May 1

Osama Bin Laden, Adolf Hitler both declared dead on May 1
BY Helen Kennedy
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Originally Published:Monday, May 2nd 2011, 1:54 AM
Updated: Monday, May 2nd 2011, 10:48 AM


Osama Bin Laden and Adolf Hitler share a towering reputation for evil - and also an anniversary.

Both were declared dead on May 1.

Late on May 1, 1945 - about as late as President Obama's TV announcement Sunday - German radio announced that Hitler had fallen "fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany."

He had actually committed suicide the day before.

In some cultures May 1 is the official beginning of summer. In many places, May Day is also Labor Day, a celebration of the working man.

May 1 is also the anniversary of President Bush's ill-conceived 2003 Mission Accomplished speech, prematurely announcing an end to combat in Iraq.

Obama, who might have used the words in his TV address, did not.