From New Orleans to Normandy: Honoring Louisiana's WWII heroes
About 300 WWII vets are still living in Louisiana, according to the latest figures from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The big picture: About 16.4 million Americans served in WWII, but only about 66,100 were still living as of September 2024, per the VA's projections.
"We have the enormous responsibility to ensure that the memories and experiences of the war will not be lost as those who lived through it leave this world," said Stephen J. Watson, president and CEO of the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, in a statement.
Zoom out: The museum is welcoming back WWII veterans as part of its commemoration events.
It had an overnight display Thursday with 2,510 candle luminaria to honor the Americans who died on D-Day.
At 6:30am Friday, there's a remembrance gathering to mark the moment the invasion of Normandy began.
About 25 WWII veterans and Holocaust survivors will open the museum at 8:50am Friday to a hero's welcome. The main ceremony, which is also free, starts at 11am.
Full list of events.
Meanwhile, it's also the museum's 25th anniversary.
The venue opened in 2000 as The National D-Day Museum.
It was housed in a single exhibition hall and dedicated to telling the stories of the Americans who participated in the amphibious invasion.
Today, the museum spans seven pavilions and has immersive exhibits and an expansive collection of artifacts.
Fun fact: The Higgins boats used on D-Day were designed and built in New Orleans. Fewer than 10 original boats remain in existence.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower called Andrew Higgins "the man who won the war for us" thanks to his namesake landing craft.
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Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
10 Cheap Fish You Should Avoid Buying At All Costs
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. There's a lot to like about fish. It's tasty and versatile, many varieties offer high-quality lean protein, and even fatty fish provide healthy omega-3 fatty acids instead of the saturated fats found in red meats. That's why the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest having fish (or seafood) twice a week. Of course, that simple description of "fish" covers a lot of territory. Some are cheap, while some command a hefty price. Some are farmed or harvested sustainably, while others come with unadvertised baggage in the form of unsustainability or poor working conditions. Some are healthier, while others just plain taste better. As a trained chef from Canada's seafood-centric East Coast (and the descendant of a long line of fishermen), I've spent a lot of my life cooking fish, and also writing, researching, and thinking about how it's raised and harvested. That means I've reluctantly ruled out a lot of inexpensive, otherwise-appealing kinds of fish for one or another of the reasons given above. Here are 10 common low-priced options, and why I suggest avoiding them. Read more: 7 Foods Guy Fieri Doesn't Touch Asian Catfish Catfish is one of America's longstanding favorites, especially in the Southern states. And deservedly so, because it's good stuff. Mostly it's eaten breaded and fried, which isn't exactly a strong endorsement of the "fish is healthy" argument, but it's a versatile choice that can be cooked in many other ways if you choose to do so. American catfish is a safe, practical, and reasonably priced product. It may be wild-caught or farmed, but all commercially sold catfish of U.S. origin are good choices. American catfish farms adhere to industry-standard best practices, and wild-caught blue cats from Chesapeake Bay are harvested in a responsible and sustainable fashion. Sadly, that's not reliably the case for Asian catfish. They're from a related species, pangasius, but they can't legally be sold as "catfish" in the U.S. because that label is reserved for domestic species. Instead, you'll see it sold as swai, basa, tra, and a few other names. Consumers should avoid options that come from Vietnam or China because of heavy chemical use (and the associated health and environmental issues) in their farming process. Pink Or Keta Salmon You may be surprised to see salmon on a list of "cheap fish," because it's not generally among the cheapest offerings at your local store's seafood section. That's especially true of premium wild-caught Pacific salmon, which fetches a correspondingly serious price. That said, there are several types of salmon out there, and not all of them are necessarily premium products. In fact, there are two that typically fall into the low-priced category, largely because they are kind of disappointing as salmon goes. One is Keta salmon, often known as chum or dog salmon, because in the past it was used for feeding sled dogs. The other is pink salmon, a small and very common Pacific species (your canned salmon will usually be pink, unless the label specifies otherwise). You'll often find these as fillets or even whole fish in the freezer section of your supermarket, where they're the lowest-cost salmon option. Don't get me wrong, it's not that they're in any way bad. U.S.