAVE A SEAT.

WOW, THIS IS AMAZING.

ISN'T IT COOL?

OH, IT'S SO COOL.

I BROUGHT YOU HERE, WES, BECAUSE THIS IS A B-29 BOMBER.

THEY DROPPED LOTS AND LOTS OF PROPAGANDA LEAFLETS.

ALLISON EXPLAINS HOW THE BOMBERS FLEW OVER JAPANESE CITIES AND TOWNS, DROPPING CONTAINERS STUFFED FULL OF PROPAGANDA LEAFLETS INSTEAD OF BOMBS.

HOW MANY OF THESE LEAFLETS WERE DROPPED?

PERHAPS AS MANY AS 600 MILLION, PERHAPS EVEN MORE THAN THAT.

WOW.

ALLISON, HAVE YOU SEEN THIS LEAFLET BEFORE?

NO, I'VE NOT SEEN THIS PRECISE LEAFLET, BUT I HAVE SEEN DOZENS -- EVEN PERHAPS HUNDREDS -- VERY LIKE IT.

SO DOES THIS LOOK LIKE THE KIND OF LEAFLET THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN PRODUCED IN THE HONOLULU OFFICE OF THE O.W.I.?

YES, IT DOES LOOK LIKE AN O.W.I.

PRODUCT, PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE NUMBERING DESIGNATION, WHICH IS HOW THE OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION NUMBERED ITS LEAFLETS, BUT ALSO BECAUSE IT'S VERY POLITICAL IN NATURE.

THE OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION'S OFFICIAL JOB WAS TO BE THE SPOKESPERSON, ESSENTIALLY, OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

AND IT WAS VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN ALL KINDS OF PROPAGANDA ACTIVITIES, WHAT WAS REFERRED TO AS WHITE OPERATIONS.

THAT IS, THEY DROPPED INFORMATION -- LEAFLETS -- AND IT WAS CLEAR THAT THIS WAS STUFF COMING FROM THE AMERICANS, AND THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO DEMORALIZE THE JAPANESE.

SO IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE WE WOULD CALL THIS TODAY PSYOPS.

EXACTLY, THAT'S WHAT THIS IS, PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE OPERATIONS.

THEY HAD VARIOUS THEMES THAT THEY EMPLOYED, ALL DESIGNED TO CONVINCE THEM THAT THEIR OWN LEADERS ESSENTIALLY HAD LED THEM ASTRAY.

NOW, MY LEAFLET WAS ACCOMPANIED BY THIS NOTE THAT SAYS IT WAS PRODUCED BY A WOMAN ARTIST.

DO YOU KNOW OF ANY WOMEN WHO WERE ACTUALLY WORKING IN THE ART DEPARTMENT AT THE O.W.I.

IN HONOLULU?

I DO HAVE A PAMPHLET HERE, AND I THINK YOU'D BE VERY INTERESTED IN WHAT YOU FIND THERE IN THE SECTION ON LEAFLETING.

WOW, "O.W.I.

CENTRAL PACIFIC OPERATIONS."

I GUESS THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WAS PRODUCED BY THE OFFICE THERE.

"LEAFLETS."

OH, WOW, LOOK AT THAT.

"ARTIST FRANCES BAKER MAKES PRELIMINARY SKETCHES FOR A LEAFLET."

HUH.

FRANCES BAKER.

I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ABOUT THIS WOMAN, BUT I DO GET A LEAD ON A SIMILAR NAME.

FRANCES BAKER BLAKEMORE: "DURING THE WAR, THE ARTIST LIVED IN HONOLULU, WHERE SHE PRODUCED ILLUSTRATIONS."

BINGO, THAT'S GOT TO BE HER, OKAY.

WHOA, LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A WHOLE BOOK ABOUT HER LIFE.

UNFORTUNATELY, FRANCES DIED OVER 10 YEARS AGO, BUT THE ART HISTORIAN WHO WROTE HER BIOGRAPHY IS ALIVE AND WELL IN SEATTLE.

MICHIYO MORIOKA AGREES TO MEET ME AT THE HENRY ART GALLERY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON.

MICHIYO?

WES COWAN.

HI, HOW ARE YOU, WES?

GREAT.

SO YOU ACTUALLY KNEW FRANCES BLAKEMORE.

YES, I DID.

WELL, TELL ME ABOUT HER.

FRANCES WAS AN ARTIST.

SHE WAS BORN AND RAISED IN EASTERN WASHINGTON, AND, IN 1935, SHE WENT TO JAPAN ON HONEYMOON AND STAYED THERE FOR FIVE YEARS.

AND THEN RIGHT BEFORE THE WAR BROKE OUT, SHE ESCAPED TO HONOLULU, HAWAII, AND BECAME INVOLVED IN THE WAR PROPAGANDA LEAFLET.

PRETTY SOON, FRANCES WAS RECRUITED AS A CHIEF ILLUSTRATOR.

I HAVE TO ASK YOU, HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS LEAFLET?

WES, I THINK I HAVE SOMETHING THAT YOU'LL BE REALLY INTERESTED IN.

YOU KNOW, GUYS, WHEN YOU GAVE ME THIS LEAFLET, I REALLY HAD NEVER SEEN A WORLD WAR II AERIAL LEAFLET, SO THE FIRST THING I HAD TO DO WAS FIND SOMEONE WHO COULD HELP ME TRANSLATE JAPANESE.

I EXPLAIN THE LEAFLET'S PROPAGANDA THEME, HOW THE JAPANESE MILITARY, OR GUMBATSU, UNDERHANDEDLY SEIZED CONTROL OF THE GOVERNMENT.

SO I FOUND THEN A BIOGRAPHY OF FRANCES BLAKEMORE AND I LOCATED THE AUTHOR.

WHAT SHE SHOWED ME WAS PRETTY AMAZING.

THIS IS A COLLECTION OF LEAFLETS THAT FRANCES KEPT UNTIL SHE DIED.

LOOK AT THAT, IT'S THE SAME LEAFLET.

YES, EXACTLY THE SAME.

OH, THAT IS AMAZING!

IT'S THE SAME LEAFLET.

IT IS; THE FACT THAT IT'S IN HER COLLECTION MEANS THAT SHE PRODUCED IT.

BUT ALSO, I CAN TELL FROM THE STYLE THAT THIS IS BY FRANCES.

OH.

THAT IS AMAZING.

ABSOLUTE VERIFICATION THAT SHE DID IT.

ISN'T THAT SOMETHING?

I JUST ASSUMED THAT SHE WAS JAPANESE BECAUSE OF THE BEAUTIFUL WRITING THAT SHE DID.

REMEMBER THE LITTLE NUMBER IN THE CORNER, 2057?

WELL, I CONTACTED THE AIR FORCE BECAUSE THOSE WERE THE GUYS THAT WERE DROPPING THE LEAFLETS, AND TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.

CONFIDENTIAL MEMO HERE.

READ FOR ME FROM THE LIST 2057.

"HOW THE GUMBATSU GOT CONTROL," 196,500.

SO THAT'S YOUR LEAFLET, "HOW THE GUMBATSU GOT CONTROL."

THE INFORMATION FROM THAT DOCUMENT INDICATES THAT 196,000 OF THOSE LEAFLETS WERE DROPPED IN ONE MONTH ALONE.

THAT IS AMAZING.

AND OVER 400,000 WERE DROPPED IN TOTAL.

