Great Military Stories

LT Michael P. Murphy, U.S. Navy (2000–2005)

Global War on Terror, Profiles in Courage

Whether you're a fitness enthusiast or not, you might have heard about "The Murph Challenge." Every Memorial Day, veterans, military members, and fitness nuts around the country pledge to take the challenge. It not only helps remember the courage and sacrifice of Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy, but also helps send military-connected individuals to college through the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation. Lt. Michael P. Murphy Leads SEAL Mission in Afghanistan To call the Murph a "grueling" workout would be an understatement, but it was something he did regularly, and it helped him fight on in the mountains of Afghanistan against incredible odds. Without his valiant physical and mental efforts that day, his entire team might have vanished without a trace. In 2005, the U.S. launched Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan's Kunar Province. The goal was to disrupt the activity of the Taliban and other anti-Coalition militias operating in the areas west of Asadabad....

Emperor of Nicaragua: William Walker

Civil War, Military Myths and Legends

On November 8, 1855, in front of the Parroquia Church in the town square of the Nicaraguan city of Granada, a line of riflemen shot Gen. Ponciano Corral, the senior general of the Conservative government. Strangely, the members of the firing squad hailed from the United States. So did the man who had ordered the execution. His name was William Walker. Though later generations would largely forget him, in the 1850s, he obsessed the American public. To many, he was a swashbuckling champion of Manifest Destiny. To others, he loomed as an international criminal. In Walker's own mind, he was a conqueror destined to create a Central American empire. His bizarre career would leave a legacy that shadows the relationship between the United States and Central America to this day. Biography of William Walker Walker was born in 1824 in Nashville, Tennessee, to James Walker and his wife, Mary Norvell. His father was the son of a Scottish immigrant. His mother was the daughter of Lipscomb...

Famous Navy Units: USS Halibut by A3C Michael Bell

Cold War, Famous Military Units

The United States government organized the American Volunteer Groups to aid the Nationalist government of China against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The only unit to actually see combat was the 1st AVG, popularly known as the Flying Tigers. Air Force TWS to date lists thirteen remembrances for deceased members of this unit.

SFC Paul Ray Smith, U.S. Army (1989–2003)

Global War on Terror, Profiles in Courage

Despite the years of civil war and insurgency that followed, the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was a well-planned and well-timed operation, so successful in its initial phases that American and Coalition forces had captured Baghdad within just three weeks. Major combat operations famously ended on May 1, 2003, in less than two months. But despite the speed and skill of the Americans, it was not without considerable effort – or losses. SFC Paul Ray Smith: A Soldier's Journey One of those losses was SFC Paul Ray Smith, a veteran of both the first Gulf War and the Kosovo War. In April 2003, Smith was leading the men of B Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, to capture the international airport in Baghdad. While blocking the highway between the city and the airport, he found himself in a crossfire between counterattacking Iraqi forces. Unable to withdraw, he fought against overwhelming odds, giving his life to prevent an aid station from being...

The Lost Battalion

Military Myths and Legends, World War I

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the final push of World War I on the Western Front, lasting from Sept. 28, 1918, until the end of the war, Nov. 11, 1918. The allied forces of Britain, France, and the United States advanced all along the front, making the largest offensive in U.S. military history, involving more than 1.2 million troops. It was also the deadliest, inflicting 350,000 casualties in less than seven weeks. The allies made relatively major gains, considering the course of the war until that point, but it was not without errors – and one of those errors meant the loss of a battalion-sized force. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive: Advance into Argonne Forest The men of that battalion came from the 77th Division, made up mostly of men from New York City. During the allied push, they fought their way into the dense Argonne Forest, where a counterattack soon left them surrounded and cut off from friendly lines. Thinking the unit had been lost, allied artillery shelled their position...

The Battle of Guilford Courthouse

Battlefield Chronicles, Revolutionary War

The Revolutionary War Battle at Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina is not just an important moment for American independence; it's a good lesson for everyone to remember. There are times when, no matter how hard you fight or how badly you want to win, you might still lose. But that loss could lead to an even more important battle—and a greater, more important victory. The British Strategy Before the Battle at Guilford Courthouse After its 1777 loss at the Battle of Saratoga, the British Army's strategy to put down the colonial rebellion refocused on the south, where support for the mother country was strongest. Although the campaign itself was more successful than in the north, the British under Lord Cornwallis still suffered some heavy defeats. American militia held their ground at Cowpens, and the collapsing British lost a quarter of their overall strength in the southern colonies. Focused solely on destroying American Nathaniel Greene's Army, Cornwallis burned his baggage...

