Browsing: Military

A Brief History On July 12, 1862, a congressional resolution was signed into law authorizing the Army to issue the Medal of Honor to enlisted soldiers (only) for “personal valor.”  The Navy already had a similar medal for “personal valor” as of 1861.  Prior to this development, the US military had no medals at all since the Mexican War. Digging Deeper Objections to the issuing of medals, especially from senior Army General Winfield Scott, were based on the fact that Europeans engaged in the practice, therefore it must be bad.  Once the Civil War started it became apparent that some soldiers and…

A Brief History Yesterday we listed 10 people or groups we feel deserving of being named Scumbags of the Year (so far) for 2016, and today we take a brighter, more optimistic look at the year 2016 by naming 10 people or groups that provide someone we could look to for leadership, inspiration, and success. Digging Deeper 10. The Lake Erie Monsters, hockey. This American Hockey League team won the Calder Cup this year, giving Cleveland and Northeast Ohio a much needed breath of fresh air and pride, setting a fine example for other sports teams in the area. 9. …

A Brief History On July 12, 1918, the Japanese battleship, Kawachi, suffered a giant explosion in a main powder magazine and sank.  The unlucky ship was only 6 years old and her combat career had consisted of bombarding German fortifications at Tsingtao in 1914.  Maritime disasters are part of the history of men going to sea, and the military part of maritime adventure is loaded with incidents where the commanders just had to say, “Oops!”  In this case, the Japanese Navy had their turn at naval embarrassment and disaster.  Please see these below listed links for more great History and…

A Brief History On July 10, 1942, an American pilot spotted an intact Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter downed on Akutan island.  The Zero was recovered and restored to flying condition by the Americans and provided information needed to develop American fighters and tactics to cope with the Zero’s great performance.  Here we list 10 of the most formidable fighter planes American pilots have had to face in combat.  Digging Deeper 10.  Mikoyan and Gurevich MiG-29. Inflicting (disputed by allies) rare air to air kills on a British Tornado and an American B-52 during the 1991 Gulf War, the MiG-29…

A Brief History On July 10, 1942, a US pilot spotted a downed Japanese A6M Zero fighter plane on Akutan Island, Alaska.  The relatively intact fighter was recovered by US forces, made airworthy, and extensively tested, providing valuable intelligence about the Zero that had been terrorizing American pilots.  Last year we used this incident to list 10 of the greatest “enemy” fighter planes, and this time we list 10 of the greatest (sometimes more interesting or famous than important) intelligence coups of World War II.  Some of these coups can be times when preventing the enemy from learning something is…