Most crimes have a reason we can all at least understand. But there are some cases in the spectrum of 20th century crime where a very large scale crime is pulled off for mysterious reasons. We know why people rob banks or even do burglary. Most murders have some grounds in a personal dispute or as part of execution of the crime. Even drug related crimes are rational in a way because we know why people take drugs and why that lifestyle can lead to criminal behavior.
Columbine Massacre – A Horrible Crime Carried Out by Children
In the annals of 20th century crime, there have been a lot of grisly or shocking crimes committed that have taken the public consciousness by surprise. But maybe no crime so shocked and appalled the nation as the Columbine murders carried out by two young students against their fellow students at a high school on … Read more
The Weapon of Choice for World War I Flying Aces
While it might seem silly that when most people think of the famed World War I aerial combat aircraft, the Sopwith Camel, they think of the comic strip Peanuts in which Charlie Brown’s dog, Snoopy went to war with the infamous Red Baron flying the Sopwith Camel on mission after mission. The good that the late Charles Schulze did by including this theme in his outstanding comic strip is that it made the history of aerial warfare even as far back as World War I more well known.
The Bomb That Changed the World
On August 6, 1945, an event occurred that changed the world in every way imaginable and whose effects we are still living with today. That was the day that President Truman ordered an act of aerial warfare so destructive that there was no possible retaliation. That was the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima … Read more
The Air and Ground War that Saved Kuwait
Air superiority has always been a central part of why the American military prevails in many conflicts. From World War II to Vietnam to our current conflicts, the heart of our strategies for establishing dominance in a conflict is to quickly establish and maintain control of the skies. America is also well known for possessing a massive arsenal and military that nobody would want to get into a conflict with.
Smart Weapons of War
America has long been a leader in technology and the development of machines that can take over many of the “smart” functions that people used to do. In many cases, the development of smarter and better technology comes from the military or the space program. And there is no question that the bombs and missiles we have used in the last twenty years are notable because they are more than just explosives we drop from a jet. They are smart missiles and bombs that are tremendously potent. They know their target and know how to seek it out en route.
Our Quiet Guardians – The Strategic Air Command
Most Americans don’t think a lot about how the military goes about protecting us on a day-by-day basis. The agency that diligently guards this nation and is charged with how our military will respond to crisis anywhere in the world is the Strategic Air Command. And the fact that we take them for granted suits them just fine They are the quiet guardians of this nation and that is just how they like to be, quiet and efficient.
U-864 – The Sinking of a Submarine
In 1945, a cat and mouse game between the German submarine U-864 and the British attack submarine the HMS Venturer became such a story that ended in a bold move by the British submarine commander. The story actually started in 1944 when U-864 was dispatched from Germany under the command of Korvettenkapitän Ralf-Reimar Wolfram with … Read more
The Historic Naval War for New Orleans
When you think of great navel battles from U.S. history, we mostly think of phenomenal battles of the Revolutionary War or World War II. But it was a naval battle for control of the mouth of the Mississippi river during the Civil War that changed the course of that war. The strategies that lead to the fall of New Orleans is one of the storied naval encounters of this era of U.S. history.
USS Constitution – The First U.S. Naval Victory
During those formative decades of U.S. history, each time the infant nation was able to show itself capable, that only continued to reinforce that we had not only declared ourselves an independent nation, we were prepared to act like one. Part of acting like a nation meant building and deploying an army and navy to secure the nation against attack. And in those days when attack was a very real possibility from the British navy, the importance of a strong navy was significant.
