The LuLac Edition #5, 658, May 17th, 2026

 

 

 

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 SWAG

 

Companies are trying to cash in on the popularity of the long awaited Devil 2. Here are a few.

STARBUCKS

As part of its secret menu, Starbucks is releasing the following four beverages inspired by characters from “The Devil Wears Prada”:

Miranda’s Signature Order: This no-foam, extra shot, extra hot Caffè Latte has nonfat milk in it.

Andy’s Cappuccino:  This oatmilk Cappuccino is made with caramel and cinnamon.

Nigel’s Go-to Doppio: This Doppio Espresso Con Panna features mocha sauce.

Emily’s Fave Iced Chai: This Iced Chai Latte has almond milk and sugar-free caramel.

The limited-edition drinks will be available at participating Starbucks locations around the world. Customers in China will also be able to shop limited-edition cups, phone, charms, bag accessories and more.

 

M&Ms 

 M&M’s has created an All Cerulean pack to pay homage to the famous blue color that caused quite a stir in the first film.

Starting May 1, M&M’s fans can visit MMS.com/cerulean-blue to score the limited-edition pack of cerulean blue M&M’s for free while supplies last.

GREY GOOSE

Grey Goose has curated a list of five fun cocktails inspired by the film. Options include The Devil’s Roast, The Scarlet Step, The Cerulean Goose, That’s All Martini Cocktail and the Groundbreaking Spring Spritz.

Many theaters nationwide will also feature specialty

Grey Goose cocktails when the movie hits theaters.

SMARTWATER

Smartwater is also honoring cerulean blue with a limited-edition bottle that’s available while supplies last at select Target locations across the U.S.

Each bottle features a QR code customers can scan to access a digital challenge called “smartwater cerulean.”

Participants will complete a two-minute challenge and identify cerulean from multiple blue swatches. Miranda Priestly guides and judges participants along the way. Anyone who passes the challenge will be entered for the chance to win prizes, including movie tickets, a collectible Runway magazine and the smartwater cerulean bottle.

 

COCA-COLA

In addition to releasing limited-edition slim Diet Coke cans for the film’s debut, Coca-Cola filmed a special ad set in the film’s Runway offices. In the ad, magazine staffers pause for a Diet Coke break. One of them also debuts The Canny Pack, an accessory that holds a single can of Diet Coke.

Fans of the brand can enter for the chance to win a Canny Pack online.

 

 

The LuLac Edition #5, 657, May 16th, 2026

 

THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO

TRUE ADOPTED SON OF LIBERTY

Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure  Kosciuszko  was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and Belarus.[4][5][6][7][8] He fought in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's struggles against Russia and Prussia, and on the U.S. side in the American Revolutionary War. As Supreme Commander of the Polish National Armed Forces, he led the 1794 Kościuszko Uprising.

Kościuszko was born in February 1746, in a manor house   and at  age 20, he graduated from the Corps of Cadets in Warsaw, Poland. After the start of the War of the Bar Confederation in 1768, Kościuszko moved to France in 1769 to study. He returned to the Commonwealth in 1774, two years after the First Partition, and was a tutor in Józef Sylwester Sosnowski's household. In 1776, Kościuszko moved to North America, where he took part in the American Revolutionary War as a colonel in the Continental Army. An accomplished military architect, he designed and oversaw the construction of state-of-the-art fortifications, including those at West Point, New York. In 1783, in recognition of his services, the Continental Congress promoted him to brigadier general.

On learning of the American Revolution, Kościuszko, a man of revolutionary aspirations, sympathetic to the American cause and an advocate of human rights, sailed for the Americas in June 1776 along with other foreign officers, likely with the help of a French supporter of the American revolutionaries, Pierre Beaumarchais.  After finally arriving in Philadelphia (after a Caribbean shipwreck) he sought out Benjamin Franklin at his print shop; offering to take engineering subject exams (in lieu of any letters of recommendation), he received a high mark on a geometry exam and Franklin's recommendation. On 30 August 1776, Kościuszko submitted an application to the Second Continental Congress at the Pennsylvania State House, and was assigned to the Continental Army the next day.