-caught Keta and pinks make a decent meal, but they're leaner and less flavorful than other salmon species, and therefore prone to coming out dry and overcooked. Overall, it's usually worth spending a bit more to get a tastier variety. Non-Certified Tilapia Over the past couple of decades, tilapia has gone from being a relative novelty at the seafood counter to one of the most widely available and inexpensive choices. You'll find tilapia recipes everywhere, including this site, and there's definitely a recipe for every taste. And yet, despite tilapia's popularity, it's hard to find anyone who's really enthusiastic about it. Recipe writers and chefs speak of it as a blank slate for cooking with, which is a polite way of saying it's pretty flavorless. The FDA calls it one of the best fish to eat, but that's purely on the narrow basis of it being low in mercury. Like most fish, it's a good protein source, but it's low in the healthy omega-3 fatty acids that fish are prized for. So far, I've made the case that it's mediocre, not that it's bad. What earns tilapia a place on this list is the often-dubious quality of its farming. Tilapia from countries such as Colombia, Indonesia, or Taiwan, or countries that have earned certification from one of the industry's recognized certification bodies, is okay to buy if that's your thing. Tilapia farmed in China should be avoided because of environmental and potential health issues. Canned Tuna This one may feel like a gut-punch for a lot of you, and I totally get it. Canned tuna is a reliable pantry staple, something we've all leaned on for generations as an inexpensive ingredient for quick and easy meals. So before you panic, I'm not suggesting that you stop buying it entirely, just that you should always read the label on canned tuna and know what you're getting. There are two reasons why I say this. One is that tuna, even the smaller species, is a predator that tends to accumulate mercury in its tissues. That can cause health issues in humans, and it's especially harmful for fetal development and in children, where their growing brains can be affected. A second reason comes down precisely to tuna's popularity. This has created significant pressure on wild populations of tuna, and also impacts other species that are caught as "bycatch" of the tuna industry. Look for canned tuna that names its species on the label (skipjack has lower mercury levels than albacore or yellowfin, for example), and brands that carry certification logos from one of the major certification bodies, like the Marine Stewardship Council. Those are harvested responsibly, with minimal impact on other species. Orange Roughy Orange roughy is a niche product, compared to fish like salmon, tuna, and tilapia, but it's still a common and popular choice in some regions. It isn't as cheap as it used to be, but if you see it in stores, it may still be one of your more economical options. Unfortunately, while it's tasty and relatively affordable, this isn't a fish you should buy frequently. Unlike the commonly-farmed tilapia, which comes to harvest with a speed that rivals factory-bred meat chickens, orange roughy is a long-lived and slow-reproducing fish. That's not a combination that favors sustainability, because fish with those characteristics are extremely vulnerable to fishing pressure. Roughy fisheries also take place in environmentally sensitive areas, where their impact is yet unknown and hard to gauge. Generally, roughy should be avoided because of environmental issues. It's also worth noting that as a long-lived predator species, roughy accumulates a lot of mercury in its tissues. In fact, it's one of the species highest in mercury, according to the FDA, so it should be avoided on that basis alone. Atlantic Cod Cod was once a universal staple fish of the blue-collar world, whether fresh, dried, or salted. Mark Kurlansky's award-winning 1989 book is called "Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World," and he's not wrong. You won't see a lot of Atlantic cod out there anymore, and there's a reason for that: Although generations — centuries! — of fishermen had considered them to be inexhaustible, but by 1992, the cod population had utterly collapsed. It was a cautionary tale that still reverberates today, especially along the coasts of New England and Atlantic Canada, where our lifestyle was largely built around the fishery. Generations of my own family had fished cod, including (very briefly) myself, in the late 1970s. Today, only a very few, small-scale sources of Atlantic cod are good options, and personally, I don't buy even those because every fish landed, even in responsible and closely-managed fisheries, still diminishes the remaining gene pool. For your favorite cod recipes, choose Pacific cod, or East Coast alternatives like haddock or ling. Tilefish If you're a saltwater angler, you may already have a fond acquaintance with tilefish. They're a fun fish to catch, with adult specimens averaging around 15 pounds and occasionally getting to 50 pounds or more. They're also a great fish for eating. They're moist and flaky, like grouper or snapper, but with an unusual, subtle sweetness that reminds some diners of crab or scallops. Even if you don't get out to fish for your own, tilefish can often be found at your local fishmonger for a price that's quite reasonable considering its culinary virtues. So why would you want to avoid such a tasty, pleasing fish? Well, it's that "m-word" again. As a large deep-water predator, tilefish tend to accumulate a lot of mercury in their tissues. In fact, in two decades of testing by the FDA, tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico had the highest levels of mercury contamination found in any fish species. Levels were lower in Atlantic-caught tilefish, so feel free to indulge in that occasionally if you're not pregnant or nursing, but there are definitely safer options for your money. Winter Skate It pains me to write this because I'm a big fan of skate, and I consider it to be an unfairly overlooked seafood option on our side of the Atlantic. Skate are flat, diamond-shaped fish rather like rays, and usually what you'll see in fish stores are the so-called "wings." I've enjoyed skate for years whenever I could find it, because it's a great fish to cook. A slab of "wing" gives you two large fillets, one above and one below a dividing line of rib-like cartilage (like sharks, skate have no bones). It's delicious, and once cooked, it's easy to slide the