UK and Commonwealth Awards
Valor Friday
I’ve touched recently on the Victoria Cross, the highest award of the British Empire and the Commonwealth. The complicated system of British awards and honors, dating back hundreds of years, has been simplified in many of the countries that make up the Commonwealth. Instead of using British honors, including military awards and decorations, Canada, Australia, […]
Valor Friday
Most Americans, when they hear of the British Royal Marines probably think they are comparable to the US Marine Corps. The United States, in their earliest days, modeled their new Marine Corps on their British counterparts. Since the 18th Century, while the US Marines maintained their positions as “soldiers of the sea” and developed a […]
Valor Friday
I’m still short on time this week, so Warrant Officer Class II Kevin “Dasher” Wheatley of the Royal Australian Regiment won’t be getting my in-depth exploration as normal. I would like to highlight the man nonetheless as you’ve likely never heard of him. He earned his nickname Dasher when he was a champion rugby player. […]
Valor Friday
Before World War II, aircraft designs were rapidly evolving. At the start of the 1930s, bi-planes with skin of doped fabric were still the norm. By the end of the decade, sleek, aerodynamic monoplanes with monocoque construction were flying higher, faster, and more maneuverable than ever thought possible. As the war progressed, the technology would […]
Valor Friday
I’ve previously talked about Britain’s highest honor, the Victoria Cross. They also have an animal-equivalent award for animals in war, issued by the PDSA. The PDSA is an animal welfare charity, not dissimilar from the Humane Society here in the states. The PDSA’s Dickin Medal is considered to be the dog/horse/cat/pigeon version of Britain’s highest […]
Valor Friday
Sometimes you come across a man’s story that really is so fantastic that it stretches the bonds of credulity. Then you find out that it’s entirely true. You’re left wondering just why this man’s life hasn’t had a movie made about him. Adrian Carton de Wiart is such a man. He wrote about his wartime […]
Valor Friday
A while back (OK, it was almost two years ago, but blame COVID or something) I went over a group of women who had earned the US Army’s Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest award for valor in the face of the enemy. As women had, until very recently, been prohibited from serving in combat, […]
Valor Friday
Last week I talked about Lieutenant Tul Bahadur Pun VC of the 6th Gurkha Rifles. Pun, as the post-nominals indicate, received the Victoria Cross for action during World War II in Burma, when he continued a charge on an enemy position alone after his compatriots were killed or wounded. Single-handedly vanquishing the enemy within he […]
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