WWI
A new story about Pershing
We all know who GEN John J. Pershing was – American Expeditionary Force commander, aka “Black Jack” (that’s the cleaned up version) for his command of the famed 10th Cavalry, another General of the Armies from the middle of the country (Laclede, Missouri, just a tad east of Abilene, KS. Must be something in those […]
Thursday tidbits
The White House says President Trump has backed off renaming Veteran’s Day to “Victory Day for World War I” . While technically, at least historically speaking, he was correct – the holiday started out as Armistice Day for the cease-fire ending at the 11th minute of the 11th hour on November 11, 1918 – the […]
Valor Friday
David (not Hardin) sent me the story of Sergeant William Shemin, whose valor wasn’t properly recognized for nearly a century. While he was recommended for the Medal of Honor at the time, he got the DSC instead. When asked about the downgrade, Shemin said, “War is not about medals. I love my country. I love […]
The Sea Devil
Imagine the scion of a noble military family, with such a history that the French dedicated the ‘Marseillaise’ to one of them. Maybe also imagine a bit of a wild child, who saw a cruise ship menu and ran off to sea at age 13… on a Russian tramp schooner. (You know THAT was a […]
Valor Friday
Ralph Talbot was born in 1897 in Massachusettes, and would use natural gifts for both academics and athletics to eventually attend Yale. There he received some basic military officer training as part of the school’s artillery corps. These programs to train Ivy League men in the ways of military officership were the immediate predecessor to […]
Valor Friday
As we reported the other day, Fort Benning is once more Fort Benning. The large Army facility is no longer named after Confederate Brigadier General Henry Benning, who was a staunch anti-abolitionist and vocal and active participant in the secession cause. It is now named for Sergeant Fred Benning of Nebraska. Fred Benning was born […]
Valor Friday
I came across this Military.com article about the oldest ever Buffalo Soldier and thought I’d share it. From Military.com; Retired 1st Sgt. Mark Matthews was a soldier who saw the U.S. Army evolve from horse-mounted cavalry to diesel-driven, heavily armored tanks. His life connected three centuries, along with every conflict from the American Frontier Wars […]
Tarawa Marine to be laid to rest
SGT. Robert F. Van Heck was 25 when he was killed in 1943 on the island of Betio, part of the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Island chain. He was a member of the 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which saw heavy combat over several days of fighting against the Japanese military on an […]
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