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Great Military Stories

Capt. John Paul Jones, U.S. Navy (1775–1792)

Capt. John Paul Jones, U.S. Navy (1775–1792)

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There is no shortage of heroes who rose to prominence during the American Revolution, but few compare to the legacy of John Paul Jones. A Scotsman by birth, he came to the fledgling United States but joined the Continental Navy as an American. Although many of his newfound countrymen would enjoy victories over Great Britain in the years to come, only Capt. John Paul Jones, the "Father of the U.S. Navy," would ever bring the war home to the British.  John Paul Jones Rose as the Father of the U.S. Navy Born in 1747, young John Paul (not yet Jones) began his sailing career at the tender age of 13. He spent a considerable amount of time traveling across the Atlantic Ocean from England to Virginia as a merchant mariner. It was as a merchant that he got his first chance to command a ship. He was 21 years old when the captain and first mate of his ship suddenly died of Yellow Fever, and it was John Paul who successfully navigated the vessel back to its home waters.   He soon...

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The Forces Pin Up – GI Morale Boosters

The Forces Pin Up – GI Morale Boosters

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America’s entrance into World War II back in 1941 triggered the golden age of pinups, pictures of smiling women in a range of clothing-challenged situations. The racy photos adorned lonely servicemen’s lockers, the walls of barracks, and even the sides of planes. For the first time in its history, the US military unofficially sanctioned this kind of art: pinup pictures, magazines, and calendars were shipped and distributed among the troops, often at government expense, to “raise morale” and remind the young men what they were fighting for.

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Korean War – Pork Chop Hill

Korean War – Pork Chop Hill

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On Sunday, June 25, 1950, just before as sunrise, South Korean soldiers and their American advisors awakened to what they expected to be just another routine day guarding the demarcation line separating South Korea from Communist North Korea. Instead, they woke up to North Korean artillery blowing apart their positions, followed by heavy tanks and thousands of screaming North Korean soldiers. Outnumbered and outgunned, the UN forces were powerless to rout the invaders, forcing them into a disorderly withdrawal south. Never able to get their footing, UN forces continued moving south down the Korean peninsula, fighting delaying actions in Seoul, Osan, Taegu, Masan, P'ohang, and the Naktong River. Their withdrawal took nine days, ending at the southeastern-most tip of South Korea near the port city of Pusan on the Sea of Japan. Exhausted and on the brink of defeat, they hurriedly set up the 'Pusan Perimeter' to make their final stand against the determined North Korean army. The Battle...

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Sgt Henry Johnson, U.S. Army (1918-1919) – America’s First World War Hero

Sgt Henry Johnson, U.S. Army (1918-1919) – America’s First World War Hero

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Henry Johnson was a World War I soldier who singlehandedly beat back a German assault while critically wounded. He was a great American hero and received the highest military honor of two different countries. One of those countries, however, his very own, didn't bestow that medal until nearly 100 years after his service in WWI. The honor this man deserved was not awarded by the U.S. government upon his return home, because he was black. But that racism was eventually overcome, if only by the undeniable memory of his heroism. Henry Johnson Defied Segregation to Serve In 1917, a young Henry Johnson was working as a Red Cap porter at an Albany, New York train station joined the 15th New York National Guard Regiment. Due to U.S. segregation policies, it was an all-black regiment. Due to be shipped out to France as the U.S. declared war on Germany and its allies, the 15th New York was renamed the 369th Infantry Regiment and placed within the American Expeditionary Force under General John...

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The Ghost of Mad Anthony Wayne

The Ghost of Mad Anthony Wayne

The average American living in Ohio and Pennsylvania may not know exactly who Gen. Anthony Wayne was, what he did, or what became of the man, but they've definitely heard his name, because so many streets and buildings are named after him there.  Mad Anthony Wayne Became a Legend Through Combat But those who drive along U.S. Route 322 through Pennsylvania might even catch a glimpse of him, even though he's been dead for almost 230 years. Wayne was a politician, a Founding Father, and a soldier whose exploits and daring in combat earned him the nickname "Mad" Anthony Wayne. As a Revolutionary War commander, he was fearless, ordering his troops to remove their musket flints at the Battle of Stony Point to ensure they would not only be silent but also engage the British in hand-to-hand combat at night. The gamble worked. After 30 minutes, the British were routed and the Americans captured the cliffs. It was also the second time he'd used that tactic. But his battlefield legend...

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Revolutionary War – The Battle of Green Spring

Revolutionary War – The Battle of Green Spring

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The Battle of Green Spring isn't as celebrated a battle as the great American victories at Saratoga or Cowpens, but it is a relatively simple meeting between two great opposing forces, one that would demonstrate the evolution of the Continental Army in the face of superior British numbers and firepower.  Lafayette’s Maneuvers Led to the Battle of Green Spring It was the summer of 1781, and the outnumbered Marquis de Lafayette was dogging British Gen. Charles Cornwallis as the two armies tried to outmaneuver one another across Virginia. With 7,000 experienced troops, Lord Cornwallis was eager to trap Lafayette's 3,000-strong force, which was filled with mostly inexperienced militiamen.  Lafayette deftly dodged the British attempts to force an engagement, but his harassment of the British forces grew bolder when he received reinforcements, around 1,000 Continental Army troops under the legendary Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne.  When Cornwallis' movement suddenly shifted...

