Browsing: Military

A Brief History On May 20, 1969, the Battle of Hamburger Hill came to an end.  A regiment of the US Army 101st Airmobile Division alongside South Vietnamese allies fought the North Vietnamese Army over Hill 937 for a week of bitter combat, until finally the US and South Vietnamese kicked the defenders off the hill.  Only two weeks later, the Americans decided to abandon the hill so dearly bought in blood! Digging Deeper The American commanders apparently thought the fact that North Vietnamese forces were on a hill that provided a good view of the surrounding terrain was an…

A Brief History On May 17, 1995, San Diego, California was the scene of one of the oddest and perhaps the scariest police chase of a stolen vehicle in the annals of motor vehicle theft.  Shawn Timothy Nelson, a 35 year old US Army veteran stole a National Guard M-60A3 tank, a 63 ton metal monster boasting a 105mm main gun, two machine guns, a 750 horsepower engine, and as much as 10 inch thick armor. Digging Deeper Nelson’s time in the Army was marred by his “‘multifaceted’ disciplinary problems” which resulted in his discharge.  He became a plumber but…

A Brief History On May 14, 1943, the Australian hospital ship AHS Centaur was torpedoed and sunk by Japanese Imperial Navy submarine I-177.  Sadly, 268 of the 332 crew and civilians aboard along with 63 of the 65 Australian Army personnel aboard the ship died. Digging Deeper Centaur was clearly marked in accordance with International Red Cross protocol, painted white and showing large red crosses on the hull. She was also fully illuminated when attacked. Built in Scotland in 1924, Centaur was originally a combination refrigerated cargo and passenger liner that was turned over to the Australian military in 1943…

A Brief History On May 6, 2014, Canadian author Farley Mowat died only a week before turning 93 years old. Digging Deeper A World War II veteran, Mowat saw combat in Sicily and Italy with the infantry and later served as an intelligence officer, including working with a German general to allow the Allies to drop food and supplies to Dutch civilians behind German lines. Promoted to the rank of Captain, Mowat would have been promoted to major had he stayed in the Army.  After the war, he began a career in writing and environmental causes and was known as…

A Brief History On May 2, 2011, American military Special Forces carried out a surprise raid on the Abbottabad, Pakistan compound where Al Qaeda leader and mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States, Saudi Arabian Osama bin Laden, had been hiding. Digging Deeper At the time of the terrible crimes committed on September 11, 2001, the President George Bush vowed that Osama bin Laden and others responsible for the attacks would be found, “Dead or Alive” and brought to justice.  President Bush never did “get his man,” but President Barack Obama authorized the raid into the third-party…