On November 10, 1943, when Lt. Walter L. Chewning Jr., the catapult officer of the USS Enterprise, saw a 9,000-pound F6F Hellcat crash-land on the flight deck and erupt in a ball of flames as it barreled toward the gun gallery, he did not run away. Instead, Chewning deliberately ran toward the wreck, stepped on the burning external…
Military Weapons From the Past: Japanese 7.65mm Hamada Pistol
The Hamada was one of very few Japanese military weapons made by a private commercial firm. Designed and introduced in 1940, the basic Type Hamada pistol was a blowback .32ACP handgun similar in style to the Browning model 1910. About 5000 of them were manufactured during WWII, although most of these were sent to China….
Top Ten World War II POW Movies Worth A Damn
Well made World War Two POW Movies is a very select genre for the discerning film lover. There are only a small number of films, at least in this authors opinion, that make the cut. So enough jaw jacking… here is my Top 10 of WORLD WAR TWO POW MOVIES (in Chronological, NOT ranking order) and…
Cold War Files: What If Japan Had Built an Atomic Bomb?
During the Cold War, the United States supported selective nuclear proliferation as a means of deterring a Soviet invasion of Europe. The Russians might not believe that the United States would trade Berlin for New York, but they might find a British or French threat more credible. Washington did not pursue the same strategy in…
Important Veterans Issues: “The Burn Pit” is Now Sickening and Killing U.S. Soldiers At Home
Heads Up: If you are a Veteran or Know a Veteran who served in OIF or OEF or any operation where Burn Pit’s were used regularly and are having symptoms related to Cancer, and have been denied service connected disability, I suggest you hire a lawyer NOW and start the process of fighting the VA…
Sweet Mother Russia: Putin’s “Gangster Rules”
Looking at some of the recent headlines in the news, you might almost feel as if you stepped back into a surreal time when the Cold War was not over and we lived with the constant threat that a war full of icy rhetoric could become hot with bullets and bombs. Putin, that lovable New/Old…
Examining Terrorist Tactics: Are Dirty Drones a Realistic Threat?
ISIS is planning to kill thousands of people by sending drones delivering radioactive material over Western cities—or so British Prime Minister David Cameron warned last week at a summit on nuclear terrorism in Washington. Rather than carrying a “dirty bomb” to disperse material with explosives, the drones would work like toxic crop sprayers—”dirty drones” perhaps—and…
Netflix Pix & War Movies Worth A Damn: Kilo Two Bravo (Kajaki: The True Story)
Kajaki: The True Story, released in North America as Kilo Two Bravo, is a 2014 British War Film directed by Paul Katis, written by Tom Williams, and produced by Katis and Andrew de Lotbiniere. The plot is based on the true story of Mark Wright and of a small unit of British soldiers positioned near the Kajaki Dam in…
Financial News and Analysis: European Banking Stocks Crash for 4th Straight Week
Even with today’s 3% surge – the most in a month – on the heels of Unicredit’s CEO proclaiming that EU banks are “intensely” looking for funding solutions, European banking stocks have collapsed for a 4th straight week for the worst losses since 2012. Following the brief exuberance after Draghi unleashed his latest bazooka…
Military History: The 30 Years War
Thirty Years By John Farnam Protestant King Gustavus Adolphus, of Sweden, the “Lion of the North,” the “Snow King,” led a lean, efficient, and highly-mobile army that was able to move faster and hit harder than any thrown against it. He was ahead of his time and nearly unbeatable. His greatest fear was territorial encroachment…