June 29, 1940 – The Uncomfortable Closeness
With so much of the Far East at war in 1940, the question was; “is the U.S. next?”
With a comparative dearth of news for this June 29th in 1940, the subject of speculation over the situation in the Far East became the main topic of conversation for NBC Commentator/newscaster H.V. Kaltenborn.
Since the Japanese were spreading out over all areas of the region; China, Hong-Kong, Indo-China, and points South, Kaltenborn wondered when it was going to be our turn, as the Military government in Tokyo had been saber rattling towards the U.S. for some months with thinly veiled threats over our aid to Britain in the form of Lend-Lease. And since France had fallen, it’s interests in the colony of Indo-China were of critical importance to the Japanese war effort in the area of raw materials.
So this broadcast, the last of the Afternoon News over NBC “until events warranted it”, features H.V. Kaltenborn discussing the situation and offering his analysis. It’s interesting to listen to Kaltenborn cite our “line of defense” in Hawaii and The Philippines as being sure-thing deterrents. A little over a year later, that would be put to the test.
Here is The NBC Afternoon News with H.V. Kaltenborn, for June 19, 1940.
