According to the World War II Database website, on this day (April 27th) in 1942, the USS Yorktown departed the tiny island of Tonga for the Coral Sea. A week and a half later, on May 8th, the USS Yorktown was struck by a Japanese bomb, killing and severely wounding 66 crew members below decks. Thought to be lost, the USS Yorktown crippled its way back to Pearl Harbor for repairs. After only three days in dry dock, on May 29th, the 1,400 dock workers assigned to repair the USS Yorktown watched her set sail for Midway Atoll. During the Battle of Midway, the USS Yorktown was attacked by Japanese torpedos, lost power, and listed to her side. On June 7th, the USS Yorktown finally sank. 141 crew members were lost.
Unknown author – U.S. Navy photo 80-G-13065
What’s impressive in the USS Yorktown’s story is the dexterity and moxie of the American workers who were able to get this warship, and many others, up and floating again. In USS Yorktown’s case…only 3 days! Given the circumstances of WWII and the mindset of the average American worker, this was the norm. In 1942, shipyards dotted on the U.S. coasts churned out escort ships within a 6 weeks average. By 1944, around 260 warplanes were rolling off the assembly lines in American aircraft factories. Talk about pluck! I’d hate to guess the turn-around time on a government-contracted project today. Fortunately, I won’t digress into any rants.
The USS Yorktown’s timeline reminds me of the countless men and women who persevered and rallied together at a time when life was very uncertain. People everywhere forgo-ed their personal needs and went without luxuries like sugar, gas, and meat for the national greater good. We whine today when the internet doesn’t connect immediately or if a certain brand of something is discontinued. Sheesh! But I can’t think of a better place where this “Greatest Generation” is celebrated than at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The hubby and I are fortunate to have visited the National WWII Museum a couple of times. Each time, something new catches our attention like an overlooked artifact or unread historical tidbit. What always humbles and amazes us is the wide-spread, world-wide affect of this unforgettable event.
The first item to greet you at the Louisiana Memorial Pavillion is an immense C-47 proudly displaying its D-Day invasion stripes. According to one of the docents, this plane was purchased on E-Bay and donated to the museum. It was fully-assembled outside of the building, and brought inside through enormous glass windows (to the left of the picture). After purchasing your admission ticket, you’re “whisked” away on a departing train to see where your tour of duty might take you. Before doing so, an absolute MUST is seeing the 4-D “Beyond All Boundaries” movie! I won’t give anything away, but it’s phenomenal!
In the Campaigns of Courage building, housing the “Road to Tokyo” and “Road to Berlin” permanent exhibits, it’s easy to forget you’re in a museum. The decor, lighting, and sound effects truly give the effect of being in Tarawa on the Gilbert Islands, Leyte Gulf in the Philippine Sea, or the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium.
And of course, scattered throughout the amazing life-like exhibits are the priceless artifacts!
For aircraft fanatics like us, the U.S. Freedom Pavillion: The Boeing Center is really impressive! In three stories, you’ll see the iconic WWII planes like the Douglas SBD Dauntless, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-25 Mitchell, a Grumman TBF Avenger, and the P-51 Mustang. Wow!
A piece of graffiti which is synonymous with WWII is Kilroy. Kilroy (AKA Smoe, Clem, Flywheel, Private Snoops, and The Jeep) has mixed origins. According to LiveScience, the long-nosed Kilroy figure came after the saying “Kilroy was Here.” Kilroy was actually James J. Kilroy, a shipyard rivet inspector from Quincy, MA. Mr. Kilroy was paid by the number of rivets he checked and marked with chalk on each shift. To avoid having his chalk marks erased by competing inspectors, Mr. Kilroy began writing “Kilroy was here.” GI’s noticed this saying in obscure locations on out-going ships and treated it like a good-luck symbol. As if having one’s ship marked by Kilroy would guard the crew from the oncoming enemy. Troops began to draw Kilroy in obscure locations across the globe, giving ensuing allies a sort of 1940’s “Where’s Waldo?” Hitler, on the other hand, was a little freaked out about this mysterious, voyeuring GI. We won’t get into his occult issues.