YOUR LEAFLET IS ABSOLUTELY 100% GENUINE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

YOU'LL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO US.

SO WOULD YOU GUYS LIKE TO SEE SOME PICTURES OF FRANCES BLAKEMORE?

SURELY.

OH, I'D LOVE TO.

OH, LOOK AT THAT, MARGIE.

OH, MY GOODNESS.

OH.

AFTER THE WAR, FRANCES MOVED BACK TO TOKYO AND OPENED WHAT BECAME A PRESTIGIOUS ART GALLERY.

SHE CONTINUED HER OWN PROLIFIC PAINTING CAREER.

LATE IN THEIR LIVES, FRANCES AND HER HUSBAND RETURNED TO SEATTLE AND ESTABLISHED THE BLAKEMORE FOUNDATION TO PROMOTE AMERICAN UNDERSTANDING OF ASIAN ARTS AND LANGUAGES.

PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE DURING WORLD WAR II WASN'T LIMITED TO THE PACIFIC THEATER.

THE OFFICE OF STRATEGIC SERVICES, OR O.S.S., PLOTTED TO DEMORALIZE THE THIRD REICH BY CONVINCING GERMAN CITIZENS THAT AN ANTI-NAZI MOVEMENT WAS GROWING WITHIN THEIR COUNTRY.

THE PLAN WAS TO FLOOD THE GERMAN POSTAL SYSTEM WITH THOUSANDS OF PROPAGANDA LETTERS TO BE DELIVERED WITH THE MORNING MAIL.

CODE NAME: OPERATION CORNFLAKES.

AMERICAN COUNTERFEITERS REPRODUCED MAILBAGS, STATIONERY, AND PRECISE COPIES OF THE 6- AND 12-PFENNIG NAZI STAMPS.

ENVELOPES WERE STUFFED WITH PERSONALIZED LETTERS AND COPIES OF DAS NEUE DEUTSCHLAND, AN O.S.S.

PROPAGANDA NEWSPAPER PROMOTING A FICTITIOUS GERMAN PEACE PARTY.

FINALLY, EACH LETTER WAS HAND-ADDRESSED TO A GERMAN PICKED OUT OF A PRE-WAR PHONE BOOK.

TO DELIVER THEIR MAIL, THE O.S.S.

ENLISTED THE 15th AIR FORCE TO BOMB ENEMY TRAINS CARRYING MAIL CARS AND DROP THE DECOY MAILBAGS INTO THE WRECKAGE.

AFTER GERMAN CREWS SALVAGED THE TRAIN DEBRIS, THEY DELIVERED ALL RECOVERED MAIL, INCLUDING THE O.S.S.

PROPAGANDA.

AFTER THE WAR, GERMAN PRISONERS CONFIRMED THAT RUMORS OF AN ANTI-NAZI UNDERGROUND MOVEMENT HAD BEEN HEARD FROM AUSTRIA TO THE BALTICS.

ITS NAME?

"DAS NEUE DEUTSCHLAND," THE FAKE O.S.S.-CREATED PEACE PARTY.

Tukufu: IN OUR NEXT CASE, WHAT DOES THIS FADED DOCUMENT REVEAL ABOUT A BAND OF BROTHERS WHO RISKED THEIR LIVES FOR ANOTHER PEOPLE'S POLITICAL FREEDOM?

JULY 1936: THE NATION GROANS UNDER THE GREAT DEPRESSION WHILE PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT STRUGGLES TO HELP THE COUNTRY RECOVER.

ACROSS THE OCEAN, EUROPE IS ALSO IN TURMOIL.

ALL EYES ARE ON SPAIN, WHERE CONSERVATIVE MILITARY FORCES ATTEMPT A COUP AGAINST THE NEWLY ELECTED REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT.

HITLER AND MUSSOLINI BACK THE CONSERVATIVES AND THEIR NEW LEADER, GENERAL FRANCISCO FRANCO.

BUT NONE OF THE MAJOR WESTERN DEMOCRACIES STEP IN TO HELP THE SOCIALISTS AND LIBERAL REPUBLICANS.

SO WHY DID THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS RISK THEIR CITIZENSHIP AND THEIR LIVES TO FIGHT FOR SPAIN?

DAVID FELLMAN FROM MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, HAS A SCRAP OF PAPER THAT MAY SHED LIGHT ON WHY ONE MAN VOLUNTEERED AND REVEAL HIS FAMILY'S CONNECTION TO A LOST AMERICAN HERO.

I'M TUKUFU ZUBERI, AND I'M HERE TO MEET DAVID AND INVESTIGATE A STORY HIS FATHER KEPT BURIED FOR OVER HALF A CENTURY.

[ doorbell rings ] HI.

HOW DO YOU DO?

COME IN.

THANKS.

SO WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE?

WELL, MY FATHER, HIS NAME WAS SOL FELLMAN.

HE GAVE ME THESE DOCUMENTS FROM THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR.

DAVID EXPLAINS HIS FATHER WENT TO SPAIN WITH HIS BROTHER HARRY, BUT HARRY FELLMAN DISAPPEARED IN BATTLE IN 1938.

SOL NAMED HIS SON DAVID HARRY FELLMAN IN HIS BROTHER'S MEMORY.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE OF MY UNCLE HARRY.

WOW, NOW THAT'S POWERFUL.

AND DAVID HAS LONG BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT AN IMPASSIONED EULOGY HIS FATHER WROTE FOR ANOTHER VETERAN, AN AFRICAN AMERICAN NAMED DOUGLAS ROACH.

"DOUGLAS ROACH, ONE OF THE FINEST SONS OF THE NEGRO RACE, "DIED JULY 1938, MURDERED BY THE FASCISTS "IN THE FLOWER OF HIS YOUTH.

"ONE OF THE FIRST OF HIS PEOPLE "TO VOLUNTEER TO FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY IN SPAIN, WHO SOUGHT TO STEM THE MAD DOGS OF WAR."

IT ENDS IN A REALLY INTERESTING WAY.

HE SAYS, "REMEMBER, DOUG, THE NIGHT WE STOOD "IN A COLD DRIZZLE SOAKED TO THE SKIN, "SURROUNDED BY OUR DEAD AND DYING COMRADES, "OUR RIFLES CLENCHED IN OUR NUMB HANDS, "WAITING FOR THE COUNTERATTACK, "AND SAID OVER AND OVER AGAIN, 'WE'LL PAY THEM BACK.'

DOUG, I PROMISE YOU, WE WILL PAY THEM BACK!"

THERE IS A LOT OF EMOTION IN HERE.

DAVID NEVER KNEW HIS FATHER TO BE A WRITER, BUT THIS POIGNANT EULOGY REVEALS THE IMPACT OF HIS WARTIME EXPERIENCES.

I TRIED TO ASK HIM ABOUT IT, BUT IT WAS SO EMOTIONAL FOR HIM, HE JUST COULDN'T DISCUSS IT.

NOW, WHY ARE YOU BRINGING THIS UP NOW?

WELL, MY SON WAS DEPLOYED TO IRAQ.

HIS MILITARY EXPERIENCES AND MY FATHER'S MILITARY EXPERIENCES CREATED QUITE A STRONG INTEREST FOR ME.

SO THIS IS COMING FULL CIRCLE FOR YOU, HUH?

YEAH, IT IS.

SO WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?

I'D LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT DOUGLAS ROACH.