Kościuszko's first task was building fortifications at Fort Billingsport in Paulsboro, New Jersey, to protect the banks of the Delaware River and prevent a possible British advance up the river to Philadelphia.[39] He initially served as a volunteer in the private employ of Benjamin Franklin, but on 18 October 1776, Congress commissioned him a colonel of engineers in the Continental Army.

In spring 1777, Kościuszko was attached to the Northern Army under Major General Horatio Gates, arriving at the Canada–U.S. border in May 1777. Subsequently, posted to Fort Ticonderoga, he reviewed the defenses of what had ben one of the most formidable fortresses in North America. His surveys prompted him to strongly recommend the construction of a battery on Sugar Loaf, a high point overlooking the fort. His prudent recommendation, with which his fellow engineers concurred, was turned down by the garrison commander, Brigadier General Arthur St. Clair.

This proved a tactical blunder: when a British army under Major General John Burgoyne arrived in July 1777, Burgoyne did exactly what Kościuszko had warned of, and had his engineers place artillery on the hill.  With the British in complete control of the high ground, the Americans realized their situation was hopeless and abandoned the fortress with hardly a shot fired in the siege of Ticonderoga. The British advance force nipped hard at the heels of the outnumbered and exhausted Continentals as they fled south. Major General Philip Schuyler, desperate to put distance between his men and their pursuers, ordered Kościuszko to delay the enemy.  Kościuszko designed an engineer's solution: his men felled trees, dammed streams, and destroyed bridges and causeways.Encumbered by their huge supply train, the British began to bog down, giving the Americans the time needed to safely withdraw across the Hudson River.

Gates tapped Kościuszko to survey the country between the opposing armies, choose the most defensible position, and fortify it. Finding just such a spot near Saratoga, overlooking the Hudson at Bemis Heights, Kościuszko laid out a robust array of defenses, nearly impregnable. His judgment and meticulous attention to detail frustrated the British attacks during the Battle of Saratoga,  and Gates accepted the surrender of Burgoyne's force there on 16 October 1777. The dwindling British army had been dealt a sound defeat, turning the tide to American advantage.[Kościuszko's work at Saratoga received great praise from Gates, who later told his friend, Dr. Benjamin Rush: "The great tacticians of the campaign were hills and forests, which a young Polish engineer was skillful enough to select for my encampment."

At some point in 1777, Kościuszko composed a polonaise and scored it for the harpsichord. Named for him, and with lyrics by Rajnold Suchodolski, it later became popular with Polish patriots during the November 30.th uprising. In March 1778, Kościuszko arrived at West Point, New York, and spent more than two years strengthening the fortifications and improving the stronghold's defenses. It was these defenses that the American General Benedict Arnold subsequently attempted to surrender to the British when he defected. Soon after Kościuszko finished fortifying West Point, in August 1780, General George Washington granted Kościuszko's request to transfer to combat duty with the Southern Army. Kościuszko's West Point fortifications were widely praised as innovative for the time. Kościuszko subsequently helped fortify the American bases in North Carolina, before taking part in several smaller operations in the final year of hostilities, harassing British foraging parties near Charleston, South Carolina. After the death of his friend, Colonel John Laurens, Kościuszko became engaged in these operations, taking over Laurens's intelligence network in the area. He commanded two cavalry squadrons and an infantry unit, and his last known battlefield command of the war occurred at James Island, South Carolina, on 14 November 1782. In what has been described as the Continental Army's final armed action of the war,  he was nearly killed as his small force was routed. A month later, he was among the Continental troops that reoccupied Charleston.  Having not been paid in his seven years of service, in late May 1783, Kościuszko decided to collect the salary owed to him.[62] That year, he was asked by Congress to supervise the fireworks during the 4 July celebrations at Princeton, New Jersey. On 13 October 1783, Congress promoted him to brigadier general, but he still had not received his back pay. Many other officers and soldiers were in the same situation. While waiting for his pay, unable to finance a voyage back to Europe, Kościuszko, like several others, lived on money borrowed from the Polish–Jewish banker Haym Solomon. Eventually, he received a certificate for 12,280 dollars, at 6%, to be paid on 1 January 1784 (equivalent to ~$323,000, paid as installments ~$19,400 a month in 2022), and the right to 500 acres (202.34 ha; 0.78 sq mi) of land, but only if he chose to settle in the United States.

