History Detectives

Mysterious airplane engine parts lead Eduardo Pagan to a forbidden Hawaiian island where he finds a heroic story often overshadowed by the raid on Pearl Harbor. Then Elyse Luray tries to match metal shavings to the right cannon. What role did these shavings play in the early hours of the civil war? An early 20th century saddle puts Wes Cowan on the trail of Yakima Cunutt. How did this rodeo champion change Hollywood movie-making?

What do the violent images on this pamphlet mean? Wes Cowan decodes the message and the strategy behind a U.S. World War II propaganda leaflet. Then, Gwen Wright traces a cherished family heirloom, a watercolor, to the world of Tiffany stained glass. How did Tiffany open a window of opportunity for early 20th century women? A touching eulogy stitches together the lives of two Americans fought in the Spanish Civil War. Almost a century later, Tukufu Zuberi unites a nephew and a son of those soldiers.

Wes Cowan investigates a raid on the federal armory in Harpers Ferry. Eduardo Pagan wonders why U.S. troops were in Siberia during World War I and Elyse Luray sizes up a Ronald McDonald costume.

HISTORY DETECTIVES investigate a Civil War soldier's letter, fabric from an aircraft that could be linked to Charles Lindbergh and Igor Sikorsky, and a 1950s comic book Negro Romance.