A Brief History On November 21, 1927, the grossly inappropriately named Serene, Colorado failed to live up to its idyllic name and was witness to a massacre of unarmed coal miners by the Colorado State Militia, an event usually called the “Columbine Mine Massacre” and alternatively called simply “The Columbine Massacre.” Of course, the horrible school shooting that took place in 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, is what generally comes to our minds when we hear the words “Columbine” and “massacre” used together. Digging Deeper In fact, the infamous school shooting in 1999 left 15 people dead,…
Browsing: November 21
A Brief History On November 21, 1967, the American commander of US forces in Vietnam, General William Westmoreland, made the assertion, “I am absolutely certain that whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing.” He was wrong. Really, really, wrong. As many times as we have heard stirring, prophetic, or highly insightful military related quotes, sometimes military people or politicians make a profound statement about martial events or devices and they turn out to be wrong. Previously we discussed “10 Famous Military Quotations” and “10 More Famous Military Quotations.” Today we discuss military related quotes that…
A Brief History On November 21, 1916, in the waters of the Aegean Sea near the Island of Kea, the British hospital ship HMHS Britannic struck a naval mine and sank, becoming the largest vessel sunk during World War I. A sister ship of the RMS Titanic and the third ship in the Olympic Class of ocean liner, Britannic is the largest ship on the floor of the sea (being slightly larger than the Titanic). Digging Deeper Incredibly, although Britannic sank quickly, only 55 minutes after striking the mine, only 30 people lost their lives of the 1065 that had…
A Brief History On November 21, 164 BC, Judas Maccabeus dedicated the Second Temple in Jerusalem, a restoration of the Temple first built by Solomon on Temple Mount in 957 BC. Temple Mount is the holiest location for people of the Jewish faith, although at this time an Islamic mosque called The Dome of the Rock stands on that location. The dedication of the restored Temple is celebrated by Jews worldwide each year as Hanukkah, The Celebration of Lights. Digging Deeper The first Temple had a trying existence, sacked only a few decades after being built and then restored in…
A Brief History On November 21, 1986, Marine Corps Lt. Col. Oliver North, a member of the National Security Council of the Ronald Reagan administration, was busy shredding documents, destroying evidence of criminal activity of the Reagan administration as part of the Iran-Contra Affair. Digging Deeper North was assisted by his comely secretary, the auspiciously named Fawn Hall, who later traded immunity from prosecution for testimony against North. Of course, Hall realized that the shredding of documents was illegal, evidenced by her statement that, “Sometimes you have to go above the law.” This statement was exactly the sort of rationalizing…
