An interesting historical story.
In 1199 (the 100th anniversary of the First Crusaders capture of Jerusalem), French knight Hughes de Payen and eight others swore at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem that they would protect pilgrims to the Holy Land. They took a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience. They Read more…
In 1942, the first female concentration camp guards began working at Auschwitz and Majdenek. By the end of the Holocaust, 3,500 women worked as guards. Most were recruited via ads in newspapers. You had to be single and 21-45 years old. They were trained at Ravensbruck for up to Read more…
A dirt-poor farmer from Tennessee was the most decorated doughboy of WWI. Alvin York grew up in a two-room log cabin. He was one of eleven children. He grew up wild and loved to drink and party. His life changed after a friend was killed in a bar fight. Read more…
On August 9, 1944, the U.S. Forestry Service authorized the creation of a baby bear symbol for firefighting efforts by the public. WWII was underway and there were fewer firefighters because many joined the military. The public was enlisted to fight fires. Part of it was war related as Read more…
The Battle of Britain was the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. The battle actually got its name before it even began. On June 18, 1940 Winston Churchill made a speech that included the lines: “The Battle of France is over. I expect the Battle of Britain Read more…
The St. Albans Raid was the most Northern action of the Civil War. Lt. Bennett Young of the Confederate army had escaped from a Union prison camp and made it to Canada. He came up with the idea of robbing some Northern banks to get back at his captors. Read more…
The song “Dixie” is forever associated with the South before and during the Civil War. Ironically, it was written by an Ohioan named Daniel Decatur Emmett. He meant it to evoke a the positive effects of slavery, although it may have been a parody. It was first sung as Read more…
Gladiators were usually either slaves, criminals, or prisoners of war. Some might even be free men who joined for the adventure and/or fame. New gladiators were called novicius. They were brought to the training school (ludus). The owner was called the lanista. He had to determine what category the Read more…
Today is the anniversary of one of the worst maritime disasters in history. The crew of the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis would have been proud that they had contributed to the ending of WWII and the saving of many American and Japanese lives, but what they had done was Read more…
Today is the anniversary of the ramming and sinking of John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 in 1943. A PT (patrol torpedo) boat was a wooden, speedy boat used against enemy shipping. Their attacks on Japanese warships were close to suicidal. What follows was my examination of the accuracy of the movie Read more…