“By accident, a great deal [of J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series “The Lord of the Rings”] can be read topically,” Maj. Warren Lewis, brother to C.S. Lewis, wrote in possibly the first ever review of the novel in 1949. “The Shire standing for England, Rohan for France, Gondor the Germany of the future, Sauron for Stalin.”   … Lire la suite

American and British troops facing off against each other at Savannah, Georgia, in 1779 amid the fire and fury of the Revolutionary War would probably never have expected that someday their nations would be politely negotiating over the ownership of some lost cannons — yet that is exactly what has happened following the amazing discovery … Lire la suite

In early 1969, Reconnaissance Team Illinois of the Studies and Observations Group, an elite covert operations unit, encountered North Vietnamese Army soldiers while on a battle damage assessment mission in northeast Cambodia. As the SOG team retreated to its extraction landing zone, Sgts. George Bacon and Newman Ruff laid down suppressing fire. Whenever Bacon stopped … Lire la suite

Kenneth Stumpf, who received the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam, died on April 23 at age 77 of pancreatic cancer. Born in Wisconsin in 1944, Stumpf was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1965.   The deeds that earned him America’s highest valor award took place on April 25, 1967, when Stumpf was sent … Lire la suite

The shape of the Navy’s future fighters The 1950s were a time when the future looked bright. Influenced by German designs for their “Wonder Weapons” of the Second World War. Chance-Vought took a radical leap into the future with the F7U Cutlass. Ultimately the sleek tailless design didn’t quite pass muster. Poor performance and a … Lire la suite

It’s hard to think of a better reason for a celebration than the end of the western half of the most destructive war in human history — and the fall of a regime that’s synonymous with evil. So you’d think that all the people who fought together to defeat a monster like Adolf Hitler would be … Lire la suite

On Nov. 1, 1964, a Viet Cong mortar attack on Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon destroyed five B-57B Canberra bombers and two helicopters, while damaging 13 additional B-57B aircraft. That attack largely reflected Canberra losses during the war—most occurred on or close to the ground. For example, four of the bombers that arrived on … Lire la suite

After an international agreement in 1954 split Vietnam in two, communist China became an important source of military aid for Ho Chi Minh’s communist government in North Vietnam as a counterweight to the Western democracies supporting South Vietnam. China’s leader, Mao Zedong, wanted the Chinese Communist Party to expand its influence in Asia by supporting … Lire la suite

On May 8, 1967, North Vietnamese Army commandos attacked the Marine Corps base at Con Thien, using flamethrowers for the first time in the war. The Marines, forced out of their positions by streams of burning fuel, came under machine gun and mortar fire. Although the attack failed, the Chinese-built Type 74 flamethrowers’ appearance was … Lire la suite

During the Vietnam War, Warrant Officer Class 2 Rayene Simpson was one of only four Australian soldiers awarded the Victoria Cross, the British Commonwealth’s highest decoration for combat valor and the equivalent of America’s Medal of Honor. Until fairly recently, most Commonwealth nations used the British system of military awards. Since the 1990s, Australia, Canada … Lire la suite