Snippet #24: World War ll canteen

Snippet #24: "World War Two Canteen: The National Press Club was transformed into an Allied military canteen on Saturdays during World War Two. Huge throngs of servicemen soaked up free beer and hot dogs, served by senators, Cabinet members and Pentagon brass, along with the occasional movie star. One Saturday the entire Supreme Court turned out. Vice President-elect Harry Truman was famously photographed in 1945 playing the canteen's upright piano with starlet Lauren Bacall perched above him. It happened at the National Press Club--where news is made in the nation's capital."

This snippet is one of many put together by the late Art Wiese, who served as Club president in 1979. He was responsible for planning much of the reconstruction of the Club during its renovation in the early 1980s. In his later years, he put together a series of snippets on the Club's history. In honor of his passing last year, the Wire is running one of them each week while they last.