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Great Military Stories

Civil War – The Civil War Within the Confederacy

Civil War – The Civil War Within the Confederacy

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The civil war within the Confederacy is often overshadowed by the actual Civil War. The American Civil War was a titanic struggle between the overwhelming numeric and material advantages of the Union, and the tactical and leadership advantages of the states that would form the  Confederate States of America. In such a large conflict many stories, unfortunately, go untold and it becomes easy to oversimplify each side. The war did not become inevitable simply because of the Republican Party and the election of Abraham Lincoln to the executive branch of the federal government.  Even describing the conflict as "North vs. South" is inaccurate to a degree, as support for the war was far from unanimous on either side. On occasions when dissent within each side is discussed today, the focus is almost always on the Union's Copperheads. However, it should be remembered that there was a vigorous pro-Union movement in the South, particularly in areas where not many people owned slaves....

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The Chopper Popper

The Chopper Popper

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The grounds of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs are packed to the gills with Air Force history. Among the legends on display is a green-colored Air Force Reserve A-10 Thunderbolt II (also known as a Warthog), positioned with its nose skyward. A closer look at that nose reveals its name: "The Chopper Popper."  How the Chopper Popper Keeps the Tradition of Nose Art Alive Nose art isn't that common in the Air Force these days, but it's not totally forbidden. The aging but plucky fleet of A-10s have all but kept the tradition alive in recent decades. Warthogs are usually bearing teeth or tusks on their noses, not the sea creature gripping a helicopter in its massive claws. The Chopper Popper's art is an homage to its nickname, picked up for the stunning air-to-air kill made by then-Capt. Bob Swain during the first Gulf War. The A-10 is known for a lot of things, but dogfighting isn't one of them. It was designed to be a gun with wings, a flying tank that could get in close...

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2LT Beauford Theodore Anderson, U.S. Army (1942-1952)

2LT Beauford Theodore Anderson, U.S. Army (1942-1952)

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The tiny village of Soldier's Grove, Wisconsin, has a population of only 534 people, but it has a rich history. In the 1980s, it became the first town in America to get more than half its energy from the sun, making it the country's first "solar village." It's also where World War II veteran Beauford Theodore Anderson came of age.  The Heroism of Beauford Theodore Anderson Born in 1922, Beauford T. Anderson joined the Army at age 20 and was sent to the Pacific Theater. He returned to Wisconsin, briefly starting a floor sanding business before rejoining the Army as a recruiter. There could be no finer example of an American soldier than the one Beauford Anderson made. While fighting on Okinawa, he received the Medal of Honor for an act of valor that felt like it could only come out of a movie.  The invasion of Okinawa in April 1945 would be the largest amphibious landing of the entire Pacific War, called the "typhoon of steel" by those who fought there. With Allied naval support, the...

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Mustache March

Mustache March

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Every November for the past few years, more and more American men are adopting the custom of growing out their mustaches to raise awareness about men's health issues. "Movember," as it's come to be called, raises awareness on such topics as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide.  Portrait "Mustache March" is a Military Tradition to Honor Robin Olds The men of the United States Air Force adopted a similar custom, except theirs comes in March and for a very different reason. "Mustache March" is a military tradition to honor one man: fighter pilot, World War II triple-ace, and Vietnam War legend Robin Olds.  Robin Olds was, without a doubt, one of America's greatest fighter pilots. He was the son of an Army Air Corps captain who hung out with a virtual who's who of Air Force legends: Billy Mitchell, Hap Arnold, Carl Spaatz, and Eddie Rickenbacker, just to name a few.  When Olds came of age, he attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (where he...

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Lt. Eddie Rickenbacker, U.S. Army Air Force (1917-1919)

Lt. Eddie Rickenbacker, U.S. Army Air Force (1917-1919)

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The American Ace of Aces, Eddie Rickenbacker, was a successful race car driver, fighter pilot, an airline executive, wartime advisor, and elder statesman. Few aces achieved so much in so many different lifetime roles. His twenty-six aerial victories came after only two months of combat flying, a spectacular achievement. Eddie Rickenbacker Set a Speed Record in a Blitzen Benz His family name was originally spelled "Reichenbacher," anglicized to its more familiar form when the U.S. entered World War One. His father died when Eddie was twelve, and the youngster quit school to help support his mother. He found a job with the Frayer Miller Air-cooled Car Company, one of the thousands of automobile companies that emerged in the early 1900's. From his job road-testing cars for Frayer-Miller, he made his way into automobile racing, racing for Fred Duesenberg, among others. He raced three times in the Indianapolis 500 and set a speed record of 134 MPH in a Blitzen Benz. He became one of the...

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Col. Bernard Fisher, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army National Guard, U.S Air Force (1945-1974)

Col. Bernard Fisher, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army National Guard, U.S Air Force (1945-1974)

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It's hard to know where to begin telling Bernard Fisher's military story. No one could have predicted that a kid who joined the Navy at 18 to fight in World War II would eventually receive the Medal of Honor as an Air Force fighter pilot in Vietnam. No one would have guessed it would take the same man 57 years to receive his bachelor's degree. That's the extraordinary life of Col. Bernard F. Fisher. Charting the Course: Bernard Fisher's Unforeseen Military Odyssey A native of San Bernardino, California, Fisher joined the Navy in 1945 at the end of World War II. When his time in the Navy ended in 1947, he attended Boise State Junior College and then transferred to the University of Utah—but he didn't get to finish his degree. He joined the Idaho National Guard around the same time he began his higher education. In 1951, the same year he was supposed to graduate from college, he was commissioned in the United States Air Force. To be clear, Bernie Fisher had done the classwork, and he...

