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.

A Brief History On April 7, 30 AD, Jesus Christ of Nazareth was crucified in Jerusalem and died on that same day. Or did He? Digging Deeper The exact date of the crucifixion and death of Christ has been debated as long as there have been followers of Christianity.  Tradition used to claim 33 AD as the year of the death of Jesus, but this year does not reconcile with the timing of the death of Herod the Great, which is historically known, placing the death of Jesus in 30 AD instead of 33 AD.  This information also means the…

Read More

A Brief History On April 6, 1970, a California Highway Patrol (CHP) traffic stop turned deadly when two CHP officers stopped a car containing two criminals and those two officers were killed in the shootout. The next two CHP officers on the scene were also shot and killed, with one suspect later committing suicide when surrounded and the other later killing himself while in jail doing a life term. The horrible results of what is known as the Newhall Incident resulted in a rethinking of police firearms training and equipment in California. Digging Deeper Analysis of the shootout found that…

Read More

A Brief History On April 5, 1943, B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of the American 8th Air Force proved once again that “Friendly fire is not friendly!” On several occasions, we have discussed incidents where one side in an armed conflict accidentally causes casualties to either their own people or the people of an allied nation. In this case, US bombs meant to attack a factory supplying engine parts for German warplanes hit a residential area of Mortsel, Belgium, killing 936 civilians, of which 209 were children under the age of 15. Digging Deeper The US aviators were convinced that daylight…

Read More

A Brief History On April 4, 1984, President Ronald Reagan made a public plea to the world to ban chemical weapons.  Already outlawed by previous treaties, the widespread use of various chemical weapons in World War I was the peak of chemical warfare, but these terrible weapons have not totally disappeared.  Today, we list 10 Fiendish, Horrible, Evil Weapons We’re Not Supposed to Use, either by International agreement or our own decision.  At times even crossbows were banned for use against “Christians,” as were square projectiles. Digging Deeper 10.  Poison Gas. Not to be confused with your baby nephew and…

Read More

A Brief History On April 3, 1948, President Harry S Truman (there is no period after the “S” because it was just an initial, not standing for a name!) signed legislation authorizing $5 billion for the Marshall Plan, a foreign aid bill championed by former five star general George C. Marshall who was Secretary of State at the time. Digging Deeper Marshall was the first officer of five star rank promoted during World War II so that the US would have officers of a rank equal to or greater than Field Marshall.  After the war he became Secretary of State…

Read More