WHO WAS THIS FIGHTER HIS FATHER CARED SO DEEPLY FOR, AND WHERE WAS THE EULOGY DELIVERED?

WELL, LET ME GO FIND OUT SOMETHING FOR YOU.

OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

IN SOME WAYS, THIS ANTIQUATED TERM "NEGRO" MAY SEEM INSULTING, YET SOL FELLMAN, YOU SEE HIM CAPITALIZING THE WORD "NEGRO" HERE.

WRITERS LIKE W.E.B.

DU BOIS AND OTHERS INSTITUTED THIS PRACTICE OF CAPITALIZING "NEGRO" AS A WAY OF RECLAIMING THE HUMANITY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS.

IT'S CLEAR SOL THOUGHT HIGHLY OF DOUGLAS ROACH.

LISTEN TO THIS: "HE CARRIED OUT EVERY COMMAND TO THE LETTER.

HE SOUGHT NO GLORY."

SOL AND DOUG MET AND FOUGHT AT A BATTLE CALLED JARAMA.

ROACH WAS WOUNDED DURING ANOTHER BATTLE, AT A PLACE CALLED BRUNETE.

LET'S SEE WHAT I CAN FIND ON DOUGLAS ROACH.

A NAME SEARCH ISN'T HELPFUL; IT'S TOO COMMON.

BUT ADDING THE WAR GIVES ME SOME INTERESTING RESULTS.

WHOA.

NOW, THIS IS A PRETTY COOL PICTURE.

SEEMS DOUGLAS ROACH WAS A MEMBER OF A UNIT CALLED THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE.

IT WAS MADE UP OF 2,800 AMERICANS WHO WENT TO FIGHT IN SPAIN.

THEY JOINED AFTER CONSERVATIVE AND FASCIST FORCES, INCLUDING THOSE UNDER GENERAL FRANCISCO FRANCO, ATTEMPTED TO OVERTHROW THE LIBERAL REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT IN JULY OF 1936.

THE U.S. AND OTHER MAJOR DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS REFUSED TO INTERFERE.

BUT THAT DIDN'T PREVENT INDIVIDUALS FROM VOLUNTEERING.

IN TOTAL, OVER 40,000 FOLKS COME FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO FIGHT ON THE SIDE OF THE REPUBLICAN ARMY.

LET'S SEE IF WE CAN FIND THIS BATTLE THAT'S MENTIONED HERE, JARAMA.

OKAY, SO THIS WAS A BATTLE THAT HAPPENED IN 1937.

THE BATTLE LOOKS AS IF IT WAS SIGNIFICANT.

I WANT TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY SOL FELLMAN THOUGHT SO HIGHLY OF HIS FELLOW SOLDIER.

SPANISH CIVIL WAR EXPERT AND OBERLIN PROFESSOR SEBASTIAAN FABER MEETS ME AT THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY, WHERE THERE'S AN EXHIBIT OF RECENTLY RECOVERED IMAGES FROM THE WAR.

SO THIS IS THE EULOGY THAT A GUY NAMED DAVID FELLMAN, HE RECEIVED IT FROM HIS FATHER, SOL FELLMAN.

THAT NAME SOUND FAMILIAR TO YOU?

NO, IT DOESN'T RING A BELL.

LOOK AT THIS: "A NEGRO HERO DIES."

BUT PROFESSOR FABER HAS HEARD OF DOUGLAS ROACH.

YEAH, HE WAS ONE OF THE 90 AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO WENT OVER TO SPAIN IN THE LINCOLN BRIGADE.

SEBASTIAAN SAYS HE'S FAMILIAR WITH DOUGLAS ROACH BECAUSE OF THE UNIQUE PLACE OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE IN MILITARY HISTORY.

THE ARMY UNITS OF THE LINCOLN BRIGADE WERE THE FIRST NON-SEGREGATED AMERICAN UNIT IN AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY AND THE FIRST TIME THAT AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN MAN IS COMMANDING WHITE SOLDIERS.

SO WHY DIDN'T THE UNITED STATES SUPPORT THIS EFFORT?

THERE ARE MANY REASONS, BUT THERE ARE TWO MAIN REASONS.

ONE OF THEM WAS SIMPLY ISOLATIONISM.

IT'S BEEN ONLY -- WELL, LESS THAN TWO DECADES SINCE THE END OF WORLD WAR I, SO PEOPLE REMEMBER HOW HORRIFIC WAR IS.

THE SECOND REASON WAS MORE POLITICAL.

SEBASTIAAN EXPLAINS HOW FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT WAS PUSHING THROUGH NEW DEAL PROGRAMS TO COPE WITH THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND JOBLESSNESS.

A BIG PIECE OF HIS NEW DEAL SUPPORT CAME FROM U.S. CATHOLICS, MANY OF WHOM OPPOSED THE ANTI-CLERICAL VIEWS OF SOME SPANISH REPUBLICANS.

WHAT THIS MEANT FOR ROOSEVELT WAS THAT HE COULDN'T TAKE SIDES.

HE SYMPATHIZED WITH THE REPUBLIC ON A POLITICAL AND ON A HUMAN LEVEL, BUT HE FELT HE COULD NOT AFFORD TO ALIENATE THE CATHOLIC VOTE.

THERE WAS A LAW THAT SAID THAT NO U.S. CITIZEN COULD ENLIST IN A FOREIGN ARMY.

OKAY, HOW DO WE GET FROM A JEW, SOL FELLMAN, AND A NEGRO, DOUGLAS ROACH, END UP COMING FROM THE UNITED STATES TO FIGHT IN A WAR IN SPAIN?

THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR IS THE FIRST MEDIA WAR.

IT WAS COVERED BY JOURNALISTS, INCLUDING HEMINGWAY, LANGSTON HUGHES.

PEOPLE LIKE GEORGE ORWELL WENT ACTUALLY TO FIGHT.

SEBASTIAAN SAYS AMERICANS DISCOVERED THE REALITY OF THE WAR THROUGH INNOVATIVE WRITERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, AND FILMMAKERS.

IT WAS A MORAL CAUSE, IT WAS SEEN AS A MORAL CAUSE, AND IT HAD THE SUPPORT OF PROMINENT CULTURAL ICONS.

SEBASTIAAN EXPLAINS HOW VOLUNTEERS LIKE SOL AND DOUG SAW SPAIN AS THE STAGE IN A GLOBAL CONFLICT.

FOR THEM, IF FASCISM WASN'T STOPPED IN SPAIN, IT WOULD EASILY CONQUER THE REST OF THE WORLD.

IT COULD GO TO FRANCE, IT COULD GO TO ENGLAND, IT COULD GET TO THE UNITED STATES.

AND WORLD WAR II SHOWS THAT THAT WAS INDEED ITS AMBITION, ITS ASPIRATION: TO CONQUER THE WORLD.

SEBASTIAAN BELIEVES THAT DOUGLAS ROACH'S AFRICAN ANCESTRY ALSO HELPED MOTIVATE HIS FIGHT.

IN OCTOBER 1935, MUSSOLINI'S FASCIST ITALY BRUTALLY INVADES ETHIOPIA, AND THIS WAS WHERE THERE WERE BOMBINGS, THERE WAS POISON GAS; IT WAS HORRIFIC.

TO MANY AFRICAN AMERICANS, ETHIOPIA WAS A SYMBOL OF THEIR HOMELAND, SO MUSSOLINI'S BRUTAL INVASION WAS A PERSONAL ATTACK.

