The most decorated U.S. soldier in WWII was a 20-year-old kid from Northeast Texas named Audie Murphy. This unpretentious warrior stood 5 feet, 4-1/2 inches tall, weighed 112 pounds and was the recipient of every combat award for heroism the Army had to offer! Assigned to an infantry unit destined for combat in North Africa and Europe, he excelled on […]
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“Tokyo Rose” was a name given by the GIs to women who made propaganda broadcasts aimed at them by the Japanese. One of these women had a radio program called “The Zero Hour,” that became immensely popular with the American Troops. Although she called herself “Orphan Ann,” she was dubbed “Tokyo Rose” by her fans. She played popular American music […]
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In March 1970, CBS Correspondent Richard Threlkeld and his camera crew accompanied a 21-man patrol from the U.S. Army’s Alpha Troop of the 1st Squadron/9th Cavalry, 1st Air Cavalry Division into the jungle of South Vietnam, one mile from the Cambodian border. The point man for the patrol inadvertently came into contact with his North Vietnamese counterpart and with the […]
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David Yuzuk shared a remarkable story on Tik Tok about James Flaherty, a homeless man he befriended while serving as a police officer in Aventura, Florida. Over time, Flaherty opened up to Yuzuk, sharing his military history over a sandwich at a Subway. At just 4-feet, 9-inches tall and weighing under 100 pounds, Flaherty was the smallest person to ever […]
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About six miles from Maastricht, Netherlands, 8,301 American soldiers lie buried. They died in Operation Market Garden during the battles to liberate Holland in the fall/winter of 1944. All men buried in the cemetery, as well as those in the Canadian and British military cemeteries, have been adopted by Dutch families who mind the grave, decorate it, and keep alive […]
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In June of 1941 some 3 million German troops crossed the border to invade the Soviet Union. Success was immediate and stunning. They advanced to the outskirts of Moscow and captured millions of Soviet prisoners. By 1944 the tide had turned to the point that orders for a German soldier to go to the Eastern Front were paramount to a […]
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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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On Veterans Day 2015, Virginia Tech Basketball Coach Buzz Williams brought his team together with a group of military Veterans to teach a lesson that extended well beyond the four corners of the court. With the Veterans standing in front of a row of chairs and his team members facing the Veterans, Williams said, “These guys, when they were your […]
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On Nov. 5, 1944, 23-year-old Loyce Edward Deen, USNR Aviation Machinist Mate (Gunner) 2nd Class, was killed by anti-aircraft fire during the Battle of Manila Bay. After a 2-hour flight, the TBF Avenger Aircraft of Torpedo Squadron VT-15, Air Group 15, landed safely aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Essex CV-9. The sailor’s body was in such bad condition it couldn’t […]
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In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Pritzker Military Museum & Library posted a video about the Six Triple Eight Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-African American Women’s Army Corps unit deployed overseas during World War II. Of the more than 6,500 African American women who served during World War II, this was the only all-female, all-African American battalion […]
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