Military Campaign Stories

MajGen Frank Baldwin, U.S. Army (1861-1906)

MajGen Frank Baldwin, U.S. Army (1861-1906)

Receiving the Medal of Honor for valor in combat puts one in the hallowed company of but a few thousand individuals to ever grace the earth. But by the time you earn two Medals of Honor, you are one of 19 persons to have ever done so. Perhaps it is because the Medal of Honor is quite often awarded posthumously but receiving two and living to talk about it is a rare feat in the world. Frank Baldwin would do just that in the 1800s and live to become a General by World War 1. His first would come during the American Civil War in an era where men lined up in neat rows and took turns shooting at each other. The next would be on the American frontier as the rapidly expanding America put itself in increasing conflict with the Native Americans pushed west. And while each conflict is the subject of intense historical debate, the gallantry of a man on either side when the bullets start to fly is often the least controversial part of it all. Frank Baldwin's Early Life A native of Michigan,...

read more
Did Your Cell Phone Pay for U.S. Wars?

Did Your Cell Phone Pay for U.S. Wars?

Wars are expensive, and there was a time when the United States paid for them with money instead of going into debt. Back in those days, however, the American government collected revenue very differently. Those old-timey methods of paying the bills led to more than 100 years of telecommunications excise taxes, including cell phone taxes that some believed were still paying for America's 1898 war with Spain. Congress did originally pass an excise tax to pay for the Spanish-American War, but it was renewed time and again over decades to pay for more wars.  The Role of Excise Taxes in Funding Wars At the turn of the 20th Century, the U.S. government drew most of its money from tariffs. Excise taxes on specific goods (like tobacco and coffee) were another source of revenue. The United States imposed its first income tax during the Civil War, but it was repealed in 1872. So when it came time for war with Spain, Congress needed a way to pay for it.  The answer they came up with was an...

read more
WW2 – The Allied Invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky)

WW2 – The Allied Invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky)

The July 1943 invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) was a masterstroke of military planning and execution. It freed much of the Mediterranean Sea for Allied shipping, inflicted more than 175,000 casualties on the Axis forces, took down Benito Mussolini’s government, and knocked Italy out of the war. It’s stunning, in retrospect, to consider that it almost didn’t happen.  The Planning and Execution of Operation Husky American planners believed invading anything but the Italian mainland would be an irrelevant venture. At the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, the British convinced the U.S. that clearing Sicily would mean clearing the Mediterranean of Axis aircraft and ships.   Before the invasion, code-named Operation Husky, could begin, the Allies needed to reduce the island’s defenses. The Allied bomber force began hitting targets in Sardinia, Sicily, southern Italy, and Greece to keep the Axis guessing where the next attack would be. Allied forces also bombed and...

read more
Run Through the Jungle By Larry Musson

Run Through the Jungle By Larry Musson

Run Through the Jungle is a first-hand account of the combat in South Vietnam, as experienced by Larry Musson and other members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. A riveting tale, this book is narrated by an equally compelling man. A man who found joy in writing at a young age and used said joy to give us a detailed page-turner in Run Through the Jungle. Larry Musson, no doubt a hero in the minds of many, was born in Shelbyville, Illinois. He grew up in Elwood and was a member of the class of '67 of Joliet East High School. A couple of years later, after a year of junior college, the author volunteered for airborne training and finished Jump School at Fort Benning, Georgia. This is where he received his orders for the 173rd Airborne Brigade to serve in the Republic of South Vietnam - the place that would ultimately provide the inspiration for this captivating book. The stories from Run Through the Jungle are true accounts of what Larry and other members of his Airborne company went...

read more
The Last Stand Of The Glorious Glosters

The Last Stand Of The Glorious Glosters

By April 1951, the Korean War had raged for nearly a year. The initial assault by North Korea into separate South Korea had been driven back to the 38th parallel - the border between the two nations. The North, aided by Chinese soldiers and Soviet resources, was still intent on conquering the South. United Nations troops, predominantly American but including forces from elsewhere in the world, were protecting the South. The Communist Army had been weakened by supply problems over the winter, but by March they had recovered and been reinforced. As UN troops under General Ridgway pushed north in the center, the Communists massed to attack in the west, where UN troops were deployed in defensive positions along the Imjin River. This stretch of the UN line was held primarily by the British 29th Brigade, led by Brigadier Brodie. Belgian forces guarded their right flank. With the majority of UN troops concentrated for Ridgway's advance, Brodie's forces were thinly spread. His four...

read more
Service Reflections of LT James Jans, U.S. Navy (1960-1981)

Service Reflections of LT James Jans, U.S. Navy (1960-1981)

Friends from my home town. One of my best friends from school joined the Navy and was stationed on the carrier Bon Homme Richard CVA-31 came home on leave and was wearing his Navy uniform. Being from a town 45 miles from an Army Base (Ft Huachuca), the Navy uniform seemed much more impressive than the Army fatigues that I was used to seeing. Plus, I was intrigued because I had never seen the ocean or any body of water bigger than the watering tank of a local cattle rancher. Also, to think that ships could have a larger population than the town I was living in was amazing. I needed to get out of town to a place where I would have the opportunity to develop my talents to more than being a service station attendant pumping gas at one of the local gas stations. I was all in for a career in the Navy.

