Tag: Military history

In December of 1941, the United States was thrust into the fighting of World War II by way of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and by the summer of 1942, the U.S. Army Air Force (the Air Force wouldn’t be established for another five years) set about hopping a variety of aircraft from […]

So, technically the offensive weapons systems have all been stripped from this British Army anti-tank Alvis Striker, but that won’t stop you from making on hell of an entrance at your high school reunion for less than the price of a new pickup. The Alvis FV102 Striker saw use in the British military as an […]

On or around June 14, 1947, something fell from the skies above New Mexico, strewing wreckage and debris across land belonging to a foreman named William Brazel. He gathered up the strange metallic materials (just what exactly he gathered varies depending on who you believe) and eventually made his way to a nearby town some […]

June 27, 1950 — Only two days before, thousands of North Korean soldiers had crossed into the South Korea, under the cover of artillery barrages over the 38th parallel. They were already on their way to Seoul by the 27th, and the world was watching closely. On this day in history, U.S. President Harry Truman […]

This January I made a big change: I left sunny (and financially ruined) Greece to live in the U.K., specifically, the city of Cambridge. The city is beautiful and very different to what I’ve been use to. Nature surrounds you here: ten minutes outside of the city center and you see foxes and deer. In the […]

May 5, 1961 — Former WWII combat veteran and Naval pilot Alan Shepard was strapped tight into his seat as he blasted upward out of the earth’s atmosphere. The Mercury-Redstone 3 rocket barreled through the sky, subjecting Shepard to 6.3g forces as he entered space and the engines shut off. The “tower,” or the main body of […]

April 25, 1915 — Allied forces in WWI land on six beaches on the Gallipoli peninsula of the Ottoman Empire, including troops from France, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. There, Turkish forces lay in wait and set up a fierce resistance to the landing parties. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) were located […]

Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft alongside Bill Gates. He has been estimated to have been the 46th richest person in the world, and has a knack for underwater exploration. He owns the RV Petrel, a research vessel outfitted with deep sea equipment that is more capable than ever — it is the only ship equipped to explore depths […]

Lt. Jim Downing, the second oldest living survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that propelled the United States into World War II, passed away at the age of 104 last week. Downing, who joined the Navy at 19 years old and devoted 24 years to the branch, was serving aboard the USS West […]

Today marks the 76th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that would propel the United States into the largest conflict ever seen on the face of the planet.  On this date in 1941, a surprise attack carried out by the Japanese on American naval assets in Hawaii led to the death of over 2,000 American […]

The history of things, whatever they are, has always been fascinating to me for one reason or another. The same goes for etymology or the history of words. But, for today I’m going to attempt to write a few articles on something that’s popped up. Berets–their respective colors, whose heritage those colors are tied to […]

As we discussed in Part 3, the domestic home front became a battle for ideas and slogans as the Roosevelt administration pushed the nation to get ready for war. FDR established the Office of Coordinator of Information (COI), based on the directions of Colonel William Donovan. Col Donovan spent considerable time with British officials, and […]