FOR AMERICANS LIKE DOUG ROACH, THE FIGHT IN SPAIN WAS A CONTINUATION OF THE FIGHT THAT HE WOULD HAVE WANTED TO FIGHT IN ETHIOPIA.

WHAT WAS THE BATTLE OF JARAMA?

THIS WAS THE FIRST BATTLE ACTION THAT THE LINCOLN BRIGADERS SAW.

SEBASTIAAN SAYS THE BATTLES OF BRUNETE AND JARAMA, WHERE SOL FELLMAN MET DOUG ROACH, WERE TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CONFLICTS IN THE WAR.

HE SUGGESTS SPEAKING TO SOMEONE WHO SAW THE SPANISH COMBAT UP CLOSE.

NINETY-FOUR-YEAR-OLD AMERICAN VETERAN MATTI MATTSON NOW LIVES IN THE COASTAL TOWN OF LAKE WORTH, FLORIDA.

HOW ARE YOU DOING?

ALL RIGHT.

JUST 19 YEARS OLD AND LIVING IN FITCHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS, WHEN THE WAR STARTED, MATTI GREW UP INFLUENCED BY THE POLITICS OF HIS FINNISH IMMIGRANT MOTHER, AN ACTIVE COMMUNIST PARTY MEMBER.

HE SAYS SHE TAUGHT HIM TO FIGHT FOR WHAT HE BELIEVED WAS RIGHT.

FOR MATTI, THIS MEANT JOINING THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE AND THE FIGHT AGAINST FASCISM.

THE UNITED STATES DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, SO SOME OF US DECIDED, WELL, SOMEBODY HAS TO DO SOMETHING.

ARRIVING IN SPAIN IN MARCH 1937, MATTI WAS A FRONT LINE AMBULANCE DRIVER.

I WAS IN EVERY MAJOR BATTLE FROM BRUNETE ALL THE WAY TO THE END OF THE WAR.

HE EXPLAINS THAT BRUNETE WAS A REPUBLICAN OFFENSIVE MEANT TO HOLD OFF THE ADVANCING NATIONALISTS FROM MADRID.

MATTI WAS AN EYEWITNESS TO THE CARNAGE.

A COUPLE OF TIMES I DROVE THAT CLOSE TO THE FRONT THAT I COULD ACTUALLY SEE THE TRENCHES WHEN THEY WERE FIRING AT ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER.

GROSSLY OUTMATCHED BY FRANCO AND HIS FORCES, BRUNETE WOULD BE KNOWN AS ONE OF THE BLOODIEST CONFLICTS OF THE ENTIRE WAR.

THEY HAD BOMBERS AND THEY HAD NO END OF MATERIAL THAT THEY WERE GETTING FROM HITLER AND MUSSOLINI.

MATTI NEVER MET THE FELLMAN BROTHERS, BUT HE DID ENCOUNTER DOUGLAS ROACH DURING A BREAK IN THE FIGHTING AT BRUNETE.

HE SAYS ROACH WAS KNOWN FOR HIS BRAVERY AND KINDNESS, DESPITE THE GRIM SURROUNDINGS.

SOMETIMES WHEN WE ADVANCED, WE'D RUN INTO A WHOLE BUNCH OF CORPSES ALONG THE ROADSIDE THAT WERE JUST SIMPLY... JUST SIMPLY SLAUGHTERED.

DO YOU REGRET PARTICIPATING IN THAT WAR?

NO, NO.

WE WERE FIGHTING A JUST WAR...

THEY WERE FIGHTING AN UNJUST WAR.

I DID IT FOR THE WELFARE OF ALL.

MATTI DOESN'T KNOW THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE EULOGY, NOR WHERE IT WAS READ.

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY'S TAMIMENT LIBRARY HOLDS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE SET OF ARCHIVES ON THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE'S VETERANS.

JIM FERNANDEZ TEACHES AT NYU AND IS VICE-CHAIR OF THE ARCHIVES.

LET ME SHOW YOU, THIS IS THE EULOGY.

IT WAS WRITTEN BY A GUY NAMED SOL FELLMAN TO HONOR DOUGLAS ROACH.

WELL, YOU'VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE.

WHAT WE HAVE HERE ARE THE PERSONAL PAPERS OF 300 OF THE ALMOST 3,000 VOLUNTEERS THAT WENT TO SPAIN.

THE EULOGY SAYS SOL NEVER SAW DOUG AGAIN AFTER HE WAS WOUNDED AT BRUNETE AND HOSPITALIZED IN SPAIN.

ALL RIGHT, LET'S GET BUSY.

OKAY, LET'S DO IT.

SO WHAT HAPPENED TO DOUG ROACH AFTER HE WAS HOSPITALIZED?

UNFORTUNATELY, JIM DOESN'T HAVE DOUG'S OWN PERSONAL PAPERS.

THAT'S THE ONE.

BUT HE DOES FIND SOMETHING ELSE.

HERE IT IS, DOUGLAS ROACH.

OUR GUY.

LET'S SEE WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE.

THAT'S DOUG ROACH.

LOOK AT THE MUSCLES ON HIM, HUH?

I KNOW, HE'S PRETTY -- IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE, HUH?

THERE'S A LOT OF CLIPPINGS IN HERE.

BORN IN PROVINCETOWN, DOUG GRADUATED FROM MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE IN 1933.

AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY AND AN AMATEUR WRESTLER, ROACH WAS ONLY 5 FEET TALL, BUT MADE A BIG IMPRESSION ON HIS COMRADES WHEN HE JOINED THE FIGHT IN SPAIN.

"ROACH WAS ONE OF THE BEST MACHINE GUNNERS "IN THE ENTIRE SPANISH WAR.

FRANCO HAD NOBODY LIKE HIM, AND HE WAS AN ARMY BY HIMSELF."

ROACH WAS BADLY WOUNDED AT BRUNETE WITH SHOULDER AND CHEST INJURIES FROM MORTAR FIRE.

IN THE FALL OF 1937, HE RETURNED HOME FRAIL BUT REMAINED POLITICALLY ACTIVE.

AT THE FIRST CONVENTION OF THE VETERANS OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE, ROACH WAS ELECTED AS NATIONAL ADJUTANT COMMANDER.

IN JULY OF 1938, HOWEVER, WITH INJURIES NEVER QUITE HEALED, HE DIED IN NEW YORK.

IT'S AN ACCOUNT OF HIS FUNERAL.

THOUSANDS LINED THE STREETS FOR HIS IMPRESSIVE HARLEM SERVICE.

OH, LOOK AT THIS, MOTHER A.M.E. ZION CHURCH.

NOW, DO YOU KNOW IF THIS EULOGY WAS ACTUALLY READ AT THE FUNERAL?

WE DON'T KNOW THAT, WE'RE NOT SURE.

WE DO KNOW THAT TWO VETERANS ACCOMPANIED HIS BODY BACK TO PROVINCETOWN, WHERE THERE WAS ANOTHER SET OF SERVICES.

AND JIM HAS FOUND SOME OTHER RECORDS.

DEEP IN THE STACKS ARE PAPERS ABOUT SOL AND HIS BROTHER HARRY AND THEIR LONG-AGO JOURNEY FROM NEW YORK HARBOR TO THE BATTLEFIELDS OF SPAIN.