On one of our visits to the National WWII Museum, the weather was balmy, muggy and downright miserable. Fortunately, it rained. We were lucky in a couple of ways: 1) the humidity dropped for a few minutes; and 2) we found amazing Bloody Mary drinks in BB’s Stage Door Canteen. The exact name of the particular Bloody Mary (on the left) eludes me, but it was something substantial to say the least! Ham, hard-boiled egg, baguette, and assorted brined veggies. A meal in a glass! Ever since, Bloody Marys are synonymous with the National World War II Museum for us.
In an earlier post, I wrote about Bloody Mary Bread using the Roll and Go Master Mix. This bread recipe is good, but I couldn’t leave well-enough alone. Half of my brain started thinking about how most folks won’t, don’t or can’t have 20 cups of roll mix sitting around. The other half thought the recipe needed some tweaking, upgrading, foo-fooing. So, wha-la…
Bloody Mary Bread 2.0. A tangy, slightly spicy, olive-studded, tomato-based sandwich loaf. It’s base recipe is a white sandwich bread, twisted with Bloody Mary Mix or tomato juice, green olives, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and celery salt…the basic elements of a tasty, classic Bloody Mary.
FYI. If you’re a Bloody Mary connoisseur, IMHO ZingZang is one of the best store-bought mixes on the market. It has the right blend of spice and savory, without being over-powering hot or blah-bland.
When making Bloody Mary Bread, it’s important to mix the chopped olives, sun-dried tomatoes and spices together well before adding the flour. This helps ensure your bread has even bites of tastiness. The bread takes longer to rise and won’t necessarily lift to “doubled” status. Expect to wait about 90 minutes for a puffy looking first rise. No worries though. The bread will rise nicely as a loaf on the second rise.
We found this version of Bloody Mary Bread is yummy with butter fresh-out-of-the-oven. It’s delightful toasted and smeared with avocado for a breakfast avocado toast. But it’s scrumptious as a fancy grilled cheese! Just top a savory slice with Gouda cheese, layered with Pimento Cheese, and another round of American cheese. Put a second slice of Bloody Mary Bread on it, and grill to gooey goodness! Now the question is…with or without a Bloody Mary cocktail?!
Bloody Mary Bread
A tangy, slightly spicy, olive-studded, tomato-based sandwich loaf featuring the basic elements of a classic Bloody Mary cocktail. Eat hot out of the oven with butter, toasted for breakfast Avocado Toast, or sandwiched with assorted sliced cheese for a fancy grilled cheese!
- Prep Time: About 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 45 to 55 Minutes
- Total Time: About 3-1/2 Hours
- Yield: 1 Loaf (16 Slices) 1x
Ingredients
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp. active dry yeast
3/4 cup Bloody Mary Mix (like ZingZang) or tomato juice
1–1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1–1/2 tsp. salt (table, kosher or sea-salt)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. celery seed
2 tbsp. Tabasco Sauce
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp. lemon zest
1–1/2 cups sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 cup green olives, drained and chopped
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
In the bowl of a standing mixer or a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup lukewarm water with yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes or until foamy. Add Bloody Mary Mix (or tomato juice), garlic powder, salt, olive oil, celery seed, Tabasco Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, lemon zest, sun-dried tomatoes, and green olives. Blend well. Add nonfat dry milk and 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Add flour 1 cup at a time until dough is smooth. If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook to knead dough for about 5 minutes longer. If not, turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic.
Place dough into a lightly greased bowl. Turn to coat top. Cover with a slightly damp towel or sprayed-plastic wrap and place in a warm location to rise. Let dough rise for 60 to 90 minutes or until puffy. It won’t necessarily rise to “double” status.
Gently push dough down. Let rest for 10 minutes. Form dough into a log and place into a greased 9-X 5-inch loaf pan. Cover again with slightly damp towel or loosely placed sprayed-plastic wrap. Let dough rise for another 60-90 minutes. Dough should rise 1 to 1-1/2 inches above the loaf pan rim. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F as dough is rising.
Bake dough for 45 to 55 minutes, or until internal temperature of bread is 190 to 200 degrees F and bread is golden brown. **Tent the bread with an aluminum foil sheet if it is browning too much. Remove bread from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Store at room temperature in plastic wrap or aluminum foil for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 151
- Sugar: 2.7 g
- Sodium: 72 mg
- Fat: 2.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.1 g
- Fiber: 1.2 g
- Protein: 5.1 g
- Cholesterol: 1 mg
IMNPB
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