For the winter of 1783–84, his former commanding officer, General Greene, invited Kościuszko to stay at his mansion. Returning to Poland in 1784, Kościuszko became a major general in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Army

. In 1794, he led the Kościuszko Uprising, a national revolt against Russian and Prussian control, aiming to defend Polish independence and promote social reforms

. The uprising ended in defeat at the Battle of Maciejowice, and Kościuszko was captured and imprisoned in St. Petersburg until released by Tsar Paul I

. He was forced to pledge not to return to Poland and eventually traveled to the United States.  Kosciuszko and Jefferson developed a deep mutual respect. Jefferson famously called him “as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known”, praising his dedication to liberty for all, not just the few or wealthy Monticello+1. Their correspondence spanned over two decades, covering politics, European affairs, and personal matters. Jefferson even sent Kosciuszko to France to help manage American interests, and the two shared a commitment to republican values.

Thaddeus (Tadeusz) Kosciuszko (1746–1817) was a Polish military engineer, revolutionary, and national hero whose life embodied the ideals of liberty and self-determination. Born in present-day Belarus, he studied at the Royal Military Academy in Warsaw and trained in artillery and engineering in France Monticello.

Kosciuszko arrived in Philadelphia in 1776 to join the American cause, shortly after the Declaration of Independence. The Continental Congress appointed him colonel of engineers, where he designed and built critical fortifications, including those that helped secure the American victory at Saratoga and later strengthened West Point on the Hudson River Monticello+1. His expertise in military engineering was vital to the Continental Army’s defensive capabilities

Kosciuszko and Jefferson developed a deep mutual respect. Jefferson famously called him “as pure a son of liberty as I have ever known”, praising his dedication to liberty for all, not just the few or wealthy Monticello+1. Their correspondence spanned over two decades, covering politics, European affairs, and personal matters. Jefferson even sent Kosciuszko to France to help manage American interests, and the two shared a commitment to republican values Abbeville Institute.

After the American Revolution, Kosciuszko returned to Poland, where he led resistance against Russian and Prussian forces. In 1794, he was badly wounded at the Battle of Maciejowice and imprisoned in St. Petersburg. In 1796, Czar Paul I granted him amnesty in exchange for his promise not to return to Poland. He arrived in Philadelphia in 1797, where he met Jefferson again Monticello.

Kosciuszko is remembered as a national hero in Poland, the United States, and Belarus for his military leadership, engineering genius, and unwavering defense of liberty. His story is emblematic of the transatlantic struggle for independence and the shared ideals of the American and Polish revolutions Monticello+1

. Kościuszko's first funeral was held on 19 October 1817, at a formerly Jesuit church in Solothurn. As news of his death spread, Masses and memorial services were held in partitioned Poland.[130] His embalmed body was deposited in a crypt of the Solothurn church. In 1818, Kościuszko's body was transferred to Kraków, arriving at St. Florian's Church on 11 April 1818. On 22 June 1818, or 23 June 1819 accounts vary), to the tolling of the Sigismund Bell and the firing of cannon, his body was placed in a crypt at Wawel Cathedral, a pantheon of Polish kings and national heroes.

Kościuszko's internal organs, which had been removed during embalming, were separately interred in a graveyard at Zuchwil, near Solothurn. Kościuszko's organs remain there to this day; a large memorial stone was erected in 1820, next to a Polish memorial chapel. 

