First Gentleman Mike Gregoire was working the door, and when not doing that, discussing the fine craftsmanship of the 1909 Mitchell Car parked out front. It was impressive, with wooden rims, leather straps on the hood, and I'm pretty sure, gas-fired headlamps. Another fine Wisconsin product.
I'm not sure how, but we got on the subject of transportation engineering, at which point Gregoire expressed amazement that people think the Interstate was an American innovation, when President Eisenhower clearly got the idea from the German autobahn, which the Germans were using to rapidly transport supplies to troops trying to stop Eisenhower.
Anyway, Gregoire then looked at me intently and said something like, "You like history? Look up Her Majestys Rohna. 1943. Thats all Ill say."
I did. The story is rather interesting indeed. The sinking of the H.M.T. Rohna was the largest single loss of American troops at sea, ever. The British ship was transporting some 2,000 American troops when German planes sank her with a very early version of the guided missile, called a glide bomb. The incident was shrouded in secrecy by the U.S. for at least 20 years.
