A Brief History On June 6, 1944, the character played by Robert Mitchum in the movie The Longest Day (1960), Brigadier General Norman Cota, makes a stirring announcement to his men who are under heavy enemy fire and terrified of moving forward: “Only two kinds of people are gonna stay on this beach — those that are already dead and those that are gonna die. Now get off your butts! You guys are the Fightin’ 29th!” It turns out Norman Cota was a real US Army General (eventually Major General) and he really did rally his men of the 29th…
Browsing: June 6
A Brief History On June 8, 2017, we sit on the eve of the premier of the 2017 blockbuster monster movie, The Mummy. Lucky for us, we got to see an early screening of the movie on June 6, 2017, and in RealD 3D no less! Digging Deeper The screening audience filled the theater, and the film elicited an enthusiastic vocal reaction from the crowd throughout. Gasps, oohs, ahhs, peals of laughter and exclaimed comments were sprinkled liberally throughout the presentation, the type of experience that makes seeing a movie in a crowded theater so much more exciting than watching…
A Brief History On June 6, 1822, a Canadian fur trapper “voyageur” was accidentally shot in the stomach with a musket, leaving him with a hole that healed open, leading to extensive study of the human digestive tract. Digging Deeper A French-Canadian woodsman, St. Martin was 20 years old when the musket shot him at close range at a fur trading post on Mackinac Island. The local US Army doctor, surgeon Dr. William Beaumont attended to the terrible wound that was expected by all observers to prove fatal. Instead, the wound healed into a fistula, an open hole through St.…
A Brief History Presumptive Republican nominee for President, Donald Trump, has made a campaign out of tough talk, telling us how he would bully foreign countries into doing his bidding and how foreign leaders would cower before him, as opposed to his opponents and the current President whom he considers a “wimp.” Digging Deeper Trump trumpets (what else would he do?) his intention of making the US military stronger and the best in the world, apparently oblivious to the fact that the US military is already by far the strongest and best in the world, with a budget that eclipses…
A Brief History On June 6, 1944, American, British, and Canadian forces stormed the heavily defended beaches of Normandy, France, signaling the doom of the Third Reich. This amphibious landing would not have happened, at least not successfully, without the following piece of allied equipment and weapons. Here we list 10 of those items we think are most important to the success of the operation. What other gear do you think should be added to the list? Digging Deeper 10. Bangalore Torpedo. This simple item is a metal pipe filled with explosives that can be attached in multiple sections to clear barbed wire…