Every great museum needs a wooden leg
The Illinois State Military Museum is dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of military artifacts associated with Illinois. The museum is located in Springfield. Its mission is to conserve the…
This 12-year-old boy became a Navy hero in World War II
Calvin Graham was the youngest of seven children of a poor Texas farm family and because of his abusive stepfather, he and one of his older brothers decided to move out. Calvin supported himself by selling newspapers an…
This monster aircraft was the helicopter version of the AC-130 gunship
With two 20mm cannons, a 40mm automatic grenade launcher, five .50-cal. machine guns, and two weapon pods that could carry either 70mm rocket launchers or 7.62mm miniguns, the armored ACH-47A Chinook could fly into the teeth of enemy resistance and …
How to not be a dirtbag Company Grade Officer
Officers in the military don’t always have the best reputation.
Company Grade Officers, or “CGOs,” might have it worse — at least there’s some heft behind a full-bird; lieutenants are like wee babes in the wood.
In the …
This is what basic training in the French Foreign Legion is like
If the idea of spending 12 weeks in boot camp is what keeps people from joining the Marine Corps, they should be thankful that it’s only that long. It could always be worse — like in the French Foreign Legion’s four month basic training.
…
4 times the National Guard saved the day
On Dec. 13, 1636, the National Guard was officially formed, combining militia regiments from Massachusetts into one organized unit. The Massachusetts National Guard — pictured above at its first muster…
5 surprising facts you probably didn’t know about the French Foreign Legion
1. Legionnaires are instilled with a “fight to the death” attitude. Giving up is not really an option.
In April 1863, a battle between the French Foreign Legion and the Mexican army showed how effective and ballsy legionnaires really coul…
This NCO was willing to die in Vietnam for his commanding officer
Ed Eaton came from a Marine Corps family but joined the National Guard in 1965 while he was still in high school. He chose the Army because he wanted to…
This is why some Marines wear the ‘French Fourragere,’ and some don’t
You may have noticed a select few Marines and sailors walking around in their uniforms with a green rope wrapped around their left arm — it’s not just for decoration.
That green rope is called a “
I was both excited and anxious the day I got my orders to Minot Air Force Base. I requested to be sent to a nuclear missile base because of the challenges and opportunities the mission presented. Every day, Airmen at Minot and its sister nuclear mis…6 lessons I learned moving nuclear weapons through North Dakota