Category: Military History

I’ll be the first to admit that my appreciation of the arts hasn’t taken me far into the topography of the playhouse.  I’m an indy film, live music, dusty bookstore, and occasional art museum kind of guy. Last week I received a last minute call from my literary agent Margret McBride, who also resides in […]

Throughout the Second World War, the Resistance in occupied countries played an important role in keeping the Germans off balance and tying up forces vital to the war effort. Nary had a day gone by without a bridge or a train being blown up somewhere in occupied Europe. To combat the problem, German forces carried […]

During the early years of World War II, the United States Marine Corps Raider battalions became the first American elite units committed to battle the Axis. Though originally conceived as a counterpart to the British commandos, the Raiders proved to be much more, and like their English brethren, laid the groundwork for the future while […]

The Special Forces Sergeant pulled the small rectangular Claymore mine from its pouch. Though he couldn’t see the Soviet built truck, he smelled its fumes. The distinctive low rasp of its diesel engine spewed a heavy, acrid odor that hung under the dense jungle canopy for hundreds of yards. Unwinding the detonation wire, he sensed […]

June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, […]

Green Beret Sergeant First Class Jerry Shriver knew the luck that always seemed to accompany him departed the moment the Huey left earth…

Part 5 of 5   Team of Teams or Tribe of Tribes?   As with the British SAS, there is a huge degree of mutual respect shared between the operators of Delta Force and their Naval counterparts at SEAL Team Six. However, their rivalry is even more pronounced, as they are in direct competition not […]

Before long, George was talking about going to Africa to take up the fight against communism once more. He flew to Angola in 1975 and attempted to join FNLA but was turned down. The other anti-communist movement, UNITA, also turned him down, perhaps because they suspected him of being a CIA informant. In late 1975 […]

MACV-SOG had been a joint venture between the Special Forces and the CIA from the very beginning. It was a concept well ahead of its time that fused the intelligence gathering aspects of the CIA with the technical and tactical proficiency of professional soldiers who knew how to work on the sharp end. Special Forces […]

The men dropped to one knee on the side of a dirty mountain road, their breath frosting into tiny, pulsing clouds as they focused a stare toward the objective. From here the twin peaks belied a peaceful scene of deep green slopes and gentle curving crests that melded with countless others in the region. Any […]

In May of 1969 Recon Team Illinois was infiltrated into Cambodia to conduct a Bomb Damage Assessment (BDA) on the latest airstrike as a part of Henry Kissinger’s so-called “secret” bombing campaign. This was the third bombing of Operation Menu, this time targeting the North Vietnamese Army’s 27th Infantry Regiment’s base camp. On the ground […]

Part 4 of 5   “JSOC is Awesome”   In 2004, Delta Force took part in both the First and Second Battles of Fallujah. While its activities in the later November assault remain almost completely unreported, tales of heroism highlight the Unit’s role in the earlier April operation. Master Sgt. Don Hollenbaugh and Staff Sgt. […]