Medal of Honor recipient Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams discusses the Battle of Iwo Jima’s impact on his life and the sacrifice of his fellow Marines. To Hershel “Woody” Williams, the Medal of Honor he wears around his neck does not belong to him. It’s not because he isn’t worthy of it, he undoubtedly is. For Williams,…
Category: World War II History
Military History: 10 World Changing Invasions That Never Happened
Strategists say the first casualty of war is the plan. In a few cases, the plan never reached the war stage. And if these 10 invasions had happened, the world would be a dramatically different place. 1. War Plan Red: The U.S. Invasion of Canada In the post-WWI era, fresh from battlefield victory in Europe,…
Holocaust History: Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone Gets Schooled by Jewish Historians After Claiming Hitler ‘Supported’ Zionism
In a lengthy J-TV interview, former London mayor again refuses to apologize for his ‘historical facts,’ which are refuted by leading Holocaust scholars. LONDON — The former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has again refused to apologize for his remarks about Hitler and Zionism, insisting he was “misquoted” after a radio show in the UK…
World War II History: When Hemmingway Stashed Bazookas In A Parisian Hotel Room
Troops marched in Rambouillet, kicking up dust just outside of Paris as the war correspondent dotted around town on assignment. Ernest Hemingway was there, ostensibly, as a reporter, not a combatant. But he may have been stretching the boundaries of press freedoms while commanding a group of French Resistance fighters and journalists to help liberate…
World War Two History: Remembering The Wars of our Fathers
Dennis Anderson reflects on his father’s job during World War II, processing and editing thousands of combat photographs. “What did you do in the war, daddy?” It was a question we Baby Boomers often asked our fathers — all of the millions of us whose fathers served during World War II, history’s greatest conflict, and…
World War II History: These Men Were French Heroes Until They Were’nt
In a book about the French Revolution he was ghostwriting during the 1920s, Charles de Gaulle opined that some of the country’s generals had been stripped “of prestige, often of life, sometimes of honor.” As described in Julian Jackson’s De Gaulle, Marshal Philippe Pétain — the champion of Verdun — suggested the young captain move…
World War II Era Weapons: The Spy Pistol Used To Resist Nazi Occupation
Equipped with an effective silencer and easily taken apart to hide its true purpose, the Welrod was the perfect pistol for resistance operatives in Nazi-occupied Europe. The Welrod is one of the best-remembered pieces of real-life James Bond gear manufactured by Special Operations Executive. SOE was a clandestine department set up in 1940 in the…
Military Weapons From the Past: The Soviet SVT-38 Rifle
A lot of people think that the US was the only country in World War II to mass-issue a semiautomatic infantry rifle, but that isn’t true. While the US was the only country to issue *everyone* a semi auto, both the Soviet Union and Germany produced large numbers of them. The Soviet rifle in particular…
Inspirational: My Father Escaped the Nazi’s and Then Taught Me Everything I Know
Popular Mechanics senior home editor Roy Berendsohn sits down with his father Oscar to talk about the advice and inspiration he received from his dad, a veteran and satellite engineer. For three decades, Popular Mechanics readers have turned to senior home editor Roy Berendsohn, 56, for instruction on nearly any home project, along with advice…
World War II History: 8 Bad-Ass Women of WW2
Heroism — especially in times of war — tends to produce gendered associations. We think of men fighting (and dying) valiantly, while women wait passively at home for their spouses to return. The historical record produces a different picture, however. Among the many heroes of World War II are these bad-ass women. Spies, snipers, surgeons,…