President Johnson (13 May 1965) VOA

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13 May 1965. LBJ speech on Vietnam to a group of American editorial cartoonists. Shortwave coverage from the Voice of America (VOA)

Excerpt from President Johnson's speech. Recorded off-air from the Voice of America (VOA) by Ian Holder, Brisbane, Australia
Transcript of speech-
http://millercenter.org/president/lbjohnson/speeches/speech-5934
 

Nelson Mandela Arrives in Libya

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22 Oct. 1997
Shortwave from Libya as recorded in Australia.

Ian Holder: "I recorded this shortwave broadcast from Libya in 1997. I have no knowledge of the source of the broadcast but it may be from the main Libyan radio service. I found this while twisting the dial. There was no general commentary, just the voice of South African President Nelson Mandela on his arrival in Libya followed by music".

Recorded off-air by Ian Holder, Australia.

Other broadcasts on this topic-

https://archive.org/details/MandelaArrivesLibya22Oct.1997

Gemini Space Mission (1965)

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Excerpt of shortwave broadcast [recorded off air in Australia] of the
Gemini mission into space in March 1965 with Guss Grissom and John Young.

Voice of America (VOA) announcer [in Special English]* describes landing and replays recording of takeoff.

* Special English- VOA has programs in “slow” English for people
learning the language.

Information-
http://www.astrobio.net/image-of-the-day/march-23-1965-launch-of-first-crewed-gemini-flight/

Hong Kong Handover (1997)

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HONG KONG HANDOVER JUNE 1997

Daily coverage of the Hong Kong Handover between Britain and China in 1997.

The broadcasts are mainly from China Radio International (CRI) which was previously Radio Peking/Beijing.

Other broadcasts are from the BBC World Service and Radio Singapore International.

Intros and off-air recording by Ian Holder, Australia.

Information on the Hong Kong Handover-

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0630.html

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1983718/everything-you-need-know-about-hong-kongs-return

 

 

 

VOA- Mars Landing (20 July, 1976)

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Voice of America shortwave coverage of the landing of
an unmanned spacecraft (Viking 1) on Mars.

Recorded off-air by Ian Holder, Brisbane, Australia.

Viking 1 (1976) information-

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/viking-1/

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/sunset-at-the-viking-lander-1-site

Other broadcasts-

https://archive.org/details/@i_holder

 

The Czech Crisis (1968)

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occupation-Czechoslovakia-300x336[1][1].jpg

Friday 23 August,1968. Radio Moscow transmission to Australia
31 metres 13-30 hrs GMT. Announcer, Boris Novikov (1925- 1997)

Twenty nine years after the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938,
followed by WW2, the Warsaw Pact countries led by Russia invaded the country.
This shortwave broadcast was recorded off-air in Australia by Ian Holder and gives the Russian view of the event. Less than two years after the fall of Communist Russia in 1991, the Republic of Czechoslovakia ceased to exit.
It was divided into two countries- Czech and Slovakia.

Other broadcasts on this topic-

https://archive.org/details/TheCzechCrisis1968

Russian Invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968) information-

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/soviet-invasion-czechoslavkia

 

Space Shuttle (1st Launch) 1981

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columbia_gallery_spacecraft15_med6373[1][1].jpg

SPACE SHUTTLE (1st launch) (Ap12,1981)
Inaugural launch of the Space Shuttle.
Broadcast via shortwave on the
American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS).
Relay of the American Broadcasting Company radio commentary.
Sunday April 12, 1981. 11-50 GMT. 9700 khz.

Recorded off-air by Ian Holder, Brisbane, Australia

Space Shuttle information-

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2488.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle

Other broadcasts-

https://archive.org/details/@i_holder

 

Death of Mao Zedong (1976)

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Radio Peking- Death of Mao Zedong (9 September 1976)

The death of Chairman Mao at 82 in 1976 brought to an end
the Cultural Revolution which cost millions of lives.

Monitored from Radio Peking shortwave service.
Commentary in English and funeral music.

Recording made off-air by Ian Holder, Brisbane, Australia

Other broadcasts-

https://archive.org/details/@i_holder

Cessation of North Vietnam Bombing (1968)

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On October 31st, 1968 US President Lyndon Johnson announced that all bombing of North Vietnam would cease as a result of North Vietnam coming to the conference table. In his televised speech President Johnson said, "I have now ordered that all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam cease as of 8 a.m., Washington time, Friday morning. I have reached this decision on the basis of the developments in the Paris talks. And I have reached it in the belief that this action can lead to progress toward a peaceful settlement of the Vietnamese war.

BBC shortwave broadcast recorded off-air
by Ian Holder, Brisbane, Australia.

BBC World Service: August 31, 1997 (Death of Diana, Princess of Wales)

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Diana's coffin is borne through the streets of London on its way to Westminster Abbey (Source: Wikimedia - Public Domain Image)

Diana's coffin is borne through the streets of London on its way to Westminster Abbey (Source: Wikimedia - Public Domain Image)

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Scott Nelson, for sharing the following recording and notes:

BBC World Service on shortwave announcing the death of Princess Diana.  Special news programming and commentary on this sad event. 
  • Starting time: 0400 
  • Frequency: 5.975 
  • Receiver: Radio Shack DX-392 with built-in whip.
  • Location was Pierre, South Dakota