read more
Col. Robert Gould Shaw, U.S. Army (1861-1863)

Col. Robert Gould Shaw, U.S. Army (1861-1863)

The smoke from the Confederate shelling of Fort Sumter had barely cleared when Robert Gould Shaw, the son of wealthy abolitionists, volunteered for the Union cause in 1861. Federal troops withdrew from the fort in Charleston Harbor on April 13, 1861. Robert Gould Shaw joined the 7th New York Militia six days later.  He didn't see combat with the New Yorkers. Instead, he waited out that enlistment and joined the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry from his home state as it was forming. Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, he marched south and fought two losing battles at Winchester and Cedar Mountain before finally tasting victory at the bloody Battle of Antietam, where he was wounded.  Leadership in the Formation of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment As he recuperated back home, the Union ordered new regiments of Black troops raised. Massachusetts would lead the way, forming the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Even after the unit began to form, the state's...

read more
Last Night I Dreamed of Peace by Dang Thuy Tram

Last Night I Dreamed of Peace by Dang Thuy Tram

At the age of twenty-four, Dang Thuy Tram volunteered to serve as a doctor in a National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) battlefield hospital in the Quang Ngai Province. Two years later, she was killed by American forces not far from where she worked. Written between 1968 and 1970, her diary speaks poignantly of her devotion to family and friends, the horrors of war, her yearning for her high school sweetheart, and her struggle to prove her loyalty to her country. At times raw, at times lyrical and youthfully sentimental, her voice transcends cultures to speak of her dignity and compassion and her challenges in the face of the war's ceaseless fury. The American officer who discovered the diary soon after Dr. Tram's death was under standing orders to destroy all documents without military value. As he was about to toss it into the flames, his Vietnamese translator said to him, "Don't burn this one. It has fire in it already." Against regulations, the officer preserved the diary and kept...

read more
The Reincarnations of General Patton

The Reincarnations of General Patton

The life and career of General George Patton were, to say the least, flamboyant. Known to his loyal troops as "Old Blood and Guts," his colorful personality, hard-driving leadership style and success as a commander, combined with his frequent political missteps, produced a mixed and often contradictory image of an out of control leader with a temper, tendency toward insubordination and his open criticizing on how the way the war is being waged. Film About General George Patton Perhaps nothing showcased the general more than the 1970 movie "Patton," starring George C. Scott in the title role. The movie of the famous tank commander traces his battlefield genius during World War II that garnered him fear and respect from the Germans but disdain from our Allies and, in particular, General Dwight Eisenhower. When Patton's big mouth and bigger ego became a liability to the fragile alliance Eisenhower was trying to hold together to fight the Germans, he was summoned to Eisenhower's...

read more
Japanese Tried A Second Raid on Pearl Harbor

Japanese Tried A Second Raid on Pearl Harbor

Everyone knows about the first bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Less well known, however, was the second attack. And there was almost a third. The first one was just a warm-up. The Imperial Japanese Navy planned several more attacks on the U.S. mainland - starting with California and Texas. It was called Ke-Sakusen (Operation Strategy), better known as "Operation K." Its aim was four-fold: (1) to assess the damage at Pearl Harbor; (2) to stop the ongoing rescue and salvage operations; (3) to finish off targets unscathed by the first raid; and (4) to test their new Kawanishi H8K1 flying boats. Kawanishi H8K1 Flying Boats' Testing During Operation K. Able to travel for up to 24 hours without refueling, they were ideal for Operation K - or so the Imperial Japanese Navy hoped. Five were to fly to the French Frigate Shoals (Kanemiloha'i) - less than 500 miles from Pearl Harbor. There they'd be refueled by submarine I-23 for the next leg of their flight to Oahu. To light their...

read more
Service Reflections of MST2 Edmund Reardon, U.S. Coast Guard (1977-1981)

Service Reflections of MST2 Edmund Reardon, U.S. Coast Guard (1977-1981)

In the 1970s, while trying to complete my undergraduate degree at Penn State Univ., I ended up on the Dean’s “other” list. With my academic career teetering on failure, I became interested in other options for my future.

The original GI Bill was in place but would soon be changed to the newer version where matching funds were promised. I delayed-enlisted before the deadline at the Pittsburgh, PA recruiting office, which offered billets for either Cape May, NJ, or Alameda, CA. Interested in further travel, I opted for CA.

read more
Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow, U.S. Army (1952–1994)

Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow, U.S. Army (1952–1994)

Sidney Shachnow was born in Lithuania in 1934, Sidney Shachnow faced oppression in his homeland and found his calling in the U.S. Army after immigrating to America in 1950. Sidney Shachnow enlisted in the military in 1955 and served for more than 39 years, including 32 in the Special Forces community. His top posts included leadership of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School and U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg and U.S. Army-Berlin in Germany. "Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow truly lived the American dream," said officials at the Special Warfare Center and School, which the general commanded from 1991 until his retirement in 1994. "He came up through the ranks from private to major general through hard work and selfless service to this nation and the men and women under his command." Along the way, the general became a legendary Special Forces officer, revered by many in the close-knit community of Green Berets. As a 7-Year-Old Boy, Shachnow was Imprisoned in...

read more