History Detectives

Season 8, Episode 6

Korean War Letter: The daughter of a Korean War Veteran (MIA) looks for the man her father mentioned in a letter. The letter says this man saved her father's life. Diana: Could this be the first true, widely published lesbian autobiography? Lookout Mt. Painting: This painting depicts the Civil War battle of Lookout Mountain. What's the story behind the prisoner who painted the scene?

Korean War Letter

18m 14s

Our contributor needs help solving a mystery in a letter she found from the father she never met. Ron Bradley is among the soldiers declared Missing In Action during the Korean War. The letter tells of a firefight that nearly cost her father his life. Bradley names another soldier who saved his life by jumping on a live grenade. Eduardo Pagan helps find closure in the story of this mystery hero.

Previews + Extras

  • Lookout Mountain Painting: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Lookout Mountain Painting

    S8 E6 - 14m 27s

    Our contributor inherited a watercolor he believes was painted by a soldier, John F. Gisch, during the Civil War. He wants to know more about the artist, John Gisch, and about the painting itself. Wes Cowan learns more about the crucial battle over a strategic vantage point, Lookout Mountain and visits the Rock Island Arsenal Museum to find out more about the lives of soldiers imprisoned there.

  • Diana: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Diana

    S8 E6 - 17m 52s

    Our contributor has a book published in 1939 titled Diana: A Strange Autobiography, which tells a sympathetic story of how one woman discovers that she is a lesbian. Experts call this book groundbreaking as one of the first works of gay literature with a happy ending. History Detectives sets out to find the author. Who is Diana Fredericks? And is this story true?

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