The bomber continues to fly high after 100 years

In February Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James revealed the first concept image of the futuristic B-21 long range bomber, which will be built by Northrop Grumman. Previously known as the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B), it will be the U.S. military’s first bomber of the 21st century. It will be able to launch from […]

The Silver Stars for the Navy SEALs who Rescued Jessica Lynch

The Navy awarded Silver Star medals in secret to two SEALs for their roles in the controversial rescue of Army Pvt. Jessica Lynch in Iraq in 2003, according to newly released documents. The tone of the citations differs from the majority of the more than 100 awards for secret valor that the Navy awarded to […]

A century on: Why Arabs resent Sykes-Picot

The borders of the Middle East were drawn during World War I by a Briton, Mark Sykes, and a Frenchman, Francois Picot. The two diplomats’ pencils divided the map of one of the most volatile regions in the world into states that cut through ethnic and religious communities. Later dubbed the Sykes-Picot treaty, the secret […]

Oldest American WWII vet celebrates 110th birthday with a cigar

Over the last few months, Richard Overton has had to give up a few things. First, he gave up driving the Ford pickup he had owned for years. Then, after a bad bout with pneumonia in November, he eased up on drinking his beloved whiskey — which, along with cigars, he calls his secret to […]

Special Report: V-E Day Victory in Europe – 71st Anniversary

V-E Day Marked End of Long Road for World War II Troops When President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin simultaneously announced that Nazi Germany had surrendered on May 8, 1945, the joy Americans felt was tempered by where they were. The war that began with Germany […]

Secret atomic role of WWII-era aircraft carrier revealed

A team of underwater archaeologists has pieced together information from declassified government documents and a shipwrecked World War II-era naval vessel to understand the secret role played by one of the most historic U.S. aircraft carriers: the USS Independence. The Independence (CVL 22) was one of 90 vessels assigned to Operation Crossroads — the atomic […]

Secret Writing: CIA’s Oldest Classified Documents

Do you want to read the oldest classified documents in our collection? Learn how to make invisible ink? See the only classified documents still in existence from the first World War? Then you’re in luck. Five years ago, the CIA declassified the US Government’s six oldest classified documents, dating from 1917 and 1918. These documents, […]