Bastogne, Belgium was surrounded on Dec. 22, 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans had made it a priority to be taken. At 11:30 AM, a group of four Germans approached an American outpost under a white flag. One of them was Maj. Wagner from Gen. von Luttwitz’s Read more
The 333rd Field Artillery Battalion was an African-American (“colored”) unit that landed at Utah Beach in July, 1944. It was commanded by Lt. Col. Harmon Kelsey. Kelsey was not happy with the assignment and was sure the unit would never see combat because it was incompetent blacks. He was Read more
Otto Skorzeny had a scar on his cheek from dueling while in college. He had participated in 15 duels. In 1931, he became a Nazi. After the conquest of Poland, he enlisted as a 31-year-old private in Hitler’s bodyguard. He rose to be a Lt. Col. in the SS Read more
Robert Stirm passed away on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2025. Here is the sad story behind the famous photo of him returning from being a POW in Vietnam. “Burst of Joy” won the Pulitzer Prize for photography because it depicted the joy of a reunion and the promise that Read more
On a day in either 1863 or 1864, a college student was standing in a crowd on a train platform in Jersey City, New Jersey trying to get a ticket. He described what happened: “…The platform was about the height of the car Read more
One of the most lauded animals in WWII was a homing pigeon named G.I. Joe. He was part of the US Army Pigeon Service. During WWI. commanding general John Pershing had green lit a program to provide message-carrying pigeons to deliver messages during trench warfare. The birds were helpful Read more
The Knights Templar were formed in 1118. At a time that European Christians believed that killing for Christ was a ticket to Heaven. This was the era of the Crusades when European knights attempted to conquer the Holy Land. One day, someone thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if we Read more
Please excuse me adding a bit of my opinion in this otherwise factual account. In 1890, the Lakota Sioux had hit rock bottom just 14 years after their famous victory at the Little Big Horn. The buffalo had been almost killed into extinction and miners and settlers were encroaching Read more
One of the most famous soldiers of WWII was born on Sept. 23, 1920. Charles Kelly grew up in Pittsburgh, Pa. in abject poverty. He was one of nine kids who lived in a decrepit house that had no running water, electricity, or toilet. He and his siblings slept Read more
After George Washington forced the British to evacuate Boston, he marched his army to New York City to defend that city from an expected British attack. Washington had 20,000 men whose main characteristic was indiscipline. It should have been obvious that these soldiers could not stand up to the Read more