Who was Corp. James Bethel Gresham? It’s been more than a century since his passing, but in 1917, his name was known nationwide. Gresham was the first American soldier to die in action in WWI. As Veterans Day approaches, we honor veterans like Gresham and many others who served their country. Their sacrifices need to…
Following the D-Day Landings in June 1944, more than a million Allied soldiers moved into France. After breaking out of Normandy in July, troops began advancing across the countryside—sometimes covering as much ground as 80 miles a week. This created a logistical challenge for officials trying to supply this moving army across a country where…
On July 20, 1966, US Navy pilot Dieter Dengler was rescued after escaping a POW camp in Laos, where he endured months of torture and deprivation after his plane was shot down near the North Vietnam-Laos border during the Vietnam War. He became only the second captured airman to escape during the war. Dengler was…
“You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you…” With these words, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the “Order of the Day” just before the 1944 Allied assault…
In November 1942, an air transport crew ferrying a B-17 Flying Fortress to England diverted to Greenland to participate in a search for an overdue plane. During the search, the Flying Fortress crashed on the Greenland ice cap. Before the epic ordeal was over, five men died (including three rescuers), and the others spent months…
In April 1865, some 2,000 passengers, mostly Union soldiers, boarded the Sultana in Vicksburg, MS. The soldiers had recently been released from prison camps, including Andersonville and Cahaba. Weary and tired, they had begun the arduous trek home following the end of the Civil War. The 260-foot-long wooden, side-wheel steamboat, designed to hold 376 passengers,…
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea was a pivotal WWII battle fought March 2-4, 1943, in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA). Allied aircraft from the US Fifth Airforce and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked a convoy of Japanese ships transporting troop reinforcements to Lae, New Guinea. The Allies destroyed most of the convoy,…
