World War II

Have you ever wondered if you could pass the Selection and Assessment course standards for our World War II predecessors in the British Special Operations Executive? The SOE was the forerunner to the United States’ Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and it was that the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Army Special Forces was […]

Happy 4th of July to all of our readers out there. In honor of our Independence Day and the fact the weather is calling for a continuation of the heat wave that is consuming the Northeast with temps in the mid-to-high 90s with the heat index of well over 100 degrees, I plan on being […]

Because of security classifications that didn’t expire until 10 years ago, many members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) never were fully recognized for the work they did behind enemy lines during World War II. But for a Derry, NH man, that oversight has been fixed as he was finally recognized for serving in […]

“When the attack on Russia starts, the world will hold its breath” Hitler In June of 1941,  Germany invaded the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. The Germans had the largest invasion force in history with about 4 million men in the attacking force. They attacked along a 2900 mile front, with about 600,000 vehicles and […]

The United States awesome industrial might was on full display during the summer of 1944. On June 6th, the U.S. along with British and French vessels attacked the French coast from bases in England with over 5000 vessels of all sizes. Less than two weeks later on the other side of the world, the United […]

On June 13, 1942, the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) was formed. The OSS was a wartime intelligence agency of the United States during World War II and a predecessor of the modern Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities […]

The war of words between the United States and China has been amped up even more when on Thursday a Pentagon official stated while the US will seek common ground with China on North Korea and other issues, they will continue to protect their interests. And the message was clear on what the United States […]

Adolf Eichmann was a member of the Nazi Party, the SS, and the SD during Hitler’s reign of terror during the 1930s and 1940s. He was an SS-Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust. He was tasked by SS-Obergruppenführer (Lieutenant General) Reinhard Heydrich with facilitating and managing the logistics involved […]

The Special Forces rite of passage is about to begin for the next class of SF candidates. The final training in Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) for prospective SF soldiers is the Unconventional Warfare (UW) exercise “Robin Sage”, which we went over in detail in an earlier post, that you can read here: The prospective […]

You only live twice: Once when you are born And once when you look death in the face I’ve always been a James Bond fan since as far back as my memory goes. I remember being enthralled by the derring-do of Bond since I sat quiet (for once) and was mesmerized by Goldfinger. After that, […]

The USS Arizona Memorial is one of the most visited places for visitors going to Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately, especially with the Memorial Day weekend in full swing, those visitors won’t be able to visit the battleship memorial for quite some time. Access to the USS Arizona memorial will remain closed for an unknown period of […]

Desmond Doss wasn’t the kind of man who would stand out of a crowd as a brave hero but sometimes looks can be deceiving. Doss was a quiet, unassuming conscientious objector who served as a combat medic in World War II. Twice awarded the Bronze Star for valor for risking his life to save wounded […]