A Brief History On September 6, 1939, the Battle of Barking Creek in the skies over England became an historic event for Britain’s RAF, the first loss of an RAF fighter plane and fighter pilot during World War II. Unfortunately, this “combat” was a mistake, as radar operators misidentified the blips on their screen as enemy aircraft when in fact those menacing blips flying toward the English coast were actually RAF Hurricane fighters. Digging Deeper Spitfire fighters scrambled to intercept the supposed enemy and promptly shot down a pair of the incoming Hurricanes, killing one of the unfortunate pilots. Such…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
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A Brief History On September 6, 2022, Ukrainian military forces conducted a surprise counter-offensive against the much larger and better equipped Russian forces that had invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, a continuation of the land grab Russia had illegally begun against their neighbor by seizing the Crimea in 2014. Not only did Ukraine resist the Russian invasion of 2022, but the counter-offensive of September also resulted in Ukraine regaining over 3000 square kilometers of previously lost territory. As the Russia-Ukraine war grinds toward 2025, the haughty Russians, previously believed to be a juggernaut of military power, has still failed…
A Brief History On September 6, 1997, two to two and a half billion people worldwide were glued to their TV sets watching the funeral of Princess Diana, a similar number of TV viewers that watched the 2009 funeral of pop rocker Michael Jackson. Digging Deeper Did you realize funerals were much bigger television events than Super Bowls? In fact, the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II of the UK ranks Number 1 on the list of most watched TV events with a staggering 5.1 billion viewers worldwide! The opening ceremonies of the 1996 and 2008 Summer Olympics drew 3.6 and…
A Brief History On September 5, 1970, German race car driver Karl Jochen Rindt was killed in a practice lap accident for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix event at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy. Despite succumbing to his injuries, he became the first driver to be posthumously awarded the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship after piling up enough wins to secure the championship. Digging Deeper Despite being born in Germany, Rindt competed as an Austrian. The 1970 win was his only Formula One World Drivers’ Championship season, though he also won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in…
A Brief History On September 4, 1781, what is now the City of Los Angeles, California, was founded by four Spanish soldiers and 44 settlers, who called their new settlement El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles or perhaps El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles. Digging Deeper The founders of one of the great cities not only of the United States, but of the world, hailed from “New Spain,” what Mexico was called at the time. The province in which Los Angeles was founded was Las Californias, which today would be the State of California…