A Brief History On January 30, 1945, Soviet submarine S-13 fired 3 torpedoes into the side of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff, a German cruise liner named after an assassinated Swiss Nazi that had been converted for military use. Digging Deeper The Wilhelm Gustloff had been engaged in evacuating German troops and civilians from the Courland area of the Baltic coast, transporting them back to Germany to escape the Red Army. The ship was carrying over 6,000 troops, and with crew and civilians, total passengers probably numbered over 10,000. Massive damage was caused to the front, middle and rear of the ship, and the…
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 January 29, 1936, the first class of baseball “Hall of Famers” was named and was comprised of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson. Before the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum finally opened in 1939, another 20 men were also selected for this honor. Digging Deeper This year’s (2015) group of inductees are the pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinex and John Smoltz, as well as second baseman Craig Biggio. Located in Cooperstown, New York, the alleged site of the birth of baseball, the Hall of Fame currently has over 300 inductees made up of Major…
A Brief History On January 28, 1887, Fort Keogh, Montana was the scene of what was probably the most bizarre snow storm in recorded history. Established as an Army outpost in the wake of the Little Big Horn massacre of Lt. Col. Custer’s 7th Cavalry, the fort was named after Capt. Keogh who had died in that action. Digging Deeper On this remarkable snowy day in 1887, astonished soldiers witnessed the falling of perhaps the largest snowflake ever, measuring a massive 15 inches wide by 8 inches thick! If you think that is impossible, then you can go argue with The Guinness Book of…
A Brief History On January 27, 1939, one of the great American fighter planes of World War II, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, made its first flight. Appropriately named, the Lightning was the fastest fighter in the world at that time, being the first to exceed 400 mph in level flight. Digging Deeper The Lightning was designed by the master aircraft architect Clarence Kelly Johnson who also designed the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, the Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. Conceived as a high-speed, high-altitude (44,000 feet!) interceptor, at its introduction, the twin-engine Lightning…
A Brief History One week ago, on January 19, 2015, we featured 10 sets of famous siblings who had achieved greatness. Today, we list 10 more sets of famous siblings with whom you may or may not be familiar, but who at one point in time had been prominent. This time we are including fictional siblings as well as real relatives. Digging Deeper 10. The Thompson Twins (fictional). Not really twins or even siblings, this rock group, who played from 1977 to 1993, hit the charts with “Hold Me Now” and “Doctor Doctor” among other hits. Honorable mention to Twisted Sister,…