A Brief History On October 27, 1954, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. became the first African-American general (brigadier, or 1 star) in the U.S. Air Force. In 1998, he was promoted by President Clinton to (full) general (4-star rank). This accomplishment is all the more notable as he was the son of the first African-American general in the U.S. Army. His father, Benjamin O. Davis Sr., made general in 1940, a time when the U.S. military was still segregated. Digging Deeper Born in 1912, Ben Jr. was granted an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) in 1932. There, in 1936, he became 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 October 26, 1881, Tombstone, Arizona was the site of what became known as “The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral,” probably the most famous shootout in the history of the Wild West. Plenty of movies have been made about the incident, including one in 1957 by that same name, all of which got various aspects of the incident wrong. Like most depictions of the gunfight, the 1957 film shows a long-ranged massive shootout whereas the real incident featured fewer guns, fewer shots and a much closer range in a fight that lasted perhaps 30 seconds. Unlike the depiction…
A Brief History On October 25, 1944, the U.S. submarine USS Tang (SS-306), commanded by ace submarine skipper Richard O’Kane, was sunk when a torpedo that it had fired malfunctioned, turned around, and struck the hapless submarine. Digging Deeper You may have read the History and Headlines article “There is No Such Thing as Friendly Fire!” Friendly fire is the accidental coming of harm to one’s own troops through one’s own weapons. As military instructors are quick to point out, however, no fire is “friendly fire,” as bullets, bombs and shells will kill you no matter who launched them in the first place. Weapons of…
A Brief History On October 23, 1939, the Japanese G4M, named the “Betty” bomber by the Allies, made its maiden flight. Destined to be the main Japanese land-based bomber for the entire war, it was, like other Japanese planes, state of the art at the beginning of World War II but grossly outmatched by American models later in the war. Made by Mitsubishi, the same company that made the Zero and now makes cars and trucks, its performance was roughly on par with the American B-25 as far as speed and climb, and it had better range. Digging Deeper Unfortunately for some Japanese airmen,…
A Brief History On October 22, 2014 and again on October 29, 2014, the FX channel television production American Horror Story: Freak Show features a two-faced character based on an alleged real-life human freak named Edward Mordrake. Digging Deeper With actor Wes Bentley portraying the unfortunate, two-faced man, the show takes us back to 1952 in Jupiter, Florida where a troupe of human freaks is assembled as a carnival sideshow. If you have ever seen the iconic 1932 film Freaks, you might know that by that time in history, the public was beginning to not take too kindly to deformed humans…