A Brief History On August 21, 1968, the Medal of Honor, the highest military award for bravery and courage in battle that can be earned by an American fighting person, was awarded posthumously to James Anderson, Jr., the first African American US Marine to earn the Medal of Honor. Digging Deeper Anderson was born Los Angeles in 1947 when the US military was still segregated. (The US military became desegregated per Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948 under President Truman.) A high school graduate, James went on to study at junior college for a year and a half before…
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A Brief History On August 19, 2002, the Russian military suffered the worst fatal helicopter incident and crash in the history of aviation when a missile fired by Chechen Islamic Separatists struck a Russian Mi-26 helicopter, bringing the huge helicopter down in a minefield and killing a total of 127 Russian soldiers. Digging Deeper The Mil Mi-26 (NATO code named “Halo”) is a heavy lift helicopter introduced in 1983. Over 300 of the giants have been built, and it is the biggest and most powerful production helicopter ever produced. Its 2 turboshaft engines produce a total of almost 23, 000…
A Brief History On August 18, 1976, Soldiers of the North Korean Army used an ax to murder two US Army officers that were overseeing a work party to cut down a tree in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea, in an area known as a Joint Security Area (JSA) that is manned by soldiers from North Korea, South Korea, and the United States. Digging Deeper The JSA is a post set up to monitor the DMZ by both sides in the Korean conflict to ensure a safe border and prevent dangerous incidents. The United Nations observers…
A Brief History On August 14, 2017, President Donald Trump of the United States and Dictator for Life Kim Jong Un of North Korea have been engaging in a war of words, threatening each other’s country with one sort of hyperbolic annihilation or another. Both countries have large military forces and nuclear weapons, so these threats are frightening. Should they be? What is the likelihood of military confrontation, and what would that confrontation be? Digging Deeper On August 14, 2017, President Donald Trump of the United States and Dictator for Life Kim Jong Un of North Korea have been engaging…
A Brief History On August 13, 1779, a combined US Naval and ground expeditionary force was defeated after a 3 week campaign known as The Penobscot Expedition, the worst defeat in US Navy history until the surprise attack against Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Digging Deeper During the American Revolutionary War, the British had seized the mid-coastal region of Maine and declared it to be “New Ireland,” and the fledgling American government sought to reclaim this area from the British. A large expedition was assembled, including 19 warships, 25 smaller auxiliary craft, and 1000 ground troops, consisting of Colonial…