A Brief History On December 6, 1969, the Rolling Stones were performing at the Altamont Free Concert when the Hells Angels motorcycle club members contracted as security got into a fatal confrontation with a music fan. Digging Deeper Never particularly famous for good judgment, rock and roll bad boys The Rolling Stones reached a new low in intelligent decisions when they contracted the brutal outlaw motorcycle gang, The Hells Angels, to serve as ushers and security for the concert at Altamont, California. Why they would pick a known gang of criminal ruffians boggles the imagination, except perhaps the Stones were…
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 December 5, 1964, Captain Roger Donlon, US Army Special Forces, became the first Army Special Forces member (ever) and the first US military person to earn a Medal of Honor in the Viet Nam War. Digging Deeper Donlon took a roundabout path to his moment of greatness, being born in Saugerties, New York among 10 children in 1934. Donlon joined the Air Force in 1953 after a year at the New York State College of Forestry, and was appointed to West Point in 1955. For personal reasons Donlon quit West Point, but enlisted in the Army…
A Brief History On December 4, 1977, Jean-Bedel Bokassa crowned himself Emperor of the Central African Empire. Previously the President of the Central African Republic, Bokassa apparently thought many little Bokassas would follow, as he named himself Bokassa I. Digging Deeper Bokassa was a military officer in the armed forces of the Central African Republic when he seized power in a military coup in 1966, naming himself President. Even that was not good enough, for 7 years later he named himself President for Life, probably to make it clear he did not plan on retiring. In 1976, this egoist declared…
A Brief History On December 3, 1971, amid the background of the Bangladeshi War of Liberation when East Pakistan was attempting to secede from West Pakistan, the military forces of Pakistan launched a pre-emptive assault against India, attacking airfields and military installations and triggering the Indo-Pakistani War, 13 days on the brink of a far larger disaster. Digging Deeper After World War II when imperial nations were forced to give up colonies, the British reluctantly gave India, the largest and richest colony, their long overdue independence. India was made up largely of a Hindu population, with a large Muslim minority. …
A Brief History On December 2, 1982, medical history was made when Barney Clark, a retired dentist, received a Jarvik 7 artificial heart at the University of Utah, the first time an artificial heart was implanted meant as a permanent solution and not just a temporary spot holder until a viable heart for transplant could be found. Digging Deeper Powered by a pump the size of a dehumidifier or larger, the 1980’s version was not exactly a walk around your house back to normal life type of proposition. Other attempts prior to this had been with devices meant only to…