Browsing: August

A Brief History On August 25, 1945, American Army Intelligence officer, Captain John Birch, was killed by communist revolutionaries in China a mere 10 days after the end of World War II.  Birch is seen by many, especially hard corps right wing anti-communists, as the first martyr or victim of the Cold War between the totalitarian communist states and the democratic capitalistic nations (largely East vs. West). Digging Deeper Birch was the son of Christian missionaries and was born in India in 1918.  Highly intelligent, hard working, and a dedicated patriot, Birch graduated Magna cum laude from Mercer University in…

A Brief History On August 24, 1949, one of the most significant military alliances of modern times went into effect as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization became a Cold War reality.  Spearheaded by the United States as a coalition against possible invasion of European countries by the Soviet Union, our former ally during World War II, this Western alliance included 12 original countries pledging mutual support in the event of a Soviet or other attack. Today, the number of participating nations has ballooned to 28, including historical enemies such as Greece and Turkey and many former Soviet Bloc Eastern European…

A Brief History We previously told you about the AC-130 Spectre, the highest evolution of the cargo plane converted to gunship, in use from Viet Nam through today.  Here we look at ground attack aircraft throughout history and list what may be 10 of the greatest examples of that type of airplane.  The order listed is roughly our idea of “best,” although that is quite subjective and open for debate.  Please feel free to make the case for your favorite ground attack plane and the order you would list these fearsome aircraft. (Honorable mention to the Hawker Siddley, later McDonnel-Douglas, AV-8…

A Brief History On August 22, 1639, the British East India Company founded a city they called Madras in Southern India on the Bay of Bengal on land they bought from local Nayak leaders, a mere 3 mile strip that would become one of the world’s great cities. Digging Deeper Known as “The Detroit of south Asia” because of its thriving automobile industry, the city today has a population of over 4,500,000 and a metro area population of over 8,500,000.  Despite the present day giant size of the city, the 4th largest in India and 36th largest in the world,…

A Brief History On August 21, 1961, Motown Records of Detroit, Michigan released what became their first #1 hit song, “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes.  Founded by record making genius Berry Gordy, Jr., Motown was an African-American oriented enterprise with a cross-racial appeal that helped bridge the musical gap between Black and White Americans in the turbulent 1960’s. Digging Deeper A relatively small company, Motown was now on its way to major success, owning the crossover soul to pop market.  The 1960’s saw 79 Motown hits make the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.  Gordy moved the record…