Author: Major Dan

Major Dan

Major Dan 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 June 9, 1959, the USS George Washington was launched, the first ballistic missile carrying submarine, creating a new class of nuclear delivery weapons that would virtually guarantee mutual destruction in time of nuclear war.  Here we list 10 such milestones in modern  (19th through 21st Centuries) weaponry that can be considered “game changers.”  (The order listed is not necessarily by importance.) Digging Deeper 10. Ballistic Missile Submarine, 1959. Almost impossible to keep track of an entire enemy submarine fleet, either side in the Cold War would be subject to a surprise attack with much shorter notice…

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A Brief History On June 8, 1972, Nick Ut of the Associated press took his famous photograph of a 9 year old Vietnamese girl running naked from a US napalm attack.  For this poignant photo Ut won a Pulitzer Prize.  Sometimes a photographer is just in the right place at the right time and takes the photo of a lifetime.  Here we list 10 great examples of the photographers’ art.  (Note: By its nature, this list is subjective!  That is why we do not presume to call them the “greatest.”  Also, because a picture already says a thousand words, we shall…

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A Brief History On June 8, 2001, and then again on June 8, 2008, Japan was terrorized by a mass stabbing.  The first occurred at an Osaka elementary school, and 7 years later the next rampage took place in Tokyo. Digging Deeper The first perpetrator was a mentally unbalanced man who had been a juvenile delinquent.  Mamoru Takuma was known to roll cats in flammable material and light them on fire or throw them in a furnace.  As a sophomore in  high school he assaulted a teacher and was a drop out.  His father tried to get him psychiatric help,…

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A Brief History Internet backyard fighting sensation Kimbo Slice has been reported to have died at age 42 on June 6, 2016.  Slice was taken to his local hospital earlier today where he expired a short time later of an undisclosed condition.  Slice, born Kevin Ferguson in 1974 in The Bahamas grew up in Florida where he starred as a high school football player, good enough to get scholarship offers and ultimately a tryout with the Miami Dolphins. Digging Deeper Massively muscular and intimidating in appearance, Slice worked as a bouncer and bodyguard/driver before gaining fame as a backyard fighter…

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A Brief History On June 7, 1991, a sleepy volcano on the Philippine island of Luzon experienced an explosion that sent an ash cloud 4.3 miles high.  After months of activity indicating an eruption was imminent, the first eruption started on June 3, but the first big explosion with magma flow happened on June 7. Digging Deeper By this time, authorities had been evacuating the population for several miles around the volcano, increasing the area evacuated twice to a radius of about 25 miles.  Many residents had started leaving of their own accord prior to official evacuations.  (About 350,000 people…

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