flesh from the cartilage for serving. So why is it on this list? Well, there are a couple of reasons. One is that — again, like shark — because of its unusual physiology, skate breaks down quickly when it's not absolutely fresh, and produces an ammonia-like aroma if it is handled incorrectly. More importantly, winter skate, which has seen significant growth in popularity, should be avoided except for a few specific certified fisheries. Populations are just too low, and skate is a slow-maturing species. Also, a number of less-exploited skate species only avoided being listed as endangered because there simply wasn't enough data, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Farmed Coho Salmon Let's finish up by circling back to salmon. As I mentioned earlier, there are a handful of Pacific species you can choose from, as well as farmed Atlantic salmon, and a limited quantity of wild Atlantic salmon from Europe. I've already suggested that you give pink and Keta salmon a miss because of their modest quality. Sockeye and king (aka Chinook) salmon, and European salmon, are pricey and in the latter case often hard to find. That leaves farmed Atlantic and Coho as the value options when you're shopping for salmon, giving you lots of flavor and heart-healthy omega-3s, without breaking the bank. Of the two, wild-caught Coho generally commands a higher price. Over the past few years, you may have noticed that farmed Coho salmon has begun to appear in your local store at a price that competes directly with farmed Atlantic salmon for value. Unfortunately, while you can find certified or responsibly farmed Atlantic salmon from many sources, the farmed Chilean Coho should be avoided. The operators of those farms have a history of escapes, which has led to Coho naturalizing and threatening native species and the local ecosystem. Read the original article on Tasting Table.
Boston Globe
3 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Jack McAuliffe, who brewed a craft beer revolution, dies at 80
New Albion offered something profoundly different: handmade ales using just water, barley, hops, and yeast. Mr. McAuliffe and his partners, Suzy Denison and Jane Zimmerman, ran the label out of a rundown warehouse in Sonoma, Calif., making just 400 barrels a year, about as much as Coors could produce in a few minutes. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The very idea of small-batch beer was such an anomaly that Mr. McAuliffe struggled to find equipment and ingredients. Instead, he fashioned much of the production line himself from materials he had scavenged from a junkyard. Advertisement Unable to buy traditional hops in small quantities, he opted for a new variety, cascade, whose notes of fruit and pine didn't appeal to the big breweries -- but which, thanks to Mr. McAuliffe, became a prized part of the craft brewing repertoire. His DIY ethic likewise became a defining characteristic of craft brewing, said Theresa McCulla, a former curator at the National Museum of American History who documented the history of beer in America. Advertisement 'He really showed Americans that if you can build it and sheetrock it, and weld it, then you can brew your own great beer,' she said in an interview. Mr. McAuliffe called his brewery New Albion as an homage to a long-closed predecessor in the Bay Area, as well as to the name Sir Francis Drake gave the region when he sailed along the coast of Northern California in 1579. A drawing of Drake's flagship, the Golden Hind, appeared on New Albion's labels. New Albion was profiled in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and demand for its beers grew rapidly. Still, Mr. McAuliffe was unable to secure bank loans to fund expansion, and the brewery closed in 1982. Though New Albion lasted less than six years, practically every craft pioneer who came along afterward has cited the brewery as an inspiration, among them Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada, Jim Koch of Sam Adams, and Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head. 'They say that when the Ramones first played in England, members of the Clash were in the audience, members of the Sex Pistols were in the audience, then away they went,' Calagione said in an interview. 'While the Ramones launched a million bands, Jack McAuliffe launched 10,000 American craft breweries.' John Robert McAuliffe was born May 11, 1945, in Caracas, Venezuela, where his father, John James McAuliffe, was a code breaker for the US government. His mother, Margaret (Quigley) McAuliffe, was a teacher. After World War II, Jack's father joined the State Department. The family lived in Medellín, Colombia, and later in Northern Virginia while his father taught at American University in Washington. Advertisement In high school, Jack became enthralled with welding and worked in a shop as an apprentice. He enrolled at Michigan Technological University but quit to join the Navy. He was posted to a base in Scotland, where he repaired submarine antennas. In his free time, he developed a fondness for British ales -- especially full-bodied porters and stouts -- and began brewing his own at home. After he was honorably discharged from a base in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mr. McAuliffe decided to stay. He received an associate degree from the City College of San Francisco and worked for an engineering company in Sunnyvale, Calif., all the while dreaming of making his beloved British-style ales in the United States. Finally, in 1975, he met Denison and Zimmerman, who each put in $1,500 in seed money to start New Albion. Mr. McAuliffe was a demanding brewmaster, and Zimmerman left the company. But Denison stayed on, eventually running most of the daily operations. 'He totally trusted me,' she said in an interview. 