Category: People
Captain Jack Perkins – The First Black Skipper in the Royal Navy
“The character and conduct of Captain Perkins were not less admired by his superior officers in Jamaica, than respected by those of the enemy.” ON SEPT. 6, 1800, the British frigate HMS Meleager of the…
Venezuela on the Brink — Inside the 1902 Crisis that Nearly Sparked a Great Powers War
“While at the time Berlin and London were slowly drifting to war, the estranged powers, along with Italy, did manage to find a common enemy in Cipriano Castro.” LAST MONTH, Venezuelans bid farewell to Hugo…
Runners – The Untold Story of Wartime Desertion
Eddie Slovik was the first to admit that he wasn’t “cut out for combat duty.” And for a time, the U.S. Army agreed. The 24-year-old Detroit native was initially passed over for military service in World…
Napalm – A Brief History of One of Warfare’s Most Fearsome Weapons
“During the Vietnam conflict, French, American and South Vietnamese forces would employ napalm with devastating effect.” (Originally published March 25, 2013) “NAPALM IS THE MOST TERRIBLE PAIN YOU CAN IMAGINE,” Kim Phuc once told an…
Old Soldiers — Meet the Last Surviving Veterans of the U.S. Civil War
The U.S government pays out $40 billion a year to war vets and their survivors. The bulk of these benefits ($22 billion) go to Vietnam War veterans, while $12 billion is earmarked for those who…
With Triumphs Like These, Who Needs Defeats? — A Brief History of Pyrrhic Victories
“The term ‘pyrrhic victory’ is named for the ancient ruler of Epirus, King Pyrrhus, who went down in history for winning a string of major battles against Rome and Carthage but still losing the war…
