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Military Myths and Legends

US Navy Sailor Tattoos and Their Meanings

US Navy Sailor Tattoos and Their Meanings

Sailors have probably been getting tattoos since landlubbers could become sailors. Many cultures have used tattoos as markings for warriors since even before the Roman Empire’s heyday. Pope Hadrian the First ended the practice in the West when he outlawed tattoos in 787. US Navy Sailor Tattoos found a rebirth in the 16th Century, however, and have been popular ever since.  The Significance of Sailor Tattoos Sailors tattooed themselves for many reasons. Tattoos were used as identification, to show allegiance or esprit de corps. American sailors used tattoos to keep themselves from being forced to serve aboard British ships. Most importantly, they were (and remain) part of a culture filled with superstitions. Popularity among civilians ebbs and flows, but with sailors and military members, the tradition always remains strong. For sailors, in particular, they’re poignant reminders of their travels and achievements as men of the sea. Here are just a few common sailors’ tattoos and the...

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The Wild Deserters of World War I

The Wild Deserters of World War I

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At the 1918 Battle of the Somme, a British cavalry officer orders a search party to follow a dozen German troops into No Man's Land, swearing he saw them go underground. He was advised against it as the sun was setting – soon, the legend says, wild, ghoul-like men will feast on the Germans and kill anyone who gets in the way.  Of all the military myths and legends that sprung from World War I, there is possibly no greater mystery – and nothing closer to the men in the trenches – than the Wild Deserters of No Man's Land.  Most military myths are passed down from generation to generation, usually from a friend who "knows a guy who was there." You've probably heard about the infamous "ether bunny," the Bigfoot of the Vietnam War, or even a ghost story or two (especially if you were stationed on Okinawa). The Wild Deserters are a legend shared on both sides of the war by thousands of men across almost all armies.  Except, notably, the United States.  The Haunting Realm of No Man's Land...

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Are Movie Studios Required to Get Military Uniforms Wrong?

Are Movie Studios Required to Get Military Uniforms Wrong?

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Even though movies and television are supposed to be an escape from reality for a little while, veterans watching military movies will often have a hard time looking away from the train wrecks of military uniforms in those shows.  The offenses can be small, such as uniforms wearing the wrong service's ribbons and medals, to the egregious, like wearing uniform items that don't even exist. Some movies even feature characters wearing the camouflage of a different country.  The Rumor Surrounding Hollywood and Stolen Valor Charges One rumor that has persisted for decades is that Hollywood actually has to get military uniforms wrong in some ways, lest they be on the wrong side of some stolen valor charge. The rumor says that there is a federal statute of Department of Defense litigation that prevents studios from using proper uniforms.  With some of the terrible uniforms depicted in some movies and shows, who could blame anyone for seeing the logic in that? The truth is that there is no...

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The True Story of The Great Escape

The True Story of The Great Escape

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More than likely, many of us have seen the 1963 American World War II epic film "The Great Escape" based on a real escape by British Commonwealth prisoners of war from a German POW Camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Sir Richard Attenborough. The film is based on Paul Brickhill's 1950 book of the same name, a non-fiction first-hand account of the real mass escape from Stalag Luft III in Sagan (now Zagan, Poland), in the province of Lower Silesia, Nazi Germany. The characters are based on real men, and in some cases are composites of several men. As in any films depicting real events, many details of the actual escape attempt were changed for the film, and the role of American personnel in both the planning and the escape was largely fabricated. The actual escape attempt took place one night in late March 1944 when 76 Allied Airmen escape through a tunnel from their Prisoner of War Camp deep in occupied Poland. Their aim was not only to get back to...

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‘Only Son’ Law and the Draft

‘Only Son’ Law and the Draft

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This military urban legend is only as old as World War II, and probably because out of so many Americans registered for the war, a relatively small number were actually drafted for the war. It makes sense that more than a handful might not understand why they weren't called up to serve or what the rules for being called up or passed over might be.  Only Son Being Exempt from the Draft When the war ended, a number of myths and legends began to circulate. Stories about things that happened during the war were repeated time and again, spreading far and wide. Most of them were true - or started out as true. Like a large game of veteran telephone, some stories got a little distorted. The legend of only children being exempt from the draft is one of those stories that began with a true story but morphed into something else entirely.  Over the course of World War II, 49 million men registered for the draft in the United States. More than 407,000 service members were killed, and...

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The Passing Of “Rosie The Riveter”

The Passing Of “Rosie The Riveter”

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Rosalind P. (Palmer) Walter passed away at the age of 95. She is known to millions as the original inspiration for the "Rosie the Riveter" character. She is appreciated by many for her years of service and support for public broadcasting. Rosalind P. Walter's Early Life Walter grew up in a wealthy family in Long Island. Her father was Carleton Palmer, who was president and chairman of E.R. Squibb and Sons (which is now part of Bristol Myers Squibb). Squibb and sons sold penicillin, which was in high demand due to the war. Walter's mother was W. Bushnell, who taught literature at Long Island University. When the US entered World War II, Walter did not go off to college as she could have but rather supported the war effort by working in an airplane factory. "Rosie The Riveter" Is An Allegorical Cultural Icon In the United States With most of the country's men off serving in the military, women rose up to take the jobs those men vacated. Walter worked the night shift attaching rivets to...

