Welcome to WebOps, Armchair General’s first website column! This week’s edition links to a couple of Cold War fixtures which have become much colder through the passage of time, a heartwarming dog-lover’s tale (no pun intended), and a military unit from the past seeking to be known in the future, and much more. Clicks away!
News
Hot dogs and the Cold War. Sounds like a good book title, eh? Well, this story is no fiction tale. The hot dog stand which has stood centered in the heart of the Pentagon since the Cold War era is scheduled to be torn down and replaced with a more modern facility. Hopefully it will not be targeted by any Communist missiles before then or afterwards!
In the WebOps (December 2005) column, I introduced George Hageman and his Military History Podcast to ACG members. This week, may I introduce to you Steven Jay Rubin and WW2Daily.com!
Evidence has also been uncovered by Canadian War Museum historian Tim Cook which may prove that "German troops trying to surrender during the First World War were "frequently executed" by Canadian soldiers".
World War II veterans are passing into history at a steady pace. Even more so are those veterans who made up specialized combat elements, such as the Navajo Code Talkers. A small town in Illinois recently made the time to honor one such local hero.
Williamstown, Ohio, hosted their fifth Air Expo this week at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport, viewing such immortal aircraft as a B-25 Bomber, A-10 Thunderbolt, and F-86 Sabre.
Have you heard those tales about someone buying a painting at someone’s yard sale for $5, then finding out later the painting is actually worth $50,ooo? Have you then asked aloud, "why doesn’t something like that happen to me?" Here’s another such story, with a military history twist.
Dennis Mroczkowski talks about his life of collecting and preserving military history on the eve of leaving his position as the Casemate Museum Director for a coveted position at the Center of Military History.
War is one of the most terrible things humans can do, yet, time and time again, a true love story grows amidst the death and destruction. Frank Williams and Judy met while being held as prisoners-of-war on Sumatra in 1942, and if you are unfamiliar with their story, please read below!
Chuck Loesch claims to have in his possession "the first official declaration of Germany’s submission", the original Teletype message received by the Allies in 1945, and he’s trying to sell it on eBay. Historians are disclaiming the authenticity of the message, making it a difficult sale. Who’s in the right? You decide.
One of the main reasons we have established military history parks and museums in our countries is because they allow us to see, feel, and experience the era of the represented war for ourselves, if only for a short time. This story about an American Revolutionary cannon replica is a perfect example.
The 8240th Army Unit once had a name, and the soldiers who served in the guerrilla unit were known and respected by the U.S. and South Korea during the Korean War. Now, it seems as if both countries have forgotten the 8240th, except for a small few who recently joined the unit for a veterans memorial service.
In this week’s opinion piece, here’s an article by Canadian John Chuckman published on a Bangledesh news website. Chuckman opines, via his recollection of examples of America’s military history, and concerning the current War on Terrorism, that America is failing to win two more wars.
"Half-history lesson, half-celebratory remembrance, a World War II living history weekend will be presented Saturday and Sunday at the Eisenhower National Historic Site in Gettysburg."
"Sixty years ago this fall, the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg handed down verdicts against Germany’s Nazi leaders for crimes committed during World War II. A colloquium Oct. 6-7 at Bowling Green State University will revisit those courtroom proceedings to examine their implications today."
"The National Museum of the Marine Corps will open its doors on Nov. 10, and, while it’s been more than seven years in the making, the museum will offer an experience like no other."
"I have not yet begun to fight!" I’m sure you may easily recognize these words as declared by John Paul Jones (NOT Led Zeppelin’s bass player) during the American Revolutionary War battle between his ship, the Bonne Homme Richard, and the HMS Serapis, commanded by Captain Richard Pearson. That was 300 years ago this week, 1779. During July and August of this year, The Ocean Technology Foundation launched an expedition to the North Sea to search for the Bonne Homme Richard, which sank shortly after that battle. The following websites will help explain more!
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