Military personnel on the beach during the Army-Navy Maneuvers that took place off the coast of Southern California at the end of 1946. The goal of the war games was to practice two maneuvers: Operation Mountain Goat, an amphibious landing designed to dislodge "enemy" troops, and Operation Oilskin, a landing to cut off "enemy" communications. The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps aircrafts participated in the exercise.
At left, ambulance driver Charles W. Clendening appears to either punch in or punch out of work at the Los Angeles County General Hospital. He wears a white uniform and cap. He stands in profile, facing right, and operates a punch clock that sits on a counter. Behind and to the right of him, L. C. Laurie, chief ambulance driver, wears a suit as he speaks on the telephone.
Commander Richard E. Byrd stands on the deck of the Norwegian ship, C. A. Larsen, and speaks on the telephone. He stands, off-center to the left, and faces right. In one hand he holds the telephone's microphone and hook. With the other hand, he holds the speaker up to his ear. A few unidentified men stand around him. One man stands in partial view along the left edge; he faces right. Two more men stand to the right of Commander Byrd. One man stands facing slightly towards the left. The second man stands behind him. A ship's cabin stretches across the background.
Mr. Steuart holds the transmitter of the telephone to his face and the receiver to his ear while Mr. Caldwell wraps an arm around the man's shoulder while also holding a newspaper.
Southern California Telephone Company vice-president and general manager N. R. Powley sits at the head of a table with an old-fashioned "candlestick" telephone. He is accompanied by nine other seated men, some of whom are wearing headphones. Photograph was taken on the occasion of a 10-minute phone call between Powley and H. E. Shreve, assistant to the vice-president of the American Telegraph Company, in his office in London. At that time, the call set a world record for long distance transmission of a human voice.
Men listen in to a phone call from President Warren G. Harding to his sister, marking the opening of the Valencia Orange Show. His sister is Mrs. E. E. Remsberg, who is visible at the left edge of the photograph. Other men listen in to the call. The map of the United States features a black line that most likely represents the path of the telephone wires that connected Washington D. C. to Anaheim.
This photograph appears with the article, “‘Little People’ in New Role: HOTEL TURNS MIDGETS Biltmore Seeking Solution of Page Problem by Employing Them,” Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 1935: A3.