THOUGHTS ON MEMORIAL DAY 2026

ON THIS RECENT MEMORIAL DAY, I celebrated Norman Corwin, lamented the demise of CBS, and ridiculed/pitied Trump. Here are tidbits gleaned from all these.

NORMAN CORWIN’S FINE CONTRIBUTIONS. Known as the Poet Laureate of Radio, Norman Corwin enhanced the meaning of my Memorial Day through SiriusXM’s “Classic Radio” broadcasting several of his historic productions.  

Norman Corwin. 1910–2011, American writer, screenwriter, essayist, teacher of journalism and writing.

“Untitled,” May 30, 1944. Corwin composed a particularly touching program, one of his CBS “Columbia Presents Corwin” series, purposely titled “Untitled.” Bernard Hermann composed a moving score. Unbeknownst to all involved, its May 30, 1944, broadcast was just a week before the D-Day invasion of Normandy. 

Frederick March was the principal commentator, who began by noting, “With reference to Hank Peters, he is dead, that much is certain. The fact of his death is common knowledge to himself and to the files of the war department in Washington DC, and has been duly reported in his hometown newspaper, and has been taken in to consideration by his relatives and friends….”

“I shall wait,” Hank Peters ultimately concludes, “and I shall wait in a long and long suspense.  For the password that the Peace is setting solidly. On that day, please do let my mother know why it had to happen to her boy.”

For an audio version, access YouTube. Text can be seen at Generic Radio Workshop. 

“On a Note of Triumph,” May 8, 1945. Not long after the Normandy invasion, CBS asked Norman Corwin to think about a V-E program, the Nazi Germany surrender not coming for almost another year.

Actor Martin Gable served the principal part of narrator, with a supporting cast including folks singer Pete Seegar and the Almanac Singers’ rendition of “ ‘Round and ‘Round Hitler’s Grave.” Again, Bernard Hermann composed a stirring score. 

Internet Archive notes, “No radio broadcast in history created such an intense stir, and no program ever received such immediate and overwhelming praise. People of note and just plain everyday listeners phoned, wired, and wrote congratulatory messages…. Recognizing the contribution to posterity that this program had made, Simon and Schuster put On A Note Of Triumph into book form. It became a best-seller overnight, and a week after the repeat broadcast, was in its second edition of 25,000 copies.” 

For the audio version, access archive.com. For the text, see oldtimemagazinearticles.com.

“Fourteen August,” A Message For The Day Of Victory. This program, broadcast August 14, 1945, also on CBS, was moderated by Orson Welles and commemorated Japanese surrender and the end of World War II.

You can listen to it by accessing Fourteen August. And read its transcript at wamu.org.

George Orson Welles, 1915–1985, American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician, remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theater. Image, 1937, by Carl Van Vechten.

Welles said, “This day is the father of great anniversaries. Men and saints shall picnic together on 14, August down more years than you or I shall see. So say it tonight with saluting guns, say it with roses, say it with hands clasped, a drink, a prayer. Say it any way you want, but say it, say it!”

Nor did Welles shy away from what brought about this cessation short of invasion: “God and uranium were on our side,” Welles observed. “The wrath of the atom fell like a commandment and the very planet quivered with implications…. The archangel Gabriel and the community of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.”

“Remember them…”, Welles concluded. “They’ve spilled their blood for the rights of men, for people, the likes of me and you. And they ask that we do not fail them again in the days we are coming to.”

The Demise of CBS Radio. Alas, NPR reports, “CBS Radio Signs Off After Decades on the Air, Ending Historic Chapter in Broadcasting,” May 22, 2026. You’ll note that Norman Corwin’s works were produced by CBS, the same news medium known for Edward R. Murrow, Lowell Thomas, and later, Douglas Edwards, Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, and other notable anchors.

Pause here to consider the implications of this change.

My own AM Radio listening, KNX 1070, now cites ABC as its news affiliate; otherwise, I would have reassigned the button. Who needs Larry Ellison’s Skydance Media and Lachlan Murdoch’s Fox News when there’s NPR for real news?

A Man to be Pitied… and Ridiculed. And how did Trump respond on our Memorial Day 2026? 

Owen Scott reports “Trump Uses Memorial Day to Rip ‘Dumocrats’ and Blast His Republican Foes—With Barely a Mention of Fallen Troops,” The Independent, May 25, 2026.

My response to Trump: “Your pathetic behavior cannot be tolerated: There were ‘Dumocrats’ as well as others among the fallen whom we honor this day.” 

And I also celebrate “Trump Honors Those Who Helped Others Avoid Service at Tomb of the Unknown Podiatrist,” The Borowitz Report, originally May 28, 2024. A parody classic. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2026