However, his heart was not interred with the other organs but instead kept in an urn at the Polish Museum in Rapperswil, Switzerland. The heart, along with the rest of the Museum's holdings, were repatriated back to Warsaw in 1927, where the heart now reposes in a chapel at the Royal Castle. (Wikipedia, Jefferson Foundation)

The LuLac Edition #5, 656, May 14th, 2026

 

HEY MAGAs AND OTHER GUTLESS REPUBLICANS

YOU BOUGHT THIS LEMON AGAIN

HERE’S WHAT HE REALLY THINKS OF YOU

 TRUMP SAYS HE DOESN’T CARE “EVEN A LITTLE BIT” ABOUT PEOPLE’S FINANCES

President Trump could not care less about your financial 

struggles.

The man who pledged to fight for unseen Americans by lowering prices and ending endless wars isn’t doing either, and remained adamant that he’s still on the right path forward when asked about it on Tuesday.

“When you’re negotiating with Iran, Mr. President, to what extent are Americans’ financial situations motivating you to make a deal?” a reporter asked Trump before he left for China on Tuesday, alluding to the skyrocketing inflation caused by the fallout from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Lebanon.\

“Not even a little bit,” Trump said, shockingly out of touch even for him. “The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran is they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all. That’s the only thing that motivates me.”

“Did you say earlier that the only thing that matters to you when it comes to Iran is the nuclear weapon? You’re not considering the financial impact of this war on Americans?”

“The most important thing by far, including whether our stock market … goes up or down a little bit—the most important thing by far is Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump replied.

“What about the pressure on Americans in crisis right now? What they’re paying for food—”

“Every American understands.… They just had a poll, like 85 percent … they understand that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If Iran has a nuclear weapon the whole world would be in trouble. Because they happen to be crazy,” Trump said. “When it’s over, you’re gonna have a massive drop in the price of oil.… Oil is gonna drop, the stock market’s gonna go through the roof, and truly I think we’re in the golden age right now.”

Then after this word salad he lashed out at a reporter. Look MAGAs, devoted, casual, or those firmly ensconced in a cult, you are NORMALIZED this shit. I know a few of you aren’t stupid or brainwashed yet but to deny pain at the pump, deny logic in grocery stores, if you think this is the America you want……well you’re in the minority.

Anti MAGAs or those who saw this coming won’t say “I told you so”……………..because frankly you’re too stupid or dumb to admit it. The proverbial saying attributed to P.T. Barnum "there's a sucker born every day"  highlights human gullibility that even he couldn’t imagine.  (AP, LuLac)

 

FUCKING UP NATIONAL HEALTH

ROBERT  (NOT MY FUCKING) KENNEDY  (Photo: AP)

 

When the week began, several senior positions at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were already sitting empty.

There was no Senate-confirmed U.S. surgeon general. The head of the National Institutes of Health was doubling as the acting head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Food and Drug Administration lacked a permanent vaccine chief after that official was ousted for a second time in a year.

Then on Tuesday Dr. Marty Makary resigned as head of the FDA, leaving another major health agency with only an acting commissioner. Makary’s departure widens a leadership gap that has plagued HHS throughout Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure.

Across a vast and multilayered government, in which many leadership positions must be confirmed by a Senate that shares only a narrow partisan majority with the administration, it’s typical for some roles to remain unfilled or be occupied by interim leaders. But critics say the level of upheaval in the current HHS is unusual and the lack of scientific expertise among its leadership is concerning. Critics say the problem has only been compounded by a raft of cuts and firings and by the broader disruption brought by Kennedy’s health policies.

If you recall, in October of ’25. hundreds of federal employees working on mental health services, disease outbreaks and disaster preparedness were among those hit by the Trump administration’s mass firings. In pique,  pressure was applied Democratic lawmakers to give in and end the nearly two-week-long government shutdown.