SO IF WE GO TO "F," THERE THEY ARE.

HARRY FELLMAN AND SOL FELLMAN LEFT ON THE 16th OF JANUARY, 1937, ABOARD THE S.S. PARIS.

THE BROTHERS ENTERED THE WAR TOGETHER, BUT WHERE DID HARRY GO AFTER HE AND SOL WERE SEPARATED?

THERE SHOULD BE A FILE IN HERE.

CHECK THIS OUT.

JIM'S FOUND DETAILS ON HARRY FELLMAN'S FINAL HOURS.

IT'S INFORMATION I WANT TO SHARE WITH DAVID, HIS NEPHEW AND NAMESAKE.

AT THE TIP OF CAPE COD IS DOUGLAS ROACH'S CHILDHOOD HOME.

WE ASK DAVID TO MEET US THERE.

LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS PLACE A LITTLE BIT.

OKAY.

JUST BEHIND THE HOUSE IS THE ROACH FAMILY BURIAL PLOT.

SO DAVID, YOU ASKED ME TO FIND OUT ABOUT DOUGLAS ROACH, AND HERE IS HIS GRAVESITE.

"DOUGLAS BRYAN ROACH, WHO DIED THAT DEMOCRACY MAY LIVE, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, JULY 13, 1938."

I SHARE HOW DOUGLAS ROACH MAY HAVE BEEN SMALL IN STATURE BUT HAD FOUGHT IN TWO IMPORTANT BATTLES FACING OVERWHELMING ODDS.

WOW, WHAT AN AMAZING GUY.

WE'D ALSO RUN DOWN INFORMATION ABOUT HIS NAMESAKE.

CHECK THIS OUT.

HERE HE IS, HARRY FELLMAN, MARCH 1938, HIJAR.

JIM HAD FOUND THE LIST OF MISSING SOLDIERS FOR THE BRIGADE.

IF HE'S MISSING IN HIJAR, IT MEANS HE'S ON THE RUN, AND CHANCES ARE NEXT TO NOTHING THAT HE WOULD HAVE SURVIVED.

DO YOU HAVE DEATH RECORDS?

YEAH, HARRY FELLMAN.

IT'S WHAT HE HAD LONG KNOWN, BUT THE DOCUMENT GIVES DAVID CLOSURE HIS FATHER NEVER HAD.

HMM.

WELL, AT LEAST DOUG CAME HOME.

THERE'S ONE FINAL THING I WANT TO SHARE.

SO, DAVID, I WANT YOU TO MEET DOUGLAS WATKINS.

DOUGLAS IS NAMED FOR DOUGLAS ROACH, HIS UNCLE, AS YOU WERE NAMED FOR YOUR UNCLE HARRY.

IT'S VERY NICE, NICE MEETING YOU.

I'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT YOU.

I KNOW THAT DOUGLAS ROACH WAS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN MY FATHER'S LIFE, THAT HE NEVER FORGOT HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH DOUG ROACH.

I HEARD HE WAS A VERY LIKEABLE PERSON, VERY CHARISMATIC PERSON.

I EXPLAIN HOW SOL'S EULOGY MAY HAVE BEEN READ AT THE SAME GRAVESITE BACK IN 1938.

MAYBE I COULD READ A LITTLE BIT OF IT RIGHT NOW.

THAT WOULD BE SUPER; I'D REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

"I REMEMBER WELL THE LAST REQUEST HE MADE OF ME.

"HE HAD BEEN PROMOTED TO CORPORAL "AND ASKED ME TO GET HIS CHEVRON.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE PRIDE IN HIS EYES "WHEN HE TOOK IT IN HIS HAND FOR THE FIRST TIME.

"THEN WE PUT HIM ON A BUS AND WATCHED HIM GO AWAY.

FOR A LONG TIME, LIFE WAS EMPTY WITHOUT HIM."

THAT'S BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.

OH, MY PLEASURE.

OVER TIME, THE EFFORTS AND SACRIFICES OF THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN BRIGADE HAVE BEEN WIDELY RECOGNIZED.

IN 2009, MATTI MATTSON WAS AWARDED SPANISH CITIZENSHIP.

HE ACCEPTED THE HONOR, HE SAID, FOR NOT ONLY THE GUYS WHO ARE BURIED IN SPAIN, BUT ALSO THE GUYS BURIED IN THE UNITED STATES.

AS WE WERE FINISHING THIS STORY, MR. MATTSON PASSED AWAY IN JANUARY 2011 AT THE AGE OF 94.

NINE YEARS BEFORE JOE ROSENTHAL IMMORTALIZED THE FLAG ON IWO JIMA, THERE WAS ROBERT CAPA'S "FALLING SOLDIER."

PUBLISHED IN LIFE MAGAZINE IN 1937, THE IMAGE OF A LOYALIST SPANISH MILITIAMAN CAPTURED AT THE INSTANT OF HIS DEATH BROUGHT THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR INTO AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS.

LIKE ROSENTHAL, CAPA WAS ACCUSED OF STAGING HIS MASTERPIECE, A COMMON PRACTICE AT THE TIME.

AND CAPA TOOK THE TRUTH TO HIS GRAVE IN 1954, WHEN HE STEPPED ON A VIETNAMESE LANDMINE.

SCHOLARS BELIEVED HIS NEGATIVES MIGHT RESOLVE THE CONTROVERSY, BUT THEY HAD BEEN MISSING SINCE WORLD WAR II.

CAPA, A HUNGARIAN JEW, FLED EUROPE IN 1939, LEAVING ALL OF HIS NEGATIVES IN A PARIS STUDIO.

FROM THERE, THEY DISAPPEARED.

SIX DECADES LATER, THEY RESURFACED AMONG THE POSSESSIONS OF A FORMER MEXICAN AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE.

THEIR WHEREABOUTS DURING THE INTERIM REMAINS A MYSTERY.

IN 2007, THE REDISCOVERED MATERIAL WAS ANALYZED AND SCANNED.

THERE WERE 4,500 NEGATIVES, NOT ONE OF WHICH WAS THE FALLING SOLDIER.

THE VALIDITY OF THE PICTURE REMAINS AN ENIGMA.

BUT THE COLLECTION, NICKNAMED THE MEXICAN SUITCASE, PROVED TO BE THE HOLY GRAIL OF CAPA'S WORK.

TODAY, THE MEXICAN SUITCASE HAS FOUND A PERMANENT HOME IN MANHATTAN AT THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY, FOUNDED BY ROBERT'S YOUNGER BROTHER, CORNELL CAPA.

Gwen: OUR LAST CASE EXAMINES A WATERCOLOR FOR CLUES ABOUT A MASTER OF AMERICAN DESIGN.

IT'S 1892, AND LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY IS DREAMING OF A BRILLIANT FUTURE.

IN LESS THAN A YEAR, MILLIONS WILL CHURN THROUGH THE CHICAGO WORLD'S FAIR, EAGER TO SEE THE LATEST WONDERS IN SCIENCE AND ARTS.

TIFFANY KNOWS THAT SUCCESS AT THIS EXHIBITION, WITH HIS REVOLUTIONARY STAINED GLASS, WILL SHOUT HIS NAME ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

BUT HIS PREPARATIONS SUDDENLY COME TO A HALT WHEN THE GLASS CUTTERS UNION GOES ON STRIKE.

WITH THE FAIR LOOMING, HOW WILL TIFFANY AVOID DISASTER?