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Eugene Bullard: World’s First Black Fighter Pilot

Eugene Bullard: World’s First Black Fighter Pilot

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A largely unsung and non-known hero of the World War One was the fascinating Eugene James "Jacques" Bullard of the Lafayette Flying Corps. Biography Eugene Jacques Bullard Bullard was born in a three-room house in Columbus, Georgia, the seventh of ten children born to William (Octave) Bullard, a black man who was from Martinique, and Josephine ("Yokalee") Thomas, a Creek Indian. His father's ancestors had been slaves in Haiti to French refugees who fled during the Haitian Revolution. They reached the United States and took refuge with the Creek Indians. An adventurer by nature, he left the small town of Columbus and moved to Atlanta by himself while still in his teenage years. He had been told that the way to escape racial prejudice was to head to Europe, particularly France (he once said he witnessed a near lynching of his dad). A long time back his father had pointed out to him that Bullard was a French name and that at least one ancestor had hailed from there. Stirred by all the...

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The USS Recruit in Union Square

The USS Recruit in Union Square

In 1917 the U.S. Navy built a full-size battleship in New York City's Union Square Park near the entrance to the subway and faced south. It would stay there for the next three years. The ship - USS Recruit - was commissioned as a normal seagoing ship, under the command of Acting Captain C. F. Pierce and with a complement of thirty-nine bluejackets from the Newport Training Station. It functioned as a recruiting office and training center with sailors training on the ship to demonstrate a small part of navy life to potential civilian recruits. The Navy also offered public access and tours of the ship, allowing civilians to familiarize themselves with how a Navy warship was operated. The accommodations aboard USS Recruit included fore and aft full officer's quarters, a wireless station, doctor's quarters and examination rooms to assess the health of potential candidates, a heating and ventilation system that was capable of changing the temperature of the air inside the ship ten times...

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Did a Scottish Soldier Really Play Bagpipes at Normandy?

Did a Scottish Soldier Really Play Bagpipes at Normandy?

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On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, the largest and most complex amphibious landing in history until that point. Invading Hitler's Fortress Europe was no small matter, even with all the preparations and forethought Allied planners made in advance of the landings. In the years and decades that followed, D-Day became one of the most thoroughly studied and documented events of World War II. Still, it seems like more and more personal stories, fascinating accounts, and even urban legends from the invasion emerge every day.  Only those who were there can really know what it was like to hit the beach that day. But given recollections from veterans, photos and film reel taken that day, and Steven Spielberg's realistic depiction of the event in the 1998 film "Saving Private Ryan," we have a pretty good idea of what it looked like. Legend of the Scottish Soldier So it's all the more shocking to hear the legend of the Scottish soldier who walked up and down...

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Lost Battalion

Lost Battalion

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Immediately after Japan's December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and other American bases in the Pacific, the United States declared war on Japan. Several days later Nazi German and Italy declared war on the U.S., embroiling the world into World War II. The war heightened American prejudice against German Americans and Italian Americans but the racism directed against Japanese Americans was particularly vicious. The calculated response culminated in the forced removal and unconstitutional incarceration of 120,000 residents of Japanese ancestry, including the complete elimination of communities and individuals from the entire West Coast of the United States. This racism was precipitated by the attack on Pearl Harbor but it had deep antecedents in the near half-century of legal, social, and economic policies directed against Asians in general within the United States. As the war progressed, however, more American units were needed to successfully fight the Axis powers. One such unit...

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A Leadership Lesson From a Janitor

A Leadership Lesson From a Janitor

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William "Bill" Crawford was an unimpressive figure, one you could easily overlook during a hectic day at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Mr. Crawford, as most of us referred to him back in the late 1970s, was our Squadron janitor. While we Cadets busied ourselves preparing for academic exams, athletic events, Saturday morning parades, and room inspection, or never-ending leadership classes-Bill quietly moved about the squadron mopping and buffing floors, emptying trash cans, cleaning toilets, or just tidying up the mess 100 college-age kids can leave in a dormitory. Sadly, and for many years, few of us gave him much notice, rendering little more than a passing nod or throwing a curt, "G' morning!" in his direction as we hurried off to our daily duties. Why? Perhaps it was because of the way he did his job - he always kept the squadron area spotlessly clean, even the toilets and showers gleamed. Frankly, he did his job so well; none of us had to notice or get involved. After all, cleaning...

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The Ghost of Kyiv

The Ghost of Kyiv

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, they came with an estimated 190,000 troops across Ukraine's border with Russia. Minutes after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the Russian invasion, Russian aircraft from Belarus struck the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. The Russians had launched a northern front across the border with Belarus. The target of the north front was Kyiv, and Russian forces were trying to break the will of Ukraine's people and its armed forces. But stories began to spread about a mystery jet fighter that had fought seemingly for days in skies above Kyiv, downing at least six Russian fighters, maybe more. The mystery pilot became known as "The Ghost of Kyiv," Though it was later found to be nothing more than a story, it inspired the Ukrainians to fight off the attack on their capital and defeat the Russian offensive. Russia's northern push from Belarus was an estimated 30,000 strong, with hundreds of attack helicopters, ground vehicles, airborne assault...

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