The government-wide reduction-in-force initiative that began Friday roiled the massive U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just six months after it went through an earlier round of cuts and as many staffers already were disconnected from work because of the shutdown.

HHS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.  Right now because of these cuts, American public health is diminished.(CDC, AP, LuLac)

 

 

'PROUD CONFEDERATE': MIKE JOHNSON FACES BACKLASH FOR CLAIMING SUPREME COURT BLOCKED RACISM

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faced backlash after claiming the U.S. Supreme Court would strike down the parts of the Voting Rights Act that protected districts with Black U.S. representatives. The only difference between Rogers and a segregationist southerner of the 50s and 60s is the quality of their suits. He is a spineless little weasel.

 

HEY MAGAs…………….HE’S GETTING RICH, HOW  ‘BOUT YOU?

 

The portfolio of the 47th President has evolved far beyond the traditional asset classes of commercial real estate and hospitality that defined the Trump Organization.

Drawing upon Office of Government Ethics financial disclosures, Securities and Exchange Commission filings, blockchain transaction data from Arkham Intelligence and Chainalysis, and corporate announcements, this analysis reconstructs the flow of capital from the global economy into the President’s private accounts.

In 2025 alone, Trump had 2 billion dollars into his private accounts. WARNING: You need to have some comfortable shoes on and a long drink to get through this.

https://govfacts.org/accountability-ethics/the-2-billion-year-how-the-presidency-contributed-to-trump-profits-in-2025/

 

THE GOLDEN TELEPHONE

TURNS THE COLOR OF SHIT  

Don Junior and Eric Trump started selling these golden telephones to fans , Trump ass kissers and mentally unbalanced collectors. More than a half million people paid $100 each for a gold smartphone featuring an American flag that Trump Mobile promised would be "Made in the USA." The problem is, one year later, they don't seem to have been made at all.

President Trump's sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump announced the Trump Mobile flagship T1 phone (1), retailing at $499, on June 16, 2025 — to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign launch — as an alternative to Apple and Samsung. Since then, an estimated 590,000 buyers paid a collective $59 million in deposits to secure one of the phones.

Not a single confirmed customer has received the phone, which was initially promised for late summer 2025 but later pushed back to November, then December and then mid-March this year. By April, Trump Mobile redesigned its website, removing the release date altogether.

NBC News (3), which placed a $100 deposit in August 2025 to track the story, reportedly called Trump Mobile's support line five times between September and November 2025 because the company "provided no proactive updates after the order."

In October, a representative told the outlet that the phone would ship on November 13. When it didn't arrive, the outlet called again and was told it would ship in December. Another representative assured the outlet that the T1 would ship "sometime in Q1 2026," blaming the delay on the federal government shutdown, which shouldn't have impacted private-sector companies.  (Business Insider, LuLac) 

SO, NO PHONE, NO REFUND…..JUST MORE MONEY FOR THE TRUMP FAMILY. The Apple doesn’t fall far from the rotten tree.

 

DAN MEUSER AND BILL GAUGHAN

A STARK CONTRAST

 

The other night WVIA  TV did a three-part series from Borys Krawczeniuk one of the members of the news team.  Julie Sidoni hosted the show along with Congressman Dan Meuser, Commissioner Bill Gaughan and Tracey Hubbard Rentas. I watched the show and there was a stark difference between what Dan Meuser said on Immigration and William Gaughan the Lackawanna County Commissioner. Meuser centered on crimes that took place via illegal immigrants and was armed with statistics. Gaughan on the other hand talked about the humanity of immigrants, people who came here to work and contribute. Gaughan pointed out that those people being hunted down by the likes of ICE are being dehumanized by the President. Gaughan said this has been going on now for over 10 years since Trump came down the escalator.

Not once did Meuser repudiate the cruelty, utter contempt shown to people who are human beings. I know, I know he’s in a rough position being saddled by a madman and you don’t become a State Revenue Secretary by being a dumbass. But let’s just say “no profile in courage he”,

Okay, my rants over, here’s the entire program in case you missed it and jusge for yourself.