'He might go into San Francisco to pick up hops or something and leave me completely in charge.' After the brewery closed, Mr. McAuliffe sold his equipment to a new brewery, the Mendocino Brewing Co., where he worked for a time as a brewmaster. He soon quit, he said, because after being a captain, he couldn't stomach working as a deckhand. But he continued supporting the craft brewing movement, in one instance working with Fritz Maytag, the owner of the Anchor Brewing Co. in San Francisco, on securing legislation to allow brew pubs to serve food. Advertisement Mr. McAuliffe later lived in Nevada and Texas before settling in Arkansas. Along with his daughter, he leaves his sisters, Cathy and Margarita McAuliffe; his brother, Tom; two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Craft beer did not take off as a national phenomenon until the late 1990s, and many in the new generation of drinkers had never heard of New Albion. That began to change in 2012. Koch, of Sam Adams, contacted Mr. McAuliffe to tell him that not only had he bought the trademark to New Albion, but he also wanted to resurrect the beer as a limited release. After leading a nationwide tour reintroducing New Albion to craft-beer fans, Koch gave the proceeds from the beer and the rights to the New Albion name to Mr. McAuliffe. And in 2019, the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution, featured items related to New Albion in a permanent exhibit on craft brewing, including an original bottle of its ale and a photograph of Mr. McAuliffe. McCulla, who designed the exhibit, interviewed Mr. McAuliffe for an oral history of craft brewing in 2019. She asked him what he thought of his legacy. 'Damnedest thing I ever saw,' he said. 'It's really hard to believe that this happened.' This article originally appeared in
UPI
4 hours ago
- UPI
New memorial project brings Britain's bloodiest Korean War battle to life
SEOUL, July 25 (UPI) -- On the site of one of the Korean War's most ferocious battles, a pioneering hybrid online/offline tour was launched Friday to commemorate the British army's stand at the Battle of the Imjin River. "Stand in the Bootprints of Heroes," produced by the Seoul-based non-profit British Korean War Memorial Committee, features 11 QR-coded signs located at key sites around the battlefield in Paju, some 25 miles north of Seoul. The codes link to a series of 19 video episodes detailing the events of the three-day battle with narration, music, photographs, paintings and maps. The project's combination of real-world location markers with multimedia storytelling "brings history to life in a way that is immersive, respectful and accessible to all," Commodore Andy Lamb, Britain's defense attache in Seoul, said at a launch event held at the British Embassy in Seoul on Friday. "It is helping people connect with the past without altering the landscape itself," Lamb, who serves as the president of the BKWMC, said. The April 1951 battle came during the largest Chinese offensive of the Korean War and is remembered for the heroism of the British 29th Infantry Brigade, particularly the last stand of the Gloster Battalion. British and U.N. forces held off the Chinese 63rd Army in an effort to delay their advance toward Seoul. On April 25, the heavily outnumbered U.N. troops were forced to withdraw from their positions, but the Gloster Battalion was surrounded and fought valiantly until being overrun. The British held the key breakthrough point long enough to blunt the Chinese offensive and help U.N. forces maintain control of Seoul. With over 1,000 casualties, the Battle of the Imjin River remains Britain's bloodiest action since World War II. The 1950-53 Korean War left millions dead, including some 160,000 South Korean soldiers and more than 36,000 U.S. soldiers. Britain provided the second-largest contingent to the combined United Nations Command -- over 81,000 troops -- and saw 1,078 killed and 2,674 wounded. Despite the scope of the devastation, the Korean conflict has long been overshadowed in the West's historical memory, lost between World War II and the Vietnam War -- a situation the team behind the Imjin River project is hoping to help rectify. "It is widely recognized as the 'Forgotten War,' and this work tries to address that," Lamb told UPI. "We're trying to bridge together commemoration and education. As the number of veterans reduces and many of them come to the end of their lives, it's important that we find new ways to commemorate and inform." Younger Koreans also have much to learn about the history of the battles fought right in the backyard, said Lee Myung Hee, a Paju city official who attended the opening ceremony. Lee told UPI that the city is planning to promote the Imjin River project and is organizing a tour for students in October. "This project is a good opportunity for the younger generations, not only in Paju, but nationwide, to understand and remember what the veterans did during the Korean War," she said. "Standing in the Bootprints of Heroes" is the second project by the British Korean War Memorial Committee, which receives its funding from local business sponsors and private donations. The group installed a series of informative panels last year at Paju's Gloster Hill Memorial Park and is considering future expansions for the Imjin River site, including augmented-reality features and physical installations. A new project commemorating the 1951 Battle of Happy Valley in Goyang is also being discussed, organizers said. British Ambassador to South Korea Colin Crooks said in remarks at the launch event that the Imjin River tour is an innovative way to keep the stories of Korean War veterans alive. "One of the great privileges of being ambassador is helping to mark the British contribution to the Korean War," Crooks said. "As the number of living veterans declines, our duty to preserve their legacy becomes more urgent."
