A Brief History From February 2nd through the 15th of 1945, various Latin American countries including Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela, and Uruguay joined the Allied Powers by declaring war on Germany and Japan. They were neither the first nor last Latin American countries to do so but represented the most substantial cluster of Latin American declarations of war against the remaining major Axis Powers during World War II. These declarations occurred late in the war when the situation was essentially already hopeless for Germany and Japan. One may wonder why did these Latin American countries wait so long to choose sides…
Author: Major Dan
A Brief History On March 29, 1911, the Colt M1911 .45 ACP caliber semi-automatic pistol became the standard pistol of the US Army. We used this historical event for our impetus to write previous articles about firearms, and today we use this red letter day in firearms history to explore some of the individual arms (pistols and rifles/shotguns) that are extra-adaptable due to their ability to fire more than one particular cartridge. During the 2020-2021global pandemic, many gun owners have felt the need to consider guns and ammo for possible apocalyptic scenarios, making today’s topic quite apropos. Feel free to…
A Brief History On March 22, 1978, Karl Wallenda of the famous “Flying Wallendas” family of risk takers and circus performers, tragically died during a daring high wire stunt, falling to his death from a high wire strung between 2 hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Digging Deeper Born into a circus family in Germany in 1905, Karl founded the troupe that became “The Great Wallendas,” a name that was changed in the 1940’s when the popular press kept referring to the family by the “Flying Wallendas” tag. The original crew included Karl, his future wife, his brother Herman, and…
A Brief History On March 15, 1991, The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany became effective, effectively reuniting a German nation that had been divided since the end of World War II into an “East Germany” and a “West Germany,” a product of the suspicion and distrust between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies after the defeat of Germany (and their allies) in 1945. Digging Deeper Under the Soviet/Communist domination, East Germany, or the German Democratic Republic, floundered economically and suffered from the oppression of being an occupied country. East Germans tried to flee to the…
A Brief History On March 8, 1917, the United States Senate voted to adopt a procedure designed to limit the maddening practice of filibuster in Senate proceedings, a practice called cloture, or colloquially “the guillotine!” The rule was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate, with a vote of 76 for the measure and only 3 votes against adopting cloture. Perhaps you have heard of this term many times in recent years as the US Senate battles through tough times for bi-partisan actions and neither side having a clear majority. Digging Deeper As you may note from the date of the adoption…