 

 

 TRUMP'S CHINA TRIP IN UNDER 75 WORDS 

Trump's trip to China is desperation.  

Trump will tr to get shiny "deals" that will be good for 1 news cycle. 

Trump is a crooked whore who will give away the country.  

China will give him the biggest atta bioys and inflate his ego. 

China will patiently wait as we deploy our military hardware. 

China will not help with Iran.  That's like FDR asking 'dolph to help with the Japanese. 

2036: THE FUTURE: China wait, Trump dies, we are no longer the Super Power we once were. China wins and we are alone.  Thanks to MAGA voters, cult members and dummies. 

  

BRESNAHAN JOINS KINGSTON BOROUGH POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR RIDE-ALONG DURING NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

In recognition of National Police Week, U.S. Representative Rob Bresnahan, Jr. (PA-08) joined officers from the Kingston Borough Police Department for a ride-along on Monday afternoon to observe day-to-day policing. The ride-along followed the recent announcement of a $1.14 million Community Project Funding (CPF) investment for the Kingston Borough Police Department. 

“Being out on patrol and seeing the Kingston Borough officers’ day-to-day operations firsthand gives you a real appreciation for the demands placed on our law enforcement,” said Rep. Bresnahan. “It reinforced the essential need to have modern equipment and technology to do their jobs safely and effectively.”

 

 

GOVERNOR SHAPIRO, SECRETARY REDDING CALL FOR EXPEDITED FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR PENNSYLVANIA GROWERS IMPACTED BY DEVASTATING CROP FREEZE

Governor Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding visit Cherry Hill Orchards in Lancaster County to meet with local growers who experienced significant crop loss following a devastating freeze in April.

Governor Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding visited Cherry Hill Orchards in Lancaster County to meet with local growers impacted by the devastating freeze in April and call on the federal government to quickly deploy more support for Pennsylvania farmers. Earlier today, the Governor a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins requesting a Secretarial Disaster Designation and urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expedite disaster assistance for Pennsylvania farmers affected by the April freeze, including faster damage assessments that will help growers begin filing crop insurance claims.

As the Shapiro Administration continues to assess widespread crop damage and push for federal assistance for Pennsylvania growers, Governor Shapiro is calling on the federal government for their support in helping growers recover financially and maintain long-term market stability. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is exploring additional flexibility with appropriated state funds to respond to this situation and working with Penn State Extension to collect early industry assessments.

"My Administration has prioritized Pennsylvania agriculture from day one because we know farming powers our economy, feeds our communities, and sustains our rural communities. Right now, Pennsylvania farmers are facing catastrophic losses through no fault of their own, and they deserve a federal government that moves with urgency," said Governor Shapiro. "I've called on USDA to cut through delays, expedite the disaster declaration, and ensure farmers receive the assistance and crop insurance support they need to recover and keep their operations moving forward. We will continue to have the backs of our farmers and make sure we explore every option at our disposal to help them through this crisis."

 

MEDIA MATTERS

WVIA NEWS 

WALN

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

You'll hear the program Sunday at 6 on 94.3 The Talker; 6:30 on 1400 am The Mothership and 7:30 am on 105 The River.

 

THE LAURIE CADDEN SHOW

Tune in every Saturday morning at 9am for The Laurie Cadden Show on WILK FM 103.1 and AM 980 and 910. Laurie’s program has been a northeastern Pennsylvania mainstay every Saturday. Tune in to hear her insights and take on local issues as well as entertaining and informative interviews.

 

BOBBY V’S DOO WOP SUNDAY NIGHT SOCK HOP

 

BEATLE EDD’S FAB FOUR MUSIC HOUR

Tune in every week to the Home of Rock and Roll for a jam packed, unpredictable hour starting at 9am Sundays. Host Edd Raineri gives you facts and great music from the immortal Fab Four on ROCK 107.

