An interesting historical story.
The Great War ended on Nov. 11. It must have sucked to be the last American killed in the war. Especially since the death made no difference in the outcome. Germany was decisively defeated at this point and had agreed to a cease-fire called the Armistice. It was agreed Read more
Joseph Bonaparte was the older brother of Napoleon. Due to Napoleon’s nepotism, he became King of Naples (where he was popular) and later King of Spain (where he was not). He was dethroned and when his brother was defeated an shipped off to exile on the island of St. Read more
In 1964, the U.S. sent its first combat troops to South Vietnamese to prop up the non-communist government. No significant contact with the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army occurred until the following year. American forces were taking losses from surprise attacks, so payback was necessary. The idea was Read more
After the Japanese surrender, Gen. MacArthur ordered the arrest of numerous Japanese generals and politicians for war crimes. When G.I.s surrounded his house, Hideki Tojo shot himself in the chest. But he missed his heart. When the soldiers, with reporters, broke into the house, Tojo was lying on the Read more
George Patton was born on November 11, 1885. Almost like he planned on being born on the future Veterans Day. Or Armistice Day as it was known until 1954. Here is one of my favorite anecdotes about this remarkable man. Here is a conversation that Gen. Patton had when he Read more
Henry Wirz was one of the villains of the Civil War and one of only two men who were executed for war crimes after the war. Wirz was a Swiss immigrant at age 26. He settled in the South and when the war broke out he enlisted in the Read more
Milo of Croton was the strongest man in Ancient Greece. He got that way by carrying a newborn calf on his shoulders every day. As the calf grew into a fully grown cow, Milos gradually got stronger. To maintain his strength he consumed 20 pounds of meat, 20 pounds Read more
The most famous cartoonist of WWII was Bill Mauldin. He was born on October 29, 1921. He enlisted in the National Guard and three days later his division was federalized. The 45th Infantry Division served in Sicily and Italy. He was a cartoonist in the press corps. Later he Read more
The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886. Officially it is named “Liberty Enlightening the World”. The sculptor was Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. He modelled the face after his mother. Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel was the structural engineer. The crown has 25 windows and seven spikes, one for each of the seven Read more
Today is the anniversary of the birthday of John Heisman. Heisman was a great innovator in college football and has the trophy given to each year’s best player named after him. The sportsmanship trophy is not named after him. In October, 1916, the powerhouse Georgia Tech football team played Cumberland Read more