Did you ever wonder what happened to all those Nazi helmets? After WWII, the German military, which numbered close to 20 million men, was roundly defeated and disbanded. A principal concern became what to do with the millions of tons of military equipment that was no longer needed or wanted. Much of it was simply destroyed, and tons of weapons […]
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Every year, local papers carry sad post-Fourth of July stories about folks injuring themselves with fireworks, despite the pervasive warnings and instructions that circulate in the days and weeks before. Far less common but far more devastating are the occasional tragedies that occur when vintage explosive ordnance is mishandled. A few years ago, a California school teacher found a 40MM […]
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Directed by Bryan Singer, this 2008 extravaganza is based on actual events that took place in Germany during the Second World War. It pays tribute to Lt. Col. Claus von Stauffenberg and his involvement in the July 20, 1944, attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Portraying Stauffenberg is Tom Cruise, a Golden Globe winner, four-time Academy Award nominee and one of […]
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Ask anybody who has ever been in the military, and they will tell you wearing a uniform is serious business. Everything must be exact to regulations and that uniformity must be across the board. There is no individuality when it comes to wearing the uniform of one’s branch of service. Woe be it to the Marine who does not have […]
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One of the top adventure movies to come out of Hollywood, this 1963 film was directed by Academy Award Nominee John Sturges. The film was based on the 1950 book by Paul Brickhill, which details a plan to break out 250 Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp. The book is based on Brickhill’s real-life experiences as an […]
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This 1950 docudrama stars four-time Academy Award nominee Montgomery Clift and veteran character actor Paul Douglas as U.S. Airmen participating in the Berlin Airlift. To consolidate their control over the Occupied City of Berlin, the Russians closed off all land access to the city in 1948. With no access to food, fuel or other necessities, the city was on the […]
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One of the most popular military TV comedies to air during the Vietnam War was “Hogan’s Heroes.” The show ran from 1965 to 1971 and is still seen today, with the “heroes” of the show forever remaining POWs in the world of reruns. The show centers on a group of well-fed, well-clothed and well-groomed Allied soldiers with the ability to […]
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During the 1960s and early 1970s, television’s evening news brought the Vietnam War home to America, in real time and in living color. While Vietnam was proving to be the country’s most unpopular war, a strange phenomenon was occurring. With Americans fighting and dying overseas, military-themed TV shows were a hit with audiences back home. Some of the more popular […]
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The practice is as old as aviation itself: the personalization of aircraft by painting a name or unique design on an aircraft’s fuselage. Since these depictions often appeared on the front of the aircraft, they became known as “nose art,” and to a certain extent, the practice continues to this day. The origin seems to center around WW l. America’s […]
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Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, this 2004 film takes us into the madness of Adolf Hitler’s Fuhrerbunker in the last weeks of WW II. As the Russians surround Berlin, we journey into a delusional subterranean world where Hitler and his cronies are living out the last days of the Third Reich. This film is unique because it is told from the […]
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