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Cpl Daniel Dwain Schoonover, U.S. Army (1952-1953)

Cpl Daniel Dwain Schoonover, U.S. Army (1952-1953)

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Pork Chop Hill is one of the most infamous battle sites of the Korean War. A communist force met an equal number of United Nations troops twice in the spring and summer of 1953. They fought over a North Korean hill that, in retrospect, had little strategic value. The Importance of Pork Chop Hill Whether the hill was essential to the overall war effort or not, the American and United Nations troops who fought for the position did so with courage and valor, the way they would attack any objective. One of those soldiers, a corporal from Hawaii, was a one-man anti-communist wrecking crew. The truth about Pork Chop Hill is that the two sides had been fighting over the North Korean hill for almost the entirety of the Korean War. After the front stabilized in the aftermath of China's intervention in the war, UN forces took the initiative during the "stalemate" period in 1951. After the U.S. 8th Cavalry Regiment captured the hill in October 1951, it was recaptured by the communists, only to...

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WW2 – The Battle of the Bismarck Sea

WW2 – The Battle of the Bismarck Sea

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As 1942 turned to 1943, a victorious end to World War II in the Pacific Theater was still far from assured for either side of the conflict. The Allies were celebrating a string of strategic victories over the course of the previous year. After the devastation of Pearl Harbor, the Americans scored a major victory against the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. A few months later, U.S. forces launched the Solomon Islands campaign, invading Guadalcanal and its strategic airfield.  The Crucial Moments of the Battle of the Bismarck Sea The Japanese, of course, suffered a string of setbacks. A joint Australian and American force pushed back Japan’s offensive on the Kokoda Trail on New Guinea, the losses it suffered at Midway were not replaceable and by February 1943, the Japanese Army would be forced to abandon Guadalcanal. The Japanese Imperial Staff knew it needed to reinforce its positions in New Guinea, which was fighting in some of the most grueling swamp,...

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Cold War Double Agents Within the CIA

Cold War Double Agents Within the CIA

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How much do you know about Cold War double agents within the CIA? Just recently, news has been released by a CIA analyst that, during the Cold War, there were double agents who worked for the CIA while remaining secretly loyal to communist spy agencies. There were nearly 100 fake CIA “agents” in East Germany, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. These “agents” made up false intelligence that was then passed on to the U.S. policymakers for years.

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The Battle of Buena Vista

The Battle of Buena Vista

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The Mexican War was one of the United States' shortest wars, and it's a conflict that often goes overlooked in American history books. But it was one that literally shaped the country and its future in so many ways. It added more than half a million square miles to the United States, from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Ocean, establishing a southern border and creating a territory that truly spread from sea to shining sea.  It was also where many future commanders of the American Civil War would cut their teeth in the art of war, applying what they learned from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. These notables included Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, George G. Meade, George McClellan, George Pickett, Joseph E. Johnston, Braxton Bragg, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant.  The Battle of Buena Vista: General Taylor's Stand At the start of the war, the Mexican claimed its border with Texas was the Nueces River, while the U.S. upheld the Texas claim that the border was the...

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Sgt Allen James Lynch, U.S. Army (1964–1969)

Sgt Allen James Lynch, U.S. Army (1964–1969)

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When Allen James Lynch Graduated from high school, he knew he would either have to go to a college or trade school or wait to get drafted. He decided to chart his own course and join the Army. He didn't want to wait for something to happen to him, so he made his way to a recruiter.  "I wasn't the hero you read about in books, you know," Allen said in a 2011 interview. "I was bullied a lot, pushed around in grade school, high school. I had a bad self-image. I had to test myself… I had to figure out who I was."  Allen James Lynch Volunteered to Serve in Vietnam So Allen James Lynch joined the Army in 1964. Two years later, he volunteered to serve in Vietnam. Lynch arrived there with Company D, 1st Battalion of the 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) on May 31, 1967. Around six months later, he would be fighting for his life and the lives of his fellow soldiers. For his acts of astonishing bravery under fire, he would receive the Medal of Honor.  In...

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WW1 – The First Battle of the Somme (1916)

WW1 – The First Battle of the Somme (1916)

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In the annals of military history, few battles evoke the same sense of sacrifice, tragedy, and valor as the First Battle of the Somme. Fought during the First World War, this monumental clash took place between July 1st and November 18th, 1916, primarily along the banks of the River Somme in France. It remains one of the most significant engagements of the Great War, characterized by its staggering casualties and strategic significance. The First Battle of the Somme is famous chiefly on account of the loss of 58,000 British troops (one third of them killed) on the first day of the battle, July 1, 1916, which to this day remains a one-day record The First Battle of the Somme: The Ill-Fated Bombardment The attack was preceded by an eight-day preliminary bombardment of the German lines, with expectations that the ferocity of the bombardment would entirely destroy all forward German defenses, enabling the attacking British troops to practically walk across No Man's Land and take...

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