A Brief History On October 26, 1881, Tombstone, Arizona saw the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday faced off with the Clantons and the Cowboys in perhaps the most famous gunfight in US history, The Gunfight at The O.K. Corral. Digging Deeper This notorious shootout has been the subject of numerous major motion pictures as well as books, articles, and all sorts of cultural references. But what of the guns involved in the gunfight? The most famous character involved, Wyatt Earp, was not in charge. He and Morgan Earp were appointed “special policemen” assisting their brother, Virgil, who was the city‘s…
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 October 25, 1415, the Battle of Agincourt was fought between the English personally led by King Henry V and the French, led by representatives of King Charles VI, resulting in a history changing victory by the English over the greater numbers of the French. Digging Deeper The English army was manned by a preponderance of bowmen armed with the famed English longbow. A weapon much more powerful than the hunting bows of today, the longbow required a strong man trained over a long period of time to employ it properly. Designed for mass volleys rather than…
A Brief History On October 24, 1990, the Italian Prime Minister addressed the Italian parliament about the existence of Operation Gladio, a NATO program in Italy and other countries, even some non-treaty nations, whereby a secret army would wage guerrilla war against the Soviets should they overrun any of these countries. Digging Deeper During World War II, the British set up their Home Guard to fill this role in case Britain was overrun by the Germans. The idea is to have loyal patriots spread throughout the land, trained in sabotage and communications skills with secret caches of arms conducting secret…
A Brief History On October 23, 1983, 241 US servicemen (220 Marines of 1st Battalion 8th Marines Regiment, 18 US Navy sailors, and three US Army soldiers) were killed when a truck bomb was driven into the building where the men were quartered. Digging Deeper The Marines had been deployed to Beirut by President Ronald Reagan in response to turmoil within Lebanon after the Israeli withdrawal following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Reagan promised the Marines would stay no longer than 30 days. He lied. With no particular mission other than just to be there as a presence, the Marines…
A Brief History On October 22, 1707, four ships of the Royal Navy ran aground and sank near the Isles of Scilly near Cornwall in Great Britain. All four ships were lost with almost all hands, 1,550 (estimate) British sailors went to Davey Jones’s Locker that fateful day, including the fleet commander, Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell. Only 13 of the sailors survived. Digging Deeper Before we go any further, we have to seriously ask, “What kind of jerk names their kid ‘Cloudesley?’” You would have to home school the poor lad because other kids would brutalize him over that goofy…