Military Medley

Black Ops Vietnam By Robert M. Gillespie

Black Ops Vietnam By Robert M. Gillespie

Have you read "Black Ops Vietnam" By Robert M. Gillespie? During the Vietnam War, the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MACVSOG) was a highly-classified. It was a US joint-service organization that consisted of personnel from Army Special Forces, the Air Force Special Operations Forces, Navy SEALs, Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance units, and the CIA.  This secret organization was committed to action in Southeast Asia even before the major build-up of US...

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In Which Box? by Bob Sheldon

In Which Box? by Bob Sheldon

In Which Box? by Bob Sheldon Michael Renaldi, a former regional security officer for the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, is the protagonist of this globe-trotting debut novel by retired U.S. Navy officer Bob Sheldon. Renaldi is pulled out of retirement by his former colleagues in the DSS, who are desperate for his special skills in the interrogation field. Saudi Arabia requires help with a captured Islamist terrorist, and the need for alternative interrogation techniques will spur Renaldi on...

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Historic Japanese Internment Camps At Risk!

Historic Japanese Internment Camps At Risk!

Because of proposed cuts in the United States budget for 2019, the National Park Services would be severely reduced. This may have a negative impact on many NPS sites, including those where Japanese Americans were confined following America's entry into WWII in 1941. In 2006, the government set up the Japanese American Confinement Sites Grants Program via the National Parks and set aside thirty-eight million dollars to educate the public as to the importance of remembering this...

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Helping Veterans Get a Good VA Home Loan

Helping Veterans Get a Good VA Home Loan

How to Get the Best Mortgage Rate for Veterans with VA Home Loans Do you want to know how to get the best mortgage rate for veterans, with VA home loans? VA loans can be a valuable tool for veterans and service members to purchase a home without the need for a sizable down-payment. Typically, lenders ask for a 20% down-payment, but in the case of service-members, it can be difficult to gather that much capital. Luckily, there are alternatives. What Are VA Home Loans? VA loans are financial...

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Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides

Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides

In August 1944, the War Ministry in Tokyo had issued a directive to the commandants of various POW camps, outlining a policy for what it called the 'final disposition' of prisoners. A copy of this document, which came to be known as the 'August 1 Kill-All Order,' would surface in the war crimes investigations in Tokyo.  The document read in part that POWs are to be destroyed individually or in groups and whether it is accomplished by means of mass bombing, poisonous smoke, poisons,...

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Killing The SS by Bill O’Reilly

Killing The SS by Bill O’Reilly

As the true horrors of the Third Reich began to be exposed immediately after World War II, the Nazi war criminals who committed genocide went on the run. A few were swiftly caught, including the notorious SS leader, Heinrich Himmler. Others, however, evaded capture through a sophisticated Nazi organization designed to hide them. Among those war criminals were Josef Mengele, the "Angel of Death" who performed hideous medical experiments at Auschwitz; Martin Bormann, Hitler's brutal personal...

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SSgt John (Johnny) R. Cash, U.S. Air Force (1950-1954)

SSgt John (Johnny) R. Cash, U.S. Air Force (1950-1954)

The legend who would become Johnny Cash was born in 1932 into the Cash family of poor cotton farmers in Kingsland, Arkansas. Known simply as J.R. growing up, Cash graduated high school in 1950 and joined the US Air Force with the Korean War raging. Unable to sign up under an initial, he gave his name as ‘John R. Cash’. He completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, which is the same time he met the young woman that would become his first wife, Vivian Liberto, at a roller rink....

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LCdr John (Jackie) Cooper, U.S. Navy (1943-1982)

LCdr John (Jackie) Cooper, U.S. Navy (1943-1982)

Born in Los Angeles in 1922, Cooper was born into a family of entertainers and became a child actor while very young, accompanying his grandmother to her auditions. His first actual credit was in 1929, in the short film Boxing Gloves, part of the Our Gang series of comedic films directed by Hal Roach. Jackie’s stock rose and he took larger and larger roles in these shorts, leading in The First Seven Years (1930) and When The Wind Blows (1930). In 1931 Cooper’s uncle, director Norman Taurog,...

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Operation Torch Then And Now by Jean Paul Pallud

Operation Torch Then And Now by Jean Paul Pallud

The Allied invasion of North Africa is a convoluted tale of politics, diplomacy, grand strategy, and a military campaign. Operation Torch introduced the Americans to the swings and roundabouts of land combat against the Axis Powers and showed up some of the military inconsistencies of their allies - the British. The great partnership was underway on the rocky road to total victory in 1945. The invasion pitted Frenchman against Frenchman and culminated in the total defeat of Germany and Italy...

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Sgt Drew Carey, U.S. Marine Corps (1980-1986)

Sgt Drew Carey, U.S. Marine Corps (1980-1986)

Drew Carey, who served in the US Marine Corps between 1980 and 1986, may be better recognized as the host of the game show The Price is Right, or for his previous work as host of improv comedy show Whose Line is it Anyway? It might surprise some to learn, however, that his distinctive haircut and glasses are artifacts from his years of service as a Marine.Born the youngest of three sons to the Carey family of Old Brooklyn in Cleveland, Ohio, at the age of eight Carey lost his father Lewis to a...

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Cpl William (Bill) Ralph Blass, U.S. Army (1943-1945)

Cpl William (Bill) Ralph Blass, U.S. Army (1943-1945)

William (or Bill) Ralph Blass who served in the US Army between 1943 and 1945 is better known for his contributions to the fashion industry. However, his efforts during World War II are as remarkable as they are unusual. William Ralph Blass was born on June 22 1922, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His father was a traveling salesman, his mother a dressmaker. Sadly, Blass’ father committed suicide when Bill was 5. Bill took after his mother, sketching Hollywood-inspired fashions in the margins of his...

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LCpl Orville Richard Burrell (aka Shaggy), U.S. Marine Corps (1988-1992)

LCpl Orville Richard Burrell (aka Shaggy), U.S. Marine Corps (1988-1992)

Orville Richard Burrell, also known as Shaggy, who served on the US Marine Corps between 1988 and 1992, came to live in Brooklyn as a teenager after leaving his home of Jamaica. While he showed early musical promise, he was in need of steady income, and the Marines were happy to take him. Born on October 22 1968 in Kingston, Jamaica, Orville took singing lessons as a teen and discovered a natural talent. He earned the nickname ‘Shaggy’ because of his untamed hair, after the Scooby-Doo...

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