Jun
19

The Space A Blanket Covers

June 19, 2012 By

June 19, 2012 By

Wrapped up in a bit of security

Stepping off the plane after my fourth deployment I saw my anxious family waiting. Then they were running. That scene was to record one of the top moments in my life and it was definitely an emotional roller coaster.

My twin boys were clutching their blankets. It being midnight, they were well past their bedtime. As I picked them up I noticed how tightly they held on, not to me but to their blankets. I also noticed that both blankets were well-worn and a little frayed. What I didn’t know was the routine they had with their “Be Be”s and how important their “security” blankets were to them. [Read more…]

Jun
17

Vlad the Impaler’s Gore Inspires Lore

June 17, 2012 By

June 17, 2012 By

Vlad Courtesy of National Authority of Tourism The medieval citadel of Sighisoara

On this day, 550 years ago, the Ottoman Turks faced the wrath of Vlad Dracula also known as Vlad the Impaler.

Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, had invaded Wallachia with the intention of controlling the lower Danube. The odds were stacked against Vlad as the Ottomans heavily outnumbered the Wallachians. [Read more…]

Jun
15

The 49th Parallel As Military “Medicine Line”

June 15, 2012 By

June 15, 2012 By

 

James Douglas 1st Governor of Vancouver Island which straddled the 49th parallel

On this day in 1846, the United States and the British Empire agreed to extend the 49th parallel border from the Rockies all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

As a result, the southern tip of Vancouver Island remained as the only British (now Canadian) territory, west of Minnesota that lay south of 49th parallel. [Read more…]

Jun
14

In Honor of Air Force Fighter Pilot Brigadier General Robin Olds

June 14, 2012 By

June 14, 2012 By

 

Grave marker for Air Force fighter pilot BGen. Robin Olds

What do you do when your daughter wants to see her best friend-the one who helped her through her dad’s last deployment? If you are within a 100 mile radius you load up the Family and make it happen.

We all met up at a hotel outside of the Air Force Academy and soon saw that the rest of the tribe was getting restless with simply hanging out at the hotel.

In the previous week, I had just missed an opportunity to check out the Air Force Academy. I had been on location surveying possible upcoming training areas for use in my new assignment. [Read more…]

Jun
13

June 13: Miranda Makes It OK to Stay Mum

June 13, 2012 By

June 13, 2012 By

Ernesto Miranda

On June 13, 1966, the Supreme Court of United States decided that all criminal suspects must be advised of their rights before an interrogation.

The decision was a legal procedural landmark that marked the transition from the “tell me all you know” method to the “you have the right to remain silent…” scenario. [Read more…]

Jun
12

Out-Foxing The In-Laws in The Civil War

June 12, 2012 By

June 12, 2012 By

J.E.B. Stuart dapper and daring Cavalry General

On June 12, 150 years ago, the Confederate Cavalry ran a 100 mile long reconnaissance raid. They went full circle around the Union Army of the Potomac of General McClellan.

J.E.B. Stuart, the Confederate Cavalry General, accomplished this feat by eluding the northern cavalry commanded by his father-in-law, Philip St George Cooke.

 

[Read more…]

Jun
11

Yankabilly Comedian Sheila Van Dyke “Pokes” Army to Git-R-Done

June 11, 2012 By

June 11, 2012 By

My favorite breakfast spot while stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina, was the golf course snack bar. The routine was to appear around 0930 just as breakfast was closing.  After awhile, the ladies knew my order and the portions started to increase as did the frequency of my visits.

As I left the building, feeling pretty content with my belly full of a Western omelet and home fries that would have buckled anyone under the weight of  200 pounds, I ran into Sheila Van Dyke. [Read more…]

Jun
11

June 11: Cadre rotation, Soviet style

June 11, 2012 By

June 11, 2012 By

Marshall Semyon Budyonny and his job saving mustache

On June 11 1937, the NKVD (old style KGB) executed eight Soviet high ranking officers (one Red Army Marshal included). A military court found them guilty of anti-Soviet conspiracy.

In order to keep the purge productive and secret, most members of the court later died of pneumonia caused by cold bullets. [Read more…]

Jun
10

June 10: Salem’s trials bewitch due process

June 10, 2012 By

June 10, 2012 By

Illustration of a scene in Henry Wardsworth Longfellow's play "Giles Corey of Salem Farms" as Mary Warren points to the ghost of a man Giles Corey is accused of killing.

Starting on June 10, 1692, the Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts, ‘tried’ and executed 20 innocents for witchcraft.

The ‘prosecution’ based their case on the ‘fits and hallucinations’ caused by the defendants. Such a faultless argument resulted in 19 hangings.

The accusations originated with the inexplicably bizarre behavior of a group of young girls. Convulsive seizures, blasphemous screaming, and trance-like states afflicted them. Physicians had no answers so the belief that Satan was at work through others in their community took hold.

Giles Corey, one of the alleged sorcerers, refused to enter a plea in the judicial proceeding. [Read more…]

Jun
09

June 9: Friends, Georgians, lend this an ear

June 9, 2012 By

June 9, 2012 By

James Edward Oglethorpe (1696-1785)

On June 9 1732 a British philanthropist received a royal charter to establish the colony of Georgia. James Edward Oglethorpe intended to settle the new land with English debtors from the overcrowded London prisons.

In the end it was the Scots who made up the bulk of the settlers. Oglethorpe, however, made the land available to many persecuted groups. [Read more…]

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