NOW A MAN FROM KALISPELL, MONTANA, WONDERS IF A FAMILY HEIRLOOM MIGHT BE A PART OF TIFFANY HISTORY.

I'D ALWAYS HEARD THIS WAS MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER'S FAVORITE WINDOW, AND I WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT THAT MEANS.

I'M GWENDOLYN WRIGHT, AND I'M MEETING BRIAN FREY TO ASK HIM ABOUT HIS WATERCOLOR AND HIS FAMILY LORE.

HI.

SO THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO SHOW ME?

YES, THIS IS IT.

IT'S A WATERCOLOR DONE BY MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, ANNE WESTON.

THIS HAS BEEN IN OUR FAMILY FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER.

BRIAN SAYS ANNE WAS BORN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 19th CENTURY AND ADOPTED AS AN INFANT BY A FAMILY NAMED VAN DERLIP.

SHE GREW UP IN NEW YORK AND MOVED TO DULUTH, MINNESOTA, AFTER MARRYING A DOCTOR NAMED JOHN WESTON.

SHE WAS A DESIGNER FOR TIFFANY STUDIOS, AND WE BELIEVE THAT IT IS A DESIGN FOR A WINDOW THAT SHE MAY HAVE DONE.

DID SHE DO OTHER STAINED GLASS WINDOWS?

I DO KNOW THAT SHE DID THE MINNEHAHA WINDOW THAT'S IN DULUTH.

WELL, TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT YOU'D LIKE FOR ME TO FIND OUT ABOUT THIS DRAWING.

I'D LIKE TO KNOW IF IT EVER WAS ACTUALLY MADE INTO A WINDOW AND JUST ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU CAN TELL ME ABOUT ANNE.

WELL, I LOOK FORWARD TO TRACING THIS AND FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT A WOMAN ARTIST AT THE TURN OF THE LAST CENTURY.

IT MAKES SENSE THIS WAS A WINDOW.

THERE'S A FRAME AROUND THE WHOLE, AND IT'S DIVIDED INTO THREE VERTICAL PANELS, WHAT'S CALLED A TRIPTYCH, USUALLY A RELIGIOUS WINDOW OR PAINTING.

THIS, HOWEVER, APPEARS TO BE AN ABSTRACT DESIGN WITH SWANS AND WATER.

BRIAN'S GIVEN ME PERMISSION TO REMOVE THE FRAME.

I WAS HOPING THERE'D BE SOME WRITING ON THE BACK.

UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T FIND ANYTHING OTHER THAN REMNANTS OF SOME KIND OF GLUE.

BY AND LARGE, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT'S CALLED ART NOUVEAU.

ART NOUVEAU WAS A STYLIZED ARTISTIC MOVEMENT THAT EMERGED AT THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY.

PARTLY A REACTION TO THE CHEAP MECHANIZATION OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, THIS NEW ART EMPHASIZED SKILLED CRAFTSMANSHIP AND IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE USE OF LUXURIANT CURVED LINES, SUCH AS THOSE FOUND IN NATURE.

MOST PEOPLE KNOW TIFFANY'S NAME THROUGH HIS LAMPS, BUT THEY'RE ONLY ONE PART OF THE ARTS THAT HE PRODUCED, WHICH RANGED FROM FURNITURE AND TEXTILES THROUGH STAINED GLASS WINDOWS AND JEWELRY.

AND ALL OF IT HAS LUSCIOUS COLORS.

TIFFANY WANTED TO PRODUCE EXQUISITE HANDCRAFTED WORKS THAT ACCENTUATED THE UNIQUENESS AND BEAUTY OF EACH PIECE.

SON OF A FAMOUS JEWELER, HE WAS BOTH AN ARTIST AND A BUSINESSMAN.

HE ONCE SAID, "WE ARE GOING AFTER THE MONEY THERE IS IN ART, BUT ART IS THERE ALL THE SAME."

OH, HERE'S THE MINNEHAHA WINDOW THAT BRIAN MENTIONED: "FOR THE MINNESOTA BUILDING "AT THE 1893 COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION IN CHICAGO, DESIGNED BY MRS. ANNE WESTON FROM DULUTH."

BUT I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER REFERENCE TO ANNE.

ONE OF THE REASONS TIFFANY'S NAME IS FAMILIAR TO SO MANY PEOPLE IS HE PRODUCED A VAST AMOUNT OF WORK, LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF HIS WINDOWS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES.

FINDING THE ONE THAT MATCHES THIS DRAWING MAY BE QUITE A CHALLENGE.

[ ♪♪♪ ] A CENSUS SEARCH REVEALS THAT IN 1880, ANNE WAS LIVING IN NEW YORK WITH HER FATHER.

IT LOOKS LIKE SHE MARRIED JOHN WESTON IN 1888 AND HAD MOVED TO DULUTH BY 1900, BUT NONE OF THE RECORDS LIST A PROFESSION.

WHEN DID SHE WORK FOR TIFFANY?

AND WAS THIS IN FACT A PRELIMINARY DESIGN FOR TIFFANY GLASS WORKS?

I'M MEETING PAUL DOROS OF THE TIFFANY STUDIOS RESEARCH CENTER AT A CHURCH IN MANHATTAN.

GWEN WRIGHT.

NICE TO MEET YOU, GWEN.

WE'RE IN ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, AND THE WINDOW IS CALLED "ST. MICHAEL'S VICTORIOUS IN HEAVEN."

IT WAS MADE IN 1895 BY TIFFANY STUDIOS, AND IT'S A MAGNIFICENT WORK MADE AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS CAREER IN MAKING WINDOWS.

PAUL EXPLAINS HOW LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY WAS EAGER TO PUT THE GILT ON THE GILDED AGE.

WHO WERE SOME OF HIS CLIENTS?

THE MOST FAMOUS ONES WERE THE ROBBER BARONS, THE NEW AMERICAN ARISTOCRACY: ANDREW CARNEGIE, ROCKEFELLER HE DID, THE VANDERBILTS HE WORKED FOR, HE DID MARK TWAIN'S HOUSE, HE DID THE WHITE HOUSE FOR CHESTER ARTHUR IN 1882.

HE BELIEVED THAT IF HE SOLD TO THE WEALTHY, HE COULD PUBLICIZE IT AND THE TASTE WOULD TRICKLE DOWN TO THE MASSES.

PAUL SAYS THAT ONE OF TIFFANY'S INNOVATIONS WAS USING THE TRADITIONALLY RELIGIOUS ART OF STAINED GLASS FOR SECULAR PURPOSES.

HE WANTED TO EDUCATE THE AMERICAN PUBLIC AS TO WHAT WAS GOOD TASTE.

ALSO, RAISING GLASS TO THE SAME LEVEL AS PAINTING; TO CREATE THE SAME EFFECTS AS A PAINTER COULD DO, HE COULD DO IN GLASS.

I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF THIS DRAWING WAS MADE INTO A WINDOW.

WELL, MY FIRST INSTINCT -- IMPRESSION -- WOULD BE THAT IT WOULD BE A DOMESTIC WINDOW.

IT'S NOT A RELIGIOUS SCENE.

I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS MADE BY TIFFANY STUDIOS.

HOW EXTENSIVE ARE THE RECORDS?

UNFORTUNATELY, ALL THE RECORDS WERE THROWN OUT OR DISCARDED IN THE EARLY '70s, SO THAT TREASURE TROVE IS MISSING.

