146 years ago, Thomas Edison entered the offices of Scientific American with a strange machine. Turning a crank on his cylinder phonograph, he astonished those present with the recording, "Good morning. How do you do? How do you like the phonograph? " It wasn’t until very recently in human history that sounds even could be recorded, and the invention of recording devices and media caused a monumental shift for society.
By September of 1944, the Western Allies had broken out of the Normandy beachehead, and suddenly and quickly moved across northern France . By September 7th, the 90th division was stretched across the northern sector on Patton’s Third Army’s left, advancing slowly northeast. As they did so the German defenders made a risky attack in an effort to spoil the allied advance, cutting through Allied lines in a surprise action at the small town of Mairy-Mannville.