Charles Jackson French was born in Arkansas. He learned to swim in the Red River when he was 8. In 1937, at age 18, he enlisted in the Navy. He served four years on the USS Houston. After getting out, he reenlisted after Pearl Harbor. He was on board Read more…
Even before WWII began, the British military analysts determined that destruction of German dams in the industrial Ruhr Valley would cripple industrial production. When the war began, the mission was green lit. Bernard Wallis, assistant chief designer for the Vickers company, was given the task of designing a bomb Read more…
Murals on the walls of archeological excavations show Roman women working out in two- piece outfits. These outfits went out of style after the fall of the decadent Roman Empire. It took more than 1,700 years for European females to get back to that look. On July 5, 1946, Read more…
The most famous battle in American History is the Battle of Gettysburg. On the first days of July in 1863, the Union Army of the Potomac under Gen. George Meade defeated the Army of Northern Virginia led by Gen. Robert E. Lee. The climactic attack was Pickett’s Charge. 15,000 Read more…
On July 1, 1863, the Civil War came to the sleepy town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On that day Confederate soldiers looking for shoes ran into Union troops outside the town. In the ensuing fighting, the Rebels pushed the Yankees through the town to high ground outside the town. The Read more…
John Burns is the most famous sexagenarian that fought in the Civil War. John was born on Sept. 5, 1793. He fought in the War of 1812 (the Battle of Lundy’s Lane) and in the Mexican War. He moved to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When the Civil War broke out, he Read more…
The Battle of the Somme is the epitome of the senseless slaughter of the Great War. It started on July, 1, 1916. Here are some interesting facts about the worst day in the history of the British army. The battle was preceded by a week-long artillery bombardment of 1.7 million Read more…
With yellow journalists fomenting war with Spain, Spanish authorities put restrictions on American reporters in Havana. The U.S. government sent the USS Maine to Havana harbor “to protect American interests” by showing the flag. It arrived on Jan. 25, 1898. It was scheduled to leave on Feb. 17 in time Read more…
Post-WWII was not a good time to be gay in America. The American Psychiatric Association had labeled homosexuality a “mental disorder”. The FBI maintained a list of known homosexuals because it was felt they would be liable for extortion by communists. Most gay men and women were “in the Read more…
Adobe Walls was a trading post in the Texas Panhandle. It had two stores, a blacksmith shop, and a saloon. Buffalo hunters in the area used it to resupply and sell buffalo hides. The tiny post was a symbol of the buffalo extinction that was taking place on territory Read more…