The Ship That Wouldn’t Die

Military Myths and Legends, World War II

The USS Laffey (DD-724) was laid down 28 June 1943 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine. She was launched 21 November; sponsored by Miss Beatrice F. Laffey, daughter of Medal of Honor recipient S1c Bartlett Laffey. Commissioned 8 February 1944, Cdr. F. Julian. Becton as her first "Captain". The USS Laffey's Heroic Beginning After shakedown, the Laffey traveled the world in the war effort. She was off the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Off Cherbourg, France where an unexploded shell bounced off her hull above the waterline and did little damage. Rescuing a badly wounded Japanese pilot off the Philippines. Firing support in Leyete Gulf and Ormoc Bay. Transported intelligence to McArthur in the Philippines. Supported landings at Mindoro and Luzon, Iwo Jima, and Kerama Retto. That is where this story begins. USS Laffey’s Dangerous Mission on Okinawa Commander Frederick Julian Becton, Captain of the destroyer USS Laffey (DD 724), took the radio message his communications officer...

PFC Harold Agerholm, U.S. Marine Corps (1942-1944)

Profiles in Courage, World War II

PFC Harold Agerholm had a quiet start to his life. After qualifying from school in Racine, Wisconsin, he worked as a multigraph operator for the Ranch Manufacturing Company. Then in July 1942, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. Upon completing his recruit training in San Diego, California, Harold Agerholm was sent to the Headquarters and Service Battery, 4th Battalion, 10th Marines, and 2nd Marine Division. He received further training for eleven months with his battalion in Wellington, New Zealand. In January 1943, Agerholm was promoted to Private First Class. In November 1943, a year and a half after first signing up, the young marine took part in the war, engaging with Japanese forces on Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll. It was the first time American forces faced serious opposition to a landing. The 4,500 Japanese soldiers on the island were well prepared and fought to the last man. They extracted a high price for their deaths. Throughout the incredibly intense battle, which lasted...

Pershing and His Pig’s Blood Bullets

Military Myths and Legends, Spanish-American War

It might be difficult today to imagine the United States as a true colonial power, but in the years following the 1898 Spanish-American War, the U.S. became a major global power. The idea of American Imperialism crept into the public consciousness for the first time. During the war, the United States captured several key Spanish possessions, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. The War in the Philippines At first, it looked as if the U.S. was fighting to grant the Philippines its independence, but when the Americans annexed the islands instead, the resistance fighters that fought the Spanish started fighting the Americans. Combat in the Philippines meant bloody ambushes, lightning-fast raids, and fierce hand-to-hand combat at times. American forces suffered more troops killed in action in the first four months of fighting in the Philippines than they suffered in the entire Spanish-American War. No rebel group fought more fiercely than the Muslim Moros of the...

Famous Air Force Units: American Volunteer Group (AVG) M/Flying Tigers

Famous Military Units, World War II

WW2 – The Battle of Iwo Jima

Battlefield Chronicles, World War II

The year 2025 will mark the 80th anniversary of the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the most storied contests in American military history. Many are familiar with the myriad stories surrounding the battle, from the two flag raisings over Mount Suribachi to any of the 27 men who received the Medal of Honor for their actions on the island. What fails to get a mention in history books is the sheer scale of the battle itself and the defensive planning of the enemy's commander. The Strategic Importance of the Battle of Iwo Jima More than 110,000 Americans fought to capture Iwo Jima from the Japanese Empire. The commander of the Japanese forces on the island, Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi, knew he would be fighting a losing battle. Kuribayashi decided he would design his defenses to inflict the highest possible number of casualties on the invading force as he could, even with only some 20,000 starving, emaciated men at his disposal. Today, Iwo Jima is the only U.S. Marine Corps...

Gulf War – The Lightning in Desert Storm (1991)

Battlefield Chronicles, Gulf War

The Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne were among the first soldiers deployed to Saudi Arabia following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August of 1990. Before Operation Desert Storm Roughly six months later, the storied division would launch an unprecedented airborne assault taking them over 150 miles (241 kilometers) behind enemy lines and within 100 miles (161 kilometers) of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. In 1990, a coalition of forces from around the world, headed by the United States, gathered in Saudi Arabia. The task was to remove the Iraqi Army from Kuwait and protect against an expansion of Saddam Hussein's aggressiveness. Within 12 hours of the invasion of its southern neighbor, Kuwait, the Iraqi army was without any significant opposition. The world's 4th largest army at the time now had solid control of Middle East oil production and was moving troops to the border with Saudi Arabia. The coalition of forces sought a peaceful solution to the conflict and insisted that the...

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