Throughout the history of the Panama Canal, the U.S. military was a critical and consistent part of the picture. The Marines were the first to arrive, but eventually almost all branches of the armed forces were represented there. Places like Albrook, Amador, Coco Solo, Clayton, Gulick, Howard, Kobbe, Quarry Heights, Rodman, and Sherman were household names to civilian and military alike.

As U.S. Army South (USARSOUTH), the Army service component command of U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), goes through another historic change, we wanted to highlight it’s long standing connections to the Canal Zone and Panama, and some of the incredible history about the U.S military in Panama that you can find in our collection.

A brief(ish) history:

The Panama Canal Guard was the first to keep the waterway safe, serving during the construction and early years of operation (1907-1917). In 1917, the Panama Canal Department of the U.S. Army was established as a separate geographic command. It evolved into the U.S. Caribbean Defense Command during WWII, a “prototype unified command, to defend the Panama Canal and surrounding area.”

Left: Panama Canal Department Regulations that belonged to Major Walter F. Adams of the 14th Infantry. 1932. Gift of Brad Wilde. II.2020.1.20.

After the war, U.S. Caribbean Command became the theater command, and in 1963 it was renamed U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM). In 1986, United States Army South (USARSOUTH) was activated as the Army component of USSOUTHCOM. USARSOUTH moved its headquarters from Panama in 1999, eventually settling at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.

Right: United States Army Caribbean Service album of Captain Paul G. Krotts. circa 1949. Gift of Brad Wilde. II.2019.52.14.

U.S Army South and U.S. Army North are currently in the process of merging into a new command based out of Fort Bragg in North Carolina, the Western Hemisphere Command. I was unable to find a rendering of any insignia for the new command. Hopefully, it will still feature the Spanish galleon of the Panama years.

The printed publications, radio broadcasts, and televised programs that were produced by USSOUTHCOM and its predecessor organizations were indispensable focal points of news and community life at the Canal. Southern Command News, later the Tropic Times, was the flagship in print.

We are in the process of digitizing hundreds of issues of these newspapers!

Right now only the 1980s and 1990s are online, but in the coming months the 1960s-1970s will be available, so check back regularly. A huge thank you to Kboy Richie for helping with these publications!

Before USSOUTHCOM and Southern Command News, in the 1950s U.S. Caribbean Command printed the newspaper The Buccaneer (Caribbean Army News). These will be digitized soon too!

Left: Spillway, September 24, 1993

On November 11, 1999 Tropic Times printed its last issue. They celebrated the newspaper’s fantastic run with a commemorative t-shirt. Did you buy one?

Other military publications are being digitized as well, including P.C.A News, K-PASA, Panama Bulldozer, Engineer Bulletin, Commanders Digest, Plane Talk, Stock Item, Section News. A number of issues are from the Army and Navy in the WWII era. The March 1943 issue of the Panama Bulldozer touches on the1943 change from “left hand” to “right hand” driving that was covered in detail in our blog post Leaving Left-Handed Driving Behind.

In addition to newspapers, USCOUTHCOM was in television too. Most of you are probably familiar with the TV network SCN (Southern Command Network), but did you know about its predecessor CFN (Caribbean Forces Network)? Recognize anyone in the photograph?

You can find yourself, family, or friends online in some of our Armed Forces Telephone Directories from the later 20th century. Our entire collection of telephone books starting in the 1940s is currently being digitized and will be online soon too.

For a more detailed history on telephone service at the Panama Canal see our Hidden Treasures in the Telephone Book blog post.

Military intelligence (the insignia on the right) also had a long history at the Canal. The 470th Military Intelligence Brigade was activated at Quarry Heights, Canal Zone in 1944. You can learn more in our digital collection about the roles they played during significant events like World War II and Operation Just Cause. Martha Duncan, a U.S. intelligence officer with deep roots in Panama and the Canal Zone, played a vital role in the eventual apprehension of General Noriega. We had the privilege of sitting down with her for an oral history interview that is now part of our collection. She talked extensively about her childhood in Curundu and Chorrera, playing sports, the importance of family and community, and her career with the U.S. military. Her interview is in the final stages of going online so check back on our oral history page soon.

In the meantime, you can hear part of her story in a panel discussion we co-hosted on Operation Just Cause in 2019 that also included Joe Wood (Director of the Office of Executive Administration, Panama Canal Commission), Dick Morgan (General Services Director, Panama Canal Commission), Kurt Muse (Business owner), and Bob Rupp (Reserve Intelligence Officer). If that is not enough you can find her in Episode 2 of the Netflix show Spy Ops and the podcast True Spies, Episode 99, Catching Noriega.

