Loss, Depression & Hope: How Injury Changed National Guard Veteran's Life
Alexis Nelson was so excited about a future in the military, she signed up for the Army National Guard the day she turned 17. But her dream of serving the country was soon derailed when she suffered a service-related injury during basic training. She was forced to leave the National Guard with a medical deferment. […]
The US Army Once Deployed Bombers and 2,500 Troops to Crush 10,000 Armed Coal Miners in West Virginia
Ten thousand armed coal miners held Blair Mountain in late August 1921. They faced machine gun nests, private planes dropping bombs, and a growing force of deputies backed by coal company money. Then President Warren Harding made a decision that would end the largest armed insurrection since the Civil War. He sent in the U.S. […]
Who is Thomas Carden? First Ever Four-Star National Guard Bureau Vice Chief
Army Lt. Gen. Thomas Carden has made history, becoming the first National Guard Bureau (NGB) vice chief to wear the four-star rank. The Georgia Army National Guard officer was confirmed Tuesday by the U.S. Senate as the Bureau’s 12th vice chief. His confirmation means he will receive a fourth star due to the 2024 fiscal […]
Kentucky Nonprofit Honored with National Award for Supporting Disabled Veterans
For more than a decade, a nonprofit organization in Paris, Kentucky has worked with hundreds of severely disabled veterans to provide recreational activities and make life a bit easier for those who’ve sacrificed so much. Now, Jason’s Box is gaining national recognition for supporting veterans in need. The organization was recently honored with the Defender […]
America's Forgotten Doughboys: The 332nd Infantry Destroyed an Empire
While millions of Americans can name Western Front battles like Belleau Wood or the Meuse-Argonne, almost no one remembers the 332nd Infantry Regiment. These Ohio doughboys were the only American combat unit to fight against the Central Powers in a WWI theater outside of France and helped end the war in Italy. The regiment formed […]
The Battle of Kasserine Pass: The Humiliating WWII Defeat That Transformed the US Army
American soldiers dug foxholes into the ridgeline at Djebel Chambi. They had only arrived in North Africa a few weeks ago and faced light resistance from Vichy French troops. The infamous Afrika Korps under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had just launched a massive offensive the day prior. The Americans knew what was coming. They were […]
The Biscari Massacre: Patton’s Soldiers Executed 73 Axis POWs, Then the Army Covered it Up
In February 1945, a United Press International reporter interviewed an Oklahoma sniper credited with killing over 130 Germans. Sergeant Horace West told the correspondent his rifle was named after his wife. He spoke of praying with his family before the deployment. “A man shouldn’t be too proud of killing another man,” West said. What the […]
‘I See It So Others Don’t Have To:’ Oregon Army Veteran Recovers Bodies as Rescue Diver
After spending more than a decade in the Army, both in active duty and the National Guard, Oregon native Nick Rinn chose a unique career path most people wouldn’t even consider. He became an underwater rescue diver recovering bodies. Rinn, who grew up in North Bend, Oregon, served two years in the Army on active […]
The Battle of Hamel: Australian Soldiers Taught American Doughboys to Fight Germans in WWI
At 3:10 a.m. on July 4, 1918, American soldiers climbed out of their trenches in northern France. Most had never seen combat before. They had arrived in Europe weeks earlier. Now they were attacking German positions alongside battle-hardened Australian troops and were under the command of an Australian general. For the first time in American […]
Seminole Warriors Fought the US Military to a Stalemate in the Florida Swamps During America's Deadliest War Against the Native Americans
On the morning of Dec. 28, 1835, a single gunshot rang out in the central Florida wilderness. Chief Micanopy fired the initial shot before one hundred eighty Seminole warriors hidden in the shrubs opened up on 110 unsuspecting U.S. soldiers. Soon after, 108 soldiers were dead. The Second Seminole War had begun. Fewer than 2,000 […]