How a Wounded Pigeon Named Cher Ami Saved the Lost Battalion in WWI
On the afternoon of Oct. 4, 1918, American artillery hit a ravine in France’s Argonne Forest. The rounds were falling directly on roughly 500 U.S. soldiers that had been trapped behind enemy lines for two days. Maj. Charles Whittlesey, a New York lawyer commanding the surrounded force, had one way left to stop the bombardment. […]
When Marines Beat the Army: The Epic 1918 Rose Bowl That Saved Bowl Season
As the 2025 bowl season heats up, the Rose Bowl remains the granddaddy of them all. But 107 years ago, the game nearly vanished amid World War I. With college rosters depleted by enlistments and drafts, traditional East-West matchups were impossible. Travel restrictions and the war effort threatened to cancel the New Year’s Day tradition. […]
Task Force Smith: How the