The history of U.S. military in Panama and the Canal Zone is alive and well here at the Panama Canal Museum Collection, preserved alongside that of their civilian colleagues, and neighbors.

Left: Colonel Richard Barrere and Colonel Frank Mendez cut the 20th Anniversary cake for the U.S. Army Tropic Test Center. 1982. II.2022.63.1. Gift of Marcia Barrere.

What can you tell us about these military patches, pins, pendants, and print blocks from the collection? Did you serve or work in any of these areas? If so, share a story with us.

Stay tuned for more updates on the news treasures to discover online thanks to our digitization campaign A big thank you to everyone who has supported us.

This post is part of our fall series featuring the current digitization campaign. With the support of the community PCMC has hired someone to work exclusively on scanning treasures in our collection. Over the next few months we will be sharing highlights of what we have accomplished so far. We hope you enjoy the posts and explore all the new things in the digital collection.

Newspapers were one of our top priorities when we were selecting the first batch of materials to be scanned in our digitization campaign. We are thrilled to report that hundreds of new issues have come online dating from 1851-1999. We are just getting started so new publications and issues will continue to go online in our digital collection. You can look at individual titles here.

Left: A man reads a newspaper in Cathedral Plaza, Panama City. 1900-1920. 2014.40.15. Gift of Dusty Graham and Ann Lafferty.

Although our main focus is the American Era of the Canal (1904-1999), we do have materials that cover early transits across the isthmus and the Panama Railroad. In 2016 we received an incredible bound volume that contained 134 issues of historic newspapers dating from 1851-1854: The Panama Herald (92 issues), The Panama Star (21 issues), The Aspinwall Courier (13 issues), The Steamer Courier (1 issue), The Weekly Echo (4 issues), and The Daily Echo (3 issues). Follow the links to read the newspapers online.

Many of these issues are rare and difficult to access. The Aspinwall Courier in particular has very few issues known in existence. Aspinwall was an early name for the city of Colón, built to be the Atlantic Terminus of the Panama Railroad and named for one of the railroad’s co-founders, William Henry Aspinwall. Visit our online exhibit about the railroad to learn more.

But if rare treasures are not your thing, perhaps the history of The Panama Herald will peak your interest.

Around 1850, in the days before the Panama Railroad, when transits of the isthmus were still made by boat and mule, John Judson Ames arrived on the Atlantic side. He was on his way to California carrying dreams of starting California’s first newspaper and a 1,200 pound printing press. To call his crossing calamitous would be an understatement.

Ames rented a flat-bottom barge to carry the press to the town of Cruces on the Chagres River. At some point in the journey the distribution of weight shifted causing the barge to tip. Much to everyone’s horror, they watched the press slide into the water and immediately sink to the bottom. After “a day or two” of extraordinary effort, a team of men eventually drug the press onto the shore and put it back on the barge.

They continued slowly to Cruces where the over-land portion of the crossing began. Ames rented the two largest mules that he could find, put a mattress across their backs to hold the press, and made his way to Panama City.

He arrived after three weeks of travel, sick with fever, and too late for the passage he had booked to San Diego. The next ship was not scheduled to come for three months.

To pass the time during his forced sojourn he decided to set up his printing press and start The Panama Herald. When the time came for him to leave, he sold the newspaper (minus the press) and within a short time it merged with a competitor, The Panama Star – thus the Star & Herald newspaper was born!

That Star & Herald was a standard news source in Panama from 1854 until the late 20th century. It is still published today as La Estrella de Panamá, the name of the Spanish language section created early in the run of The Panama Star.

Ames went on to found the San Diego Herald newspaper and included the account shown here of his trip across Panama in the first issue.

Right: San Diego Herald, Vol. 1, No. 1, May 29, 1851. California Digital Newspaper Collection.

In a fantastic twist of historical fate the actual press that sank in the Chagres River is still around!

It is currently safe and dry in The Henry Ford Greenfield Village’s Printing Office and Tin Shop.

The Star & Herald occupied a beautiful building in Panama City’s Casco Viejo, near the famous Golden Altar in the Church of San José (Saint Joseph). The building was recently renovated into an apartment building if anyone is in the market for real estate with a storied past.

Stay tuned for more information about other new additions to our online collection. Numerous school newspapers and newsletters, the Tropic Times/Southern Command News, U.S military publications from World War II, photo albums, and more are all waiting in the queue. They will be text searchable, so if you are looking for a specific event or person just type in some keywords and enjoy what comes up.

This post is part of our fall series featuring the current digitization campaign. With the support of the community PCMC has hired someone to work exclusively on scanning treasures in our collection. Over the next few months we will be sharing highlights of what we have accomplished so far. We hope you enjoy the posts and explore all the new things in the digital collection.