 

THE LULAC TIME MACHINE

NIXON MAKES HISTORY

BY PROMOTING TWO GENERALS

May 1970

 

Two women were nominated to become the first female generals in the history of the U.S. armed forces. U.S. Army Colonel Elizabeth P. Hoisington was the commander of the Women's Army Corps and Colonel Anna Mae Hays, chief of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps were nominated by President Nixon to be promoted to the rank of brigadier general.

On May 15, 1970, President Nixon announced the first women selected for promotion to brigadier general: Anna Mae Hays, Chief of the Army Nurse Corps, and Hoisington. The two women were promoted on June 11.  Hays and Hoisington were promoted within minutes of each other. Because they were promoted in alphabetical order, Hays was the first woman in the United States Armed Forces to wear the insignia of a brigadier general. The Hoisington and Hays promotions resulted in positive public relations for the army, including appearances on the Dick Cavett, David Frost and Today shows. Hoisington, who was noted for her quick smile and ebullient personality, also appeared as a mystery guest on the popular game show What's My Line?

 

ANNA MAY HAYES

TH E PRIDE OF LEHIGH VALLEY

Anna Mae Violet Hays (née McCabe;  was an American military officer who served as the 13th chief of the United States Army Nurse Corps. She was the first woman in the United States Armed Forces to be promoted to a general officer rank; in 1970, she was promoted to brigadier general. Hays paved the way for equal treatment of women, countered occupational sexism, and made a number of recommendations which were accepted into military policy.

In May 1942, she joined the Army Nurse Corps, and was sent to India in January 1943 during World War II. She served with the 20th Field Hospital in Ledo in the northeastern region of Assam.

The hospital was stationed at the entrance to Ledo Road, which cut through jungles into Burma.[he living and working conditions were primitive; buildings were made of bamboo, and dysentery, leeches and snakes were common, particularly during monsoon seasons. Just over two years later, in April 1945, she was promoted to first lieutenant.

After serving two and a half years in India, Hays was on leave in the United States when World War II ended. Remaining with the Corps, she served as an operating room nurse and later as a head nurse at Tilton General Hospital at Fort Dix, New Jersey; as obstetrics supervisor at Valley Forge General Hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and as a head nurse at Fort Myer in Virginia.

In August 1950,  she was deployed to Inchon to serve in the Korean War. She was posted to the 4th Field Hospital  for seven months, and later described the conditions in the hospital there as worse than those in India in World War II, due to the cold temperatures in the operating room and a lack of supplies.

During the next fourteen months, she and 31 other nurses treated more than 25,000 patients.   As she had done in India, Hays spent some of her off-duty time in Korea assisting chaplains by playing a field pump organ for church services, some of which were held on the front lines. Following her tour in Korea, Hays was transferred to Tokyo Army Hospital in April 1951 and served a year there. A year later, she was transferred to Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, as an obstetric and pediatric director.

After graduating from the Nursing Service Administration Course at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, she was appointed head nurse at the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C.[ emergency room, where she served as the head nurse of the Radioisotope Clinic.[17][10] During this time she was selected as one of three private nurses for President Dwight D. Eisenhower after he became ill with ileitis; on her retirement she said that this experience was one of the most memorable of her nursing career.

In October 1960, she became the chief nurse of the 11th Evacuation Hospital in Pusan. From 1963 to 1966, she was assistant chief of the Army Nurse Corps. In July 1967, she was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and on September 1 of the same year she was appointed chief of the Corps, a position she held until her retirement on August 31, 1971.

During the Vietnam War, Hays travelled to Vietnam three times to monitor American nurses stationed there. She also managed the development of new training programs and an increase in the number of nurses serving overseas.

On May 15, 1970, President Richard Nixon appointed Hays to the rank of brigadier general and on June 11, 1970, she was promoted at a ceremony, officiated by the Army Chief of Staff, General William C. Westmoreland, and the Secretary of the Army, Stanley R. Resor. Following Hays' promotion, Elizabeth P. Hoisington, Director of the Women's Army Corps, was also promoted to the rank of brigadier general Hays said in her address to the gathering, that the general stars "reflect[ed] the dedicated, selfless, and often heroic efforts of Army nurses throughout the world since 1901 in time of peace and war.