WELL, THIS DRAWING WAS MADE BY A WOMAN NAMED ANNE VAN DERLIP, WHO LATER BECAME ANNE WESTON WHEN SHE MARRIED.

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD ABOUT HER WORKING FOR TIFFANY?

NOT OFFHAND, NO, I HAVEN'T.

TIFFANY WAS VERY RELUCTANT TO ADVERTISE WHO HIS ARTISTS WERE AS PART OF THE MARKETING TO SELL THE TIFFANY BRAND, AND HE DIDN'T WANT ANY INTERFERENCE FROM ANY OF HIS EMPLOYEES IN THAT REGARD.

BUT HIS RESPONSIBILITY WAS TO APPROVE ALL THE DESIGNS THAT WENT OUT.

BUT PAUL MAY HAVE A LEAD.

TIFFANY DID HAVE MANY WOMEN ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS IN THE STUDIOS, SO MANY THAT THEY WERE LATER KNOWN AS "THE TIFFANY GIRLS."

HE TELLS ME OF A RECENT DISCOVERY MADE BY ART HISTORIAN NINA GRAY.

BEFORE SPEAKING TO NINA, I WANT TO LEARN HOW TIFFANY MIGHT HAVE MADE OUR ABSTRACT DESIGN INTO A WINDOW.

THOMAS VENTURELLA IS BOTH A RESTORER OF TIFFANY WINDOWS AND A STAINED GLASS ARTIST HIMSELF.

FULL-SIZE DRAWINGS ARE MADE OF EVERY ONE OF THESE OPENINGS, SIX IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE.

THOSE ARE CALLED THE CARTOONS.

EACH PIECE IN THE DESIGN WAS NUMBERED, THEN ONE COPY OF THE CARTOON SERVED AS A GUIDE.

A SECOND WAS CUT UP LIKE A PUZZLE, MAKING TEMPLATES FOR CUTTING THE GLASS.

THEN THAT'S WHERE THE SELECTORS AND THE CUTTERS COME IN.

TOM EXPLAINS THAT SELECTORS AND CUTTERS WERE VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE EXTRAORDINARY VARIATIONS IN ONE OF TIFFANY'S INNOVATIONS -- OPALESCENT GLASS -- IN WHICH MULTIPLE COLORS ARE FUSED TOGETHER.

IT MEANS HIS HANDMADE GLASS.

IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR TIFFANY TO UNDERSTAND HOW LIGHT PLAYS WITH THIS GLASS OFF THE SURFACE AND THROUGH THE GLASS.

WORKERS WOULD THEN CHOOSE THE BEST PLACE AND CUT THE GLASS TO MATCH THE TEMPLATE.

THE TOOL THEY WOULD'VE USED WAS PROBABLY A DIAMOND CUTTER.

THEN THE EDGES OF THE PIECE WERE WRAPPED IN COPPER FOIL AND PLACED IN THE GUIDE.

ONCE THE DESIGN WAS ASSEMBLED, THE PIECES WERE FIXED INTO PLACE.

TIFFANY COULD ENHANCE THE SENSE OF DEPTH AND MOVEMENT IN HIS DESIGNS BY STACKING THE GLASS IN LAYERS, OR PLATES, TO CREATE EFFECTS LIKE FOLIAGE OR WATER.

I CAN SHOW YOU A FISHBOWL HERE, WHICH HAS A SIMILAR FEELING, WHERE THE TWO FISH ARE IN THIS BOWL, BUT THEY'RE ACTUALLY SWIMMING HERE, AND THE ENTIRE THING IS COVERED WITH A FULL SHEET OF A CLEAR, RIPPLED WATER GLASS.

IT'S LIKE THE WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF OUR DRAWING: YOU SEE THE SURFACE, YOU SEE UNDERNEATH, YOU SEE LIGHT ON DIFFERENT PLACES, AND YOU EVEN GET THE IMPRESSION OF THE SWAN'S FEET UNDERNEATH.

AH, THAT'S HOW HE WOULD DO IT.

MY NEXT STOP IS WITH NINA GRAY AT THE LILLIAN NASSAU GALLERY.

SHE AND A COLLEAGUE RECENTLY UNCOVERED A CACHE OF LETTERS THAT ILLUMINATE THE LIVES OF A PREVIOUSLY OBSCURE GROUP OF WOMEN.

THEY WERE KNOWN AS TIFFANY GIRLS.

TELL ME ABOUT THE TIFFANY GIRLS; WHAT WAS THEIR BACKGROUND?

THE WOMEN WHO WORKED AT TIFFANY STUDIOS, THEY WERE LARGELY MIDDLE CLASS, UPPER MIDDLE CLASS, AND THEY WOULD HAVE TRAINED UNDER PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS, AND THEN THEY WOULD'VE GOTTEN WORK IN ART STUDIOS AND PLACES LIKE TIFFANY STUDIOS.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YEAR TIFFANY FIRST HIRED A WOMAN?

THERE WERE VERY FEW WOMEN IN THE 1880s WHO WERE WORKING AT TIFFANY, BUT IN 1892, JUST AS TIFFANY IS PREPARING FOR A HUGE EXHIBITION DISPLAY IN CHICAGO AT THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, ALL OF THE MALE GLASS WORKERS IN NEW YORK GO ON STRIKE, SO HE WENT AND HIRED WOMEN FROM ART SCHOOLS.

THE WOMEN WERE DENIED MEMBERSHIP IN THE MALE-ONLY UNION.

TIFFANY THOUGHT THEY HAD SUPERIOR COLOR SENSE AND MANUAL DEXTERITY.

HE LATER DEFENDED THE WOMEN AGAINST UNION EFFORTS TO HAVE THEM FIRED.

SO WITHIN A COUPLE OF YEARS, THERE WERE AS MANY AS 35 WOMEN IN THE DEPARTMENT.

THE TIFFANY GIRLS' WORK WAS PRINCIPALLY TO SELECT AND CUT GLASS, A VITAL CREATIVE STEP IN THE DESIGN PROCESS.

IT OPENED UP A WHOLE NEW EXCITING FIELD FOR THESE WOMEN, BECAUSE TRADITIONALLY, THE ONLY OCCUPATIONS THAT WOMEN COULD HAVE WERE NURSING AND TEACHING.

I SHOW HER ANNE'S SWAN DRAWING.

THOUGH THE IMAGE ISN'T FAMILIAR, THE MATERIALS AND FORMAT ARE.

WE COMPARE IT WITH ANOTHER DESIGN.

BUT I ESPECIALLY WANTED TO SHOW YOU THIS.

THIS IS ANOTHER WATERCOLOR.

YOU KNOW, I JUST NOTICED SOMETHING.

THAT DRAWING PAPER IS, I THINK, EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE AS THE PAPER THAT ANNE USED.

YES, YOU'RE RIGHT.

AND IT'S MOUNTED ON ANOTHER PIECE OF PAPER, AND SOME OF THE INFORMATION IS DOWN THERE.

SO WE MAY HAVE SOME INFORMATION THAT WAS CUT OFF WHEN SHE MOUNTED IT IN HERE.

ABSOLUTELY.

NOW, WHEN YOU WERE DOING YOUR RESEARCH ON THE LETTERS OF THE TIFFANY GIRLS, DID YOU FIND ANY MENTION OF ANNE?

