Browsing: Military

A Brief History On February 11, 1939, a prototype Lockheed P-38 Lighting twin engine fighter plane flew from California to New York in a then record 7 hours and 2 minutes.  This new US fighter plane was the fastest fighter in the world at this time, the first fighter to exceed 400 mph in level flight.  So what was wrong with it? Digging Deeper Normally our articles about military aircraft extol the virtues of the subject plane, but here we digress to look at the shortcomings and criticisms of this venerable aircraft, one of the creations of Clarence “Kelly” Johnson,…

A Brief History On January 28, 1915, an Act of Congress created the United States Coast Guard out of the combination of The Revenue Cutter Service and the US Life-Saving Service.  This new branch of the military was placed under the Treasury Department, to be used by the Department of Defense in time of war.  Today, this law enforcing and life saving maritime force is under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security, and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy as seen necessary by the President. Digging Deeper Roots of the Coast Guard go all the…

A Brief History On January 27, 1973, about 11 hours before the cease fire marking the official end of American involvement in the Vietnam War, Colonel William Nolde, US Army, age 43, was killed by artillery fire at An Loc, South Vietnam.  Nolde thus became the last official US combat casualty of that war, and a footnote in history. Digging Deeper William Nolde was more than an historical footnote, however, a real life person and patriot, a husband, and a decorated soldier (veteran of the Korean War as well as Vietnam War), and had worked as a college professor at…

A Brief History On January 26, 1945, the heroic tale of America’s bravest soldier (according to me) reached its zenith when Audie Murphy performed the incredible feats of military courage and effectiveness that earned him the Medal of Honor. Digging Deeper Already the recipient of virtually every single US Army medal for valor that could be earned, Murphy had returned to combat in January 1945 after recuperating from a previous wound.  Leading a platoon and then a company of infantry against a larger force of German soldiers in the Colmar Pocket battle area of France, Murphy was wounded in both…

A Brief History On January 23, 1879, the British Army in South Africa ended its second major battle in as many days against Zulu warriors known as Impis in the British  war to seize Zululand.  The Battle of Rorke’s Drift followed the Battle of Isandlwana by only a matter of hours, but fortunately for the British had a different conclusion. Digging Deeper Yesterday we discussed the Battle of Isandlwana, memorialized in the 1979 movie Zulu Dawn, and today we address the Battle of Rorke’s Drift, memorialized in the 1964 movie Zulu. In 1879, the British under Sir Henry Bartle Frere,…