D-Day was a major Factor in winning World War II
How does our Artist relate to World War II?
Wait no more: Edith P. Namias’ Artwork is now for Sale!! (See Below for Details)
June 6th is a day that has gone down in our history books. It is a day we should make sure gets passed down to each generation, as it is the day that led the Allies (Britain, France, and the US) to defeat the Nazis. Why was this war so significant? Everyone has learned, in some capacity, how horrible the Nazis were to many people all over different countries, as they went after their main priority – to capture and eliminate the Jewish people. Their goal was not just to end this race but to demean them, to torture them, and to basically complete Genocide on their race. We are not going to go into the horrors of what the Nazi army had done to millions of the Jewish people….. we are not historians, and we are not here to delve into those horrendous events.
Instead, our goal is to discuss how Meteorologists were consistently used to help the Allies win this war.
- D-Day, June 6, 1944 ~ General Eisenhower had been planning the invasion on Normandy Beach for months. He was going to send in a first wave of soldiers/sailors to take over this area then immediately send in reinforcements. One huge factor that had both Eisenhower, as well as the Nazis, stumped was ~ What was the weather going to be like on that day?
Eisenhower was sending his troops in by ships and landing craft, also known as “Higgens Boats”, so good weather was imperative in his plans. He could not have the ocean take out his men before they had the chance to invade the beach. General Eisenhower’s weather experts were telling him that a storm was on the horizon. He had to have utter faith in them, since right before June 5th, his original D-Day date, the skies were blue with not a gray cloud in sight. Across the seas the Nazis were being told the same thing…a Storm was coming. This led them to believe that Eisenhower would not be storming Normandy Beach just yet.
BUT ~ the meteorologist team worked effortlessly to determine the best day for the invasion. They came to the decision that on June 6th the weather would let up enough for Eisenhower to get his troops in safely. If they went on this day then the reinforcements, who were also coming in by landing crafts, would have success in getting there to back up the first wave of troops. The meteorologists had also mentioned that putting this day off any later would not bring in the same success as the 6th. Why? Because the storm would pick back up and even if the first wave of soldiers/sailors could safely get to Normandy Beach the reinforcements could not.
The Nazis weather forecasting experts were slightly behind on their information, leading them to believe Eisenhower would not storm the beach on those days and giving the Allies the success they achieved. This one very deadly battle swayed the entire war, leading the Allies, ultimately, into a Win over the Nazis. A win that may not have happened had it not been for the many weather experts who did their jobs superbly.
- One man, Mr. Jerome Namias, was the Chief of the Extended Forecast Division of the U.S. Weather Bureau. He held this role from 1941 to 1971. While studying at MIT, Mr. Namias was pulled out by the military who recognized the need for this remarkable meteorologist. They had him stationed in Northern Africa to help the Allies, by predicting weather patterns for many different areas. One of his main roles was to predict weather patterns for the pilots; he estimated the likely course of incendiary balloons of Japan; he also provided certain aspects of the meteorology for bombing raids. His role had him predicting the weather and the best course for the damaged ships to take into a safe port for restorations. Mr. Namias’ work in the military and outside of it led him to achieve many great accomplishments!
Mr. Namias was a great man, especially in his field. Added to his roles mentioned above, Mr. Namias was known for creating the Five Day Weather Forecast. He helped develop the system of Passenger Flight Weather Forecasting. He researched the interaction between ocean and atmosphere, plus he was involved in research of the El Niño phenomenon and its relevance to the world climate. His career ended with his last post at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA, which is now a large part of UC San Diego, CA. Mr. Namias lived from 1910 to 1997.
Facts: Why did we not mention the names of any of the other experts in meteorology whose help was significant to the defeat of the Axes Alliance (Italy, German, and Japan)? Well, we are always saying that the Art world is vast and always growing, Mr. Namias gives us one example. He has ties to the Art World. Given the fact this man has had a truly interesting life, we can say the same for his wife, Edith P. Namias. While Mr. Namias was out saving the world, or predicting and offering insights into our countries own weather, his wife was busy being a truly talented and amazing Artist. We have had the pleasure of appraising many ‘pieces’ of art, all created by Edith P. Namias, which include all different types of mediums. As far as we can tell, she did not do it to make tons of money, nor for fame, but purely for the love of it.
** The first part of Edith P. Namias’ Artwork is now for Sale. You can personally go view these items and decide if her work should be added to your personal Art Collection. See below for location and dates of the Exhibition.
Studio C Gallery is owned my Mr. Carlos Castrejón, who is also a framer and talented artist himself. He has shown his work in some prestigious locations, one even in Barcelona Spain. The best part about his location is it is local to all you San Diegans, as was our artist!! Studio C Gallery is located at 120 E Main Street El Cajon, CA 92020. Their contact number is 619-447- 3535. If you are interested in Viewing or, possibly, Purchasing any of this artwork you can go view this collection at Studio C: Monday to Wednesday and Saturday from 10am to 3pm. And on Thursday and Friday from noon to 9pm.
References:
- Who Were The D-Day Weather Forecasters? by The History Chap ~ https://youtu.be/ON8om9B1sOA?si=6jhWTYWL4hapfO9W
This is a great video sharing the importance of the Meteorologists, specifically for the win on D-Day. If you are a history buff you will find this as fascinating as we did.
- National Academy of Sciences ~ “Jerome Namias 1910 ~ 1996” A Biographical Memoir by John O. Roads https://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/namias-jerome.pdf
This is a great read about this great man. It outlines his role in WWII, as well as shares other factors that made him the great man that he was. It also mentioned our artist’s name.
- Jerome Namias ~ Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Namias
This is a wikipedia article on Jerome Namias. We used some of the details from it about his life.