I DIDN'T FIND ANY MENTION OF ANNE, BECAUSE THE LETTERS THAT WE FOUND BEGIN AROUND 1897.

BUT NINA HAS A LEAD OF HER OWN.

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, SHE READ SOME RESEARCH BY AN ART HISTORIAN IN MINNESOTA.

SO I'M BUNDLING UP AND FOLLOWING ANNE WESTON'S FOOTSTEPS FROM NEW YORK TO FROSTY DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

I'M MEETING ART HISTORIAN AND CURATOR WADE LAWRENCE AT THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, HOME TO SEVERAL OF ANNE WESTON'S WINDOWS.

HI, GWEN WRIGHT, NICE TO MEET YOU.

I'M EAGER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ANNE.

WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT HER WORK WITH TIFFANY?

HER FATHER MUST'VE BEEN A FRIEND OF LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY.

HE WAS ONE OF THE FOUNDING TRUSTEES OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, AND ANNE WESTON EXHIBITED ART AT THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN, SO THEY RAN IN THE SAME CIRCLES.

WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW SHE STARTED WORKING FOR LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY, BUT IT HAD TO HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH HER FAMILY CONNECTIONS.

SHE BEGAN WORKING AROUND 1884.

SO SHE WAS INVOLVED WITH TIFFANY'S GLASS MAKING VERY EARLY ON.

YES, THE 1880s WERE AN EARLY PHASE OF THE STAINED GLASS PRODUCTION AT TIFFANY STUDIOS, SO SHE WAS INVOLVED AT THE VERY BEGINNING.

WADE SAYS ANNE HELD MANY JOBS AT TIFFANY, EVENTUALLY BECOMING A DESIGNER.

THERE ARE EVEN INDICATIONS SHE RAN THE FIRST INCARNATION OF THE WOMEN'S GLASS DEPARTMENT.

HOW MANY WINDOWS DO YOU KNOW OF THAT SHE DID HERE IN DULUTH?

I'VE BEEN ABLE TO ATTRIBUTE 13 WINDOWS IN DULUTH TO ANNE WESTON, INCLUDING THESE HERE AT FIRST PRESBYTERIAN.

WELL, I'M EAGER TO SHOW YOU THIS DRAWING.

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.

THE SUBJECT MATTER'S UNUSUAL, WITH THE SWANS AND THE PEACOCKS.

THE COMPOSITION ITSELF IS QUITE COMPLEX.

IT'S UNIQUE IN ALL OF HER WORK.

HAVE YOU SEEN A WINDOW BASED ON THIS DRAWING?

WHAT WADE TELLS ME NEXT SHEDS A SPECIAL LIGHT ON BRIAN'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

I'VE ASKED BRIAN TO MEET ME IN DULUTH'S HISTORIC UNION DEPOT, WHICH HOUSES SOME OF ANNE'S MOST IMPORTANT WORK, INCLUDING THE MINNEHAHA WINDOW.

IT'S BREATHTAKING.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS PIECE OF WORK.

COME WITH ME.

ALL RIGHT.

I TELL BRIAN THAT ANNE HAD HELD HIGH-LEVEL POSITIONS WITH TIFFANY AND WAS A PIONEERING FIGURE AMONG THE SO-CALLED TIFFANY GIRLS.

THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

I DO HAVE SOMETHING INTERESTING TO SHOW YOU.

Lawrence: THIS IS ONE OF ANNE WESTON'S PORTFOLIOS.

OH, EXCITING.

WADE HAS NOT FOUND A WINDOW BASED ON ANNE'S DRAWING, ALTHOUGH HE BELIEVES IT MAY BE AWAITING DISCOVERY, MOST LIKELY IN A PRIVATE HOME.

THESE ARE DESIGN DRAWINGS FOR WINDOWS THAT SHE DESIGNED, MANY OF WHICH WERE MADE, INCLUDING THIS ONE, WHICH IS THAT WINDOW THERE.

ABSOLUTELY.

FOR MANY YEARS, THIS WAS ATTRIBUTED TO ANNE WESTON, AND THIS DRAWING PROVES THAT IT WAS HER WINDOW.

SO THERE'S CONSTANTLY NEW INFORMATION, AND WE MAY STILL BE ABLE TO FIND IF THIS WAS MADE INTO A WINDOW AND WHERE IT IS.

ABSOLUTELY.

THIS IS A PORTFOLIO OF ANNE'S WORK.

OH, WOW.

THAT'S AMAZING.

FOR ALL THESE YEARS, SHE WAS...JUST A GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

AND THAT, YOU KNOW, SHE'S STILL THAT, BUT SHE'S SO MUCH MORE, AND SO MUCH MORE TO A LOT MORE PEOPLE THAN JUST OUR FAMILY.

IF YOU'VE SEEN THIS WINDOW OR YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ANNE WESTON, PLEASE CONTACT US.

WE'LL POST NEW INFORMATION ON THE HISTORY DETECTIVES WEBSITE.

EVER WANTED TO INVESTIGATE YOUR OWN FAMILY HISTORY?

START BY FILLING OUT WHAT'S CALLED A PEDIGREE CHART WITH THE HELP OF OLDER RELATIVES.

REMEMBER TO RECORD MAIDEN NAMES AND ALTERNATE SPELLINGS.

WHEN YOU'RE READY TO DIG DEEPER, USE THE INFORMATION TO SEARCH A GENEALOGICAL DATABASE ONLINE OR AT YOUR LIBRARY.

THESE DATABASES HOLD MILLIONS OF DIGITIZED PUBLIC RECORDS.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN GENEALOGY CAN BE MORE CHALLENGING, ESPECIALLY IF YOUR ANCESTORS WERE ENSLAVED.

BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR, OFFICIAL RECORDS ONLY NOTED THEIR GENDER AND AGE.

HOWEVER, THE FREEDMAN'S BUREAU FILES AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES CAN PROVIDE INDIVIDUAL NAMES, NAMES OF SLAVE OWNERS, MARRIAGE AND HOSPITAL RECORDS, AND MORE.

THE MOST EXTENSIVE GENEALOGICAL DATA IS KEPT IN THE UNITED STATES CENSUS, AVAILABLE ONLINE.

RECORDS SINCE 1850 LIST THE ADDRESS, AGE, OCCUPATION, AND BIRTHPLACE OF EACH NON-ENSLAVED PERSON SURVEYED.

A PRIVACY LAW KEEPS THE CENSUS SEALED FOR 72 YEARS.

IN 2012, THE 1940 CENSUS WILL BE RELEASED, AND IF YOU COMPLETED YOUR 2010 CENSUS, YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL 2082 TO RESEARCH THESE RECORDS.

FOR MORE TIPS ON HOW TO RESEARCH GENEALOGY, VISIT HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.

DO YOU HAVE A MYSTERY THAT ILLUMINATES AMERICAN HISTORY?

I THINK IT COULD BE A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF CIVIL WAR HISTORY.

Wes: THE HISTORY DETECTIVES ARE ALWAYS ON THE HUNT FOR THE NEXT BIG CASE.

MAYBE YOU CAN HELP US OUT.

ALL YOU NEED IS AN OBJECT WITH A GOOD AMERICAN MYSTERY CONNECTED TO IT.

SO WAS THIS JUST STICKING UP OUT OF THE BEACH?

THERE MUST BE A STORY BEHIND THIS.

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

YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE CONNECTED THROUGH THE GENERATIONS.