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VADM John D. Bulkeley, U.S. Navy (1933-1975)

VADM John D. Bulkeley, U.S. Navy (1933-1975)

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John D. Bulkeley was a Vice Admiral in the United States Navy and one of its most decorated naval officers. Bulkeley received the Medal of Honor for actions in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He was also the PT boat skipper who evacuated General Douglas MacArthur from Corregidor in the Philippines.  VADM John D. Bulkeley Led Daring WWII Missions John D. Bulkeley was born in New York City and grew up on a farm in Hackettstown, New Jersey, where he graduated from Hackettstown High School. He was a 1933 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. At the dawn of World War II, Bulkeley was a Lieutenant in command of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a Philippine-based detachment of six motor torpedo boats. He hit his stride as a daring, resourceful and courageous leader. He picked up General Douglas MacArthur, his family, and his immediate staff, who had been ordered to flee the Philippines, and took them aboard PT 41 and other 77-foot (23 m) motor torpedo boats through...

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Largest Amphibious Invasions In Modern History

Largest Amphibious Invasions In Modern History

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The Battle of Inchon was an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations. The operation involved some 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital of Seoul two weeks later. The code name for the operation was Operation Chromite. Amphibious Invasions Turn the Tide at Inchon The battle began on September 15, 1950, and ended on September 19th. Through a surprise, amphibious assault far from the Pusan Perimeter that United Nations and South Korean forces were desperately defending, the largely undefended city of Incheon was being bombed by UN forces from the air and from the allied ships off the coast of Incheon. On September 16th, in an attempt to stop the advance of the UN forces, North Korean People's Army (NKPA) sent six columns of T-34 tanks to the beachhead. They were quite alone, without infantry support. They were spotted by a strike force of...

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Distinguished Military Unit: 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) Vietnam By A3C Michael Bell

Distinguished Military Unit: 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) Vietnam By A3C Michael Bell

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"…Though some go curving down the trailTo seek a warmer scene.No Trooper ever gets to HellEre he's emptied his canteen.And so rides back to drink againWith friends at Fiddlers' Green." The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) is respected for its lore and insignia, its mottos "[America's] First Team," "The Ground You Stand Upon," or "Live The Legend" and its traditions. The poem "Fiddler's Green" is noteworthy within the 1st Cavalry Division; it acknowledges cavalry history and sacrifices of its members, according to the 1st Cavalry Division Association. It is said that all who have been assigned or attached to this unit are Cavalry Troopers regardless of their military occupation skill and therefore eligible to rest at Fiddler's Green. The lyric's origin may have been the 5th Royal Irish Lancers as far back as 1689. 1st and 7th CAV (Garryowen) affiliation with it was first published in a 1923 volume of the Cavalry Journal. According to the article, it was part of a campfire story told...

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Korean War – Sacrifice And Survival at Chosin Reservoir

Korean War – Sacrifice And Survival at Chosin Reservoir

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For 19-year-old Pat Finn, a Minnesota Marine with Item Co, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, the night seemed colder and darker than any of the others he'd experienced since landing in Korea. His Battalion had just arrived at a desolate, frozen lake he would remember for the rest of his life: the Chosin Reservoir. Chosin Reservoir Hit by a Devastating Surprise Attack As the sun went down on November 27, 1950, and temperatures sank to 20 degrees below zero, Marines at Yudam-ni, a small village on the west side of the Chosin Reservoir, hunkered down for what they hoped would be a quiet, uneventful night. "The war was all but over," Finn recalled in his diary written weeks later from a hospital bed in Japan. "You'll be home by Christmas," he'd been told. But his buddy, Eddie Reilly, wasn't buying it. In his usual pessimistic tone, he told Finn, "Pat, I don't like the look of all this, it sounds too good." For the next four hours, the two Marines scraped and dug into the frozen, rocky ground,...

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WW2 – Midway and Guadalcanal

WW2 – Midway and Guadalcanal

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There is some debate on the turning point of the war in the Pacific Theatre. Some historians believe the Allied victory at the Battle of Midway was the defining moment, followed by aggressive island-hopping all the way to the Japanese homeland. Others view Midway as the tipping point in the war where the initiative hung in the balance only to swing toward the Allies following its major victory in the Guadalcanal campaign. According to many other historians, however, the turning point of the war in the Pacific resulted from the two battles combined. They point out that the Battle of Midway inflicted such permanent damage on the Japanese Navy that when the Battle of Guadalcanal began two months later, they did not have enough resources to hold onto the island or to take it back once the U.S. Marines had landed. Together, these two victories ended major Japanese expansion in the Pacific, allowing the Americans and its allies to take the offensive. Japanese Expansion Before Midway...

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Summary of The Vietnam War (1959-1975)

Summary of The Vietnam War (1959-1975)

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Vietnam was a country torn by war long before Americans became involved in the fighting. French domination was interrupted by the Japanese occupation in World War II, during which Communist leader Ho Chi Minh formed his Viet Minh organization and began guerrilla operations against both occupying powers. The Viet Minh came to power when Japan fell, and the French Indochina War began in 1946 as France attempted to regain control over its colony. The war ended in May 1954 when the Viet Minh mauled the French in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The Geneva Accords then divided the country into North and South Vietnam. U.S. Enters the Conflict – Summary of Vietnam War Ho Chi Minh took power in North Vietnam and one million refugees fled south. The United States became involved in the defense of South Vietnam as the guerrilla activity by Communist-led insurgents intensified. The first Americans were killed in 1959. There were 342 advisers in Vietnam in January 1960, but after John F. Kennedy's...

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