Wartime Blossom-Viewing
Suspension of the Cherry Blossom Festival during World War II did not deter this crowd from appreciating the Tidal Basin trees in March of 1945. A number of the visitors shown here are in military dress including the woman in the center front of the image who wears a U.S. Marine Corps uniform. Days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, four trees were cut down in suspected retaliation. In hopes of avoiding further damage, the trees were called “Oriental” cherries during the war. This photograph is part of a group produced by the U.S. National Capital Parks and acquired by the Library in 1950.
Suspension of the Cherry Blossom Festival during World War II did not deter this crowd from appreciating the Tidal Basin trees in March of 1945. A number of the visitors shown here are in military dress including the woman in the center front of the image who wears a U.S. Marine Corps uniform. Days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, four trees were cut down in suspected retaliation. In hopes of avoiding further damage, the trees were called “Oriental” cherries during the war. This photograph is part of a group produced by the U.S. National Capital Parks and acquired by the Library in 1950.