After her appointment she asked to be dropped off at the army officers' club front entrance, countering the prevailing occupational sexism. Although entitled to enter and use the club before, female officers were expected to come through the side entrance.

Hays made a number of recommendations regarding the treatment of women, which were accepted into military policy, including not automatically discharging who became pregnant and not determining appointments to the Army Nurse Corps Reserve based on the age of a nurse's dependents. In addition, regulations were changed to allow spouses of female service members to claim similar privileges to spouses of male service members.

In addition to the military honors Hays received, her service was also recognized in her native Lehigh Valley; in 2015, Lehigh and Northampton counties named the Coplay-Northampton Bridge in her honor. In 2012, she was named to Lehigh County's Hall of Fame. In November 2017, she was presented with a Flag of Valor quilt during a Veterans Day ceremony at Knollwood.

In June 2020, Allentown School District in Allentown, Pennsylvania named one of Allentown's 15 elementary schools in her honor. The elementary school, Brigadier General Anna Mae Hays Elementary School. Completed in August 2020, Brigadier General Anna Mae Hays Elementary School is located at 1227 West Gordon Street in Allentow

 

ELIZABETH HOSINGTON

THE KID FROM KANSAS

During World War II the United States Army expanded opportunities for women beyond nursing by creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). Hoisington enlisted in the WAACs in November 1942 and completed her basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. At the time, women were required to serve in units before they could apply to Officer Candidate School (OCS), so Private Hoisington went to a WAAC aircraft early warning unit in Bangor, Maine.  The company commander recognized her talents and made her the first sergeant soon after her arrival. She later said that she then sought out the most grizzled male first sergeant she could find and asked him to teach her what she needed to know. She said that he did such a good job that when she reached OCS she never had to open a book.

Hoisington was commissioned in May 1943 as a WAAC third officer. When the auxiliary became the Women's Army Corps (WAC) a month later, its officers changed to standard army ranks, and Hoisington became a second lieutenant. She deployed to Europe, serving in France after D-Day. Hoisington continued her career after World War II and advanced through the ranks to colonel as she commanded WAC units in Japan, Germany, and France and served in staff assignments in San Francisco and at the Pentagon.

Hoisington was appointed the seventh director of the Women's Army Corps on August 1, 1965, and served from 1966 to 1971. As director during the Vietnam War she visited WACs serving in Saigon and Long Binh in September, 1967. According to some sources, Hoisington discouraged sending army women to Vietnam because she believed the controversy would deter progress in expanding the overall role of women in the army.

Col. Elizabeth P. Hoisington visits with members of the WAC Detachment, Vietnam, in the unit's courtyard at Long Binh, October 1967.

Col. Hoisington meets cadre members of the WAC Detachment, Vietnam, October 1967. Left to right: Sp4c. Rhynell M. Stoabs, Sgt. 1st Cl. Betty J. Benson, Col. Hoisington, Capt. Peggy E. Ready, SSgt. Edith L. Efferson, and Pfc. Patricia C. Pewitt.

Upon arriving in Vietnam to inspect WAC units and personnel, Col. Hoisington and her escort, Lt. Col. Leta M. Frank, WAC Staff Adviser, U.S. Army, Pacific, are welcomed by Gen. Creighton W. Abrams, Deputy Commander, MACV, 21 September 1967.

The first two military women to achieve general officer rank, Brig. Gen. Anna Mae Hays, Chief of the Army Nurse Corps (left), and Brig. Gen. Elizabeth P. Hoisington, Director, WAC (right), with Mamie Eisenhower on their promotion day, 11 June 1970.

And the  number one song in LuLac land this week was “Vehicle” by The Ides Of March.