Author: Major Dan

A Brief History On June 9, 1667, the Dutch Navy handed the British Royal Navy its worst defeat in its history in what is known as the Raid on the Medway.  The Dutch burned 13 British ships, including 3 of the largest (“capital ships”) and towed away 2 more large ships, including the Flagship of the Royal Navy, the HMS Royal Charles.  This raid was done in England, far up the river Thames and then up the river Medway at Chatham.  Bold raids such as this are sometimes spectacularly successful, and sometimes not so much.  Raids are surprise attacks of short duration,…

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…

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…

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,…

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…