Distinguished Service Cross
Valor Friday
Family duties and a horrible case of seasonal allergies have sidelined my writing this week, so I’ll be phoning in today’s Valor Friday. If you’ve never heard of John Paul Vann, his is a story worth reading. He started his Army career in 1943 as a USAAF pilot cadet, became a navigator, but didn’t see […]
Valor Friday
This week’s subject comes by way of a request. Maurice Britt was a professional football player (Detroit Lions), lieutenant governor of Arkansas, and a recipient of all four of the country’s highest awards for combat bravery. Born in Lonoke County, Arkansas in 1919, Maurice graduated as valedictorian from Lonoke High School in 1937. From there […]
Valor Friday
The US Army’s First Infantry Division, known as “The Big Red One” for their shoulder sleeve insignia’s design, was one of the first division-sized elements organized by the Army upon the US entry into World War I. They paraded through Paris on 4 July 1917 after arriving in France, to bolster the spirits of the […]
Valor Friday
In the War in the Pacific, there were several American positions that the Japanese overran early in the war. Many of these, such as the Philippines, would take years and significant blood to retake. One early battle in the war, and one which was never recaptured, was Wake Island. Wake Island is a tiny Pacific […]
Valor Friday
This week I’ve got another legend of the US Army Dustoff community. Patrick Henry Brady was born in 1936 in South Dakota and grew up in the Washington State area. Brady’s father, during World War II, had served with the famed Darby’s Rangers. During the war his parents became estranged though, and Brady was raised […]
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
With Valor Friday falling on Christmas Eve this year, I thought it might be interesting to explore American valor during that time of the year. Specifically those who have earned the Medal of Honor on Christmas Eve or Day. Hang in there, this one is much longer than my usual. Most interesting to me was […]
Valor Friday
This week’s subject is another on which I could initially find very little. The more I dug into his story, the more amazing it became. I’ve made no secret of my admiration and respect for military chaplains, and today’s subject is another reason to be grateful that such men lived. A native of Milwaukee, Augustus […]
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