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Military Campaign Stories

Civil War – The Battle of Stones River

Civil War – The Battle of Stones River

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It was cold at the turning of the year in Murfreesboro, right in the middle of the state of Tennessee. The little town nestled under a crook in the arm of the Stones River, near where the water rushed and chattered over a long shallow ford. The Civil War had raged across the country for nearly two years. At the end of December in 1862, the Union force called the Army of the Cumberland was maneuvering into position to challenge the Confederacy's Army of Tennessee. Opposing Forces of the Battle of Stones River The Confederate troops were commanded by Gen. Braxton Bragg, a tall, thickly bearded, sad-eyed veteran of the South's campaigns. His army numbered around thirty-five thousand men, cavalry, cannon, infantry, and skirmishers. They had been encamped north of Murfreesboro for a month when the Union forces finally arrived. Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans was in command of the Union Army of the Cumberland, which out-numbered Bragg's force by nearly ten thousand men. They had marched the...

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Famous Army Unit: Department of the Army Special Photographic Office (DASPO)

Famous Army Unit: Department of the Army Special Photographic Office (DASPO)

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By 1962 the world was becoming a very scary place punctuated by continuing confrontations between global communist and democratic powers, alongside growing civil, racial, and political unrest.  In Southeast Asia, the Korean War brought an indecisive outcome, and the tide of combat in Vietnam now favored communist forces despite US advisors in place since 1956.  Further, in 1961 alone there was an armed conflict between communist and democratic armies along the Chinese-Burma border, UN peace-keeping forces fighting at Kabalo and Katanga (Operation Rampunch) in the Congo, and the US-backed Bay of Pigs, a failed attempt to overthrow Castro’s regime in Cuba.  In Europe, the Berlin Wall was constructed following decades-long Soviet blockades leading to the activation of more than 150,000 US guardsmen and reservists together with Operation Stair Step, the largest jet deployment in history.  Then in October 1962, provoked by ongoing US efforts against Cuba (Operation...

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Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, U.S. Marine Corps (1934-45)

Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, U.S. Marine Corps (1934-45)

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Today's United States Marines have many idols. Unsurprisingly, these are often other Marines, Marines who served in wars past but distinguished themselves and exemplified what it means to call oneself a United States Marine. Few of these idols loom as large as Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone.  Basilone was born to an Italian family in Upstate New York and raised in New Jersey. He was working as a golf caddy when he decided to join the Army in 1934. It was, of course, years before the United States entered World War II. He spent three years in the Philippines, a place he would come to love.  John Basilone Came Back to the Military Service John Basilone loved Manila so much, in fact, that after he left the Army and became a truck driver, he decided he would re-enlist to get back to Manila as fast as possible. Thinking the Marine Corps would get him there faster, he joined the Marines instead of the Army in 1940. He was sent to Guantanamo Bay instead.  After the Japanese...

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PVC Anthony Dominick Bennett (Tony Bennett), U.S. Army (1944–1946)

PVC Anthony Dominick Bennett (Tony Bennett), U.S. Army (1944–1946)

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Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Tony Bennett is a jazz legend, with a career spanning over half a century. He is also a painter, and the founder of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, New York. But did you know that before entering the music business, he served in the United States Army? He was sent to Europe to participate in the final months of the Second World War. He fought in the final stages of World War II as a U.S. Army infantryman in the European Theater. Tony Bennett’s Early Life Born and raised in Astoria to an Italian-American family, Tony Bennett was the first member of his family to be born in a hospital. His father John Benedetto was a grocer and his mother Anna (Suraci) was a seamstress. Unfortunately, for most of Tony’s childhood, his father was ailing and unable to work, and the children grew up in poverty....

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Colors of War & Peace by Dan Thompson

Colors of War & Peace by Dan Thompson

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The years between 1968 and 1970 were some of the most tumultuous for the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – better known as MACV. 1968 kicked off with the now-famous Tet Offensive, a massive, coordinated campaign that struck cities, villages, and military bases all across South Vietnam. The Process of Vietnamization By 1969, President Richard Nixon began the process of Vietnamization, building up the Army of South Vietnam to take over the defense of their own country. As more conventional U.S. troops began to leave Vietnam, it put more pressure on the U.S. Army's covert Studies and Observation Group (SOG).  Dan Thompson was a member of the Special Forces in Vietnam between these turbulent years of the war. SOG members began taking the initiative on the ground, and not just in Vietnam. They undertook secret missions in Laos, Cambodia, and in North Vietnam, taking the fighting to the enemy. Dan Thompson did two tours there.  About the Colors of War & Peace In his 2018 book...

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The Amazing History of the USS Barb (SS 220)

The Amazing History of the USS Barb (SS 220)

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When it comes to submarine action during World War II, there are a number of standouts, and among them is the submarine USS Barb (SS 220). But what makes USS Barb unique? No other submarine can boast a train on its battle flag. One of the Submarine's Main Characters There can't be a story about USS Barb without mentioning one of the submarine's main characters: commanding officer Lt. Cmdr. Eugene B. Fluckey. The Washington, D.C.-native was to Barb as chocolate is to peanut butter. While there are many fascinating tales about Barb during World War II, this one, in particular, is during the sub's 12th and final war patrol that began in June 1945. The sub, crew and her skipper were still basking in the glow of Barb's 11th war patrol that earned Fluckey the Medal of Honor and the Presidential Unit Citation for the crew of the submarine.  He had previously earned four Navy Crosses. But Fluckey wasn't about to rest on his or the sub's laurels after bargaining a fifth war patrol from Adm....

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

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

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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,...

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

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

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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...

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WW2 – The Allied Invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky)

WW2 – The Allied Invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky)

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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...

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Run Through the Jungle By Larry Musson

Run Through the Jungle By Larry Musson

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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...

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

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

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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.

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

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

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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...

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