[first] Fox Hole Radio

The maker of the first foxhole radio is unknown, but it was almost certainly invented by a soldier stationed at the Anzio beachhead during the stalemate of February – May 1944. One of the first newspaper articles about a foxhole radio ran in the New York Times April 29, 1944. That radio was built by Private Eldon Phelps of Enid, Oklahoma, who later claimed to have invented the design. It was fairly crude, a razor blade stuck into a piece of wood acted as the crystal, and the end of the antenna wire served as a cat whisker. He managed to pick up broadcasts from Rome and Naples.