A Brief History On August 7, 1942, U.S. Marines landed on an island few Americans had ever heard of, Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. After months of being on the defensive, defensive victories at Coral Sea and Midway combined with the rapid buildup of troops and industrial production gave the U.S. its first opportunity to start taking instead of losing ground in the Pacific theater of World War II. Digging Deeper Although obscure in the minds of Americans, Guadalcanal is not an insignificant island. Sprawling over 2000 square miles and with mountains soaring over 8,000 feet, it is the world’s 110th largest island, about 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 August 7, 1909, Alice Huyler Ramsey and 3 other women completed a 59-day road trip from New York to San Francisco, the first women to drive across the continent in a car. Other women have also been famous or notorious for what they did in or on cars; some may have already been famous and others achieved fame because of their association with a car. Here we list 10 such women. (Dishonorable Mention to Britney Spears for not knowing how to get in or out of a car and to Lindsay Lohan for not knowing how to drive.)…
A Brief History On August 6, 1964, a University of North Carolina graduate student studying climate cut down the oldest known tree in the world, the 5,000-year-old “Prometheus,” a Bristlecone Pine located on Wheeler Peak in Nevada. The icing on the cake? The U.S. Forest Service allowed it! Digging Deeper Why would anyone cut down the oldest tree on Earth while it was still healthy and sound? There are quite a few answers to that question, and conflicting ones at that. Various stories have circulated as to why the tree was cut down instead of just a core sample taken. These range from: 1) broken…
A Brief History On August 6, 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. An American with German parents, Ederle had already won a Gold Medal and 2 Bronze Medals in the 1924 Olympics when she dared the cold, rough waters of the Channel. Many women over the years have become famous while wearing swimsuits, whether in movies, posters or in competitive swimming. Here we list 10 of the most famous women in bathing gear. Digging Deeper 10. Gertrude Ederle. Already a famous swimmer when she swam the 20+ miles across the English Channel, Ederle’s time of…
A Brief History On August 5, 1305, William Wallace, the Scottish hero known as “Braveheart” in the 1995 movie, was captured by the English and then executed for treason in the gory way “traitors” were put to death at that time. Digging Deeper Wallace was a landowner. Born in Renfrewshire, Scotland around 1270, he had some noble blood. When the throne of Scotland was up for grabs in the late 1280s, the King of England, Edward I, stepped in to play kingmaker and selected John Balliol to play his puppet. King John, Edward’s “yes man,” was considered weak by his fellow Scots and…
