September 11, 2001 was supposed to be a typical day for Lieutenant Heather Penney of the District of Columbia Air National Guard. As Penney recalled in a 2016 interview with HISTORY, that morning she was attending a briefing at Andrews Air Force Base, planning the month’s ...read more
As the saying goes, an army marches on its stomach, relying on good and plentiful food to fuel its ability to fight. For contemporary U.S. armed forces in combat, that usually means Meals, Ready-to-Eat, or MREs. U.S. armed forces switched to MREs in the early 1980s, replacing ...read more
It’s unknown exactly how U.S. service members in World War I (1914-18) came to be dubbed doughboys—the term most typically was used to refer to troops deployed to Europe as part of the American Expeditionary Forces—but there are a variety of theories about the origins of the ...read more
In 1993, when President Bill Clinton signed the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” into law, it represented a compromise between those who wanted to end the longstanding ban on gays serving in the U.S. military and those who felt having openly gay troops would hurt morale ...read more
The following content is sponsored by World of Tanks. Some could argue that the introduction of modern warfare helped to inspire great technological weapons and tools through the ages. Among the most innovative, massive and complex is the tank. From its conception in England to ...read more
Over the years, I have been to many military cemeteries, and I am always overcome with waves of emotion. This is especially true of the cemeteries that are filled, not with the tombs of long-lived veterans who earned a military burial for their service, but with the graves of the ...read more
History can be crazy and complex. But sometimes, old-fashioned common sense can prevail. Here are some experts’ picks for history’s best common-sense moments: KIDS School’s in Session: Compulsory Education Laws Debut Kids, we’re sorry if you disagree, but this one makes all kinds ...read more
The United States may have one of the largest armies on earth, but even the Pentagon has taken no chances at being caught off-guard by an unusual foe. In fact, in 2011, the U.S. Department of Defense released a strategy to combat a potential zombie apocalypse. While the potential ...read more
Excerpt from “Bowe Bergdahl: The Homecoming from Hell,” an exclusive video interview that first appeared on The Sunday Times. When two former hostages of the Taliban come face to face, words don’t come easily—there are none that can fully convey the trauma of captivity. You know ...read more
It happened in moments—a gust of whipping wind. Suddenly, the USS Akron, a dirigible performing exercises off the coast of New Jersey, felt more like a flimsy toy than one of the most advanced aircrafts of its age. Then it happened. Buffeted by winds, the airship plummeted toward ...read more
The Tangi Valley, located along the border between Afghanistan’s Wardak and Logar provinces some 80 miles southwest of Kabul, is a remote, inaccessible area known for its resistance to foreign invasion. Alexander the Great suffered heavy troop losses there during his campaign in ...read more
1. D-Day Landings – 1944 On June 6, 1944, some 175 members of Naval Combat Demolition Units (NCDUs)— predecessors of the Navy SEALS–were among the first invading forces to arrive on the beaches of Normandy. Approaching under heavy German fire, the demolitionists used explosives ...read more
1. Background Though Delta Force generally chooses its candidates from within the Army—most Delta operators come from the 75th Ranger Regiment or the Special Forces—the group also selects individuals from other branches of the military, including the Coast Guard, National Guard ...read more
After more than 3,000 Marines were killed in the Battle of Tarawa (November 1943), it became clear that the U.S. military was in need of better pre-invasion intelligence. Enter the Naval Combat Demolition Units and Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs), the forerunners of today’s ...read more
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, approximately 25 cities and towns—including two named Columbus: one in Mississippi, one in Georgia—claim to have originated Memorial Day in the years immediately before Grand Army of the Republic leader John A. Logan ...read more
1. The origin of America’s special forces can be traced all the way back to 1676. King Philip’s War, in which Native Americans clashed with British settlers and their Indian allies, was one of the bloodiest conflicts (per capita) in American history. In 1676, Governor Josiah ...read more
1. The U.S. Camel Corps Horses were the Army’s primary form of transport during the 19th century, but things might have been very different if not for the failure of the U.S. Camel Corps. This unlikely experiment began in 1856 after Secretary of War Jefferson Davis imported a ...read more
At the beginning, the military was practically nonexistent. Believing that “standing armies in time of peace are inconsistent with the principles of republican governments [and] dangerous to the liberties of a free people,” the U.S. legislature disbanded the Continental Army ...read more
1. At first, the idea of a Medal of Honor was dismissed as too “European.” During the American Revolution, George Washington established the first combat decoration in U.S. history, known as the Badge of Military Merit. After the conflict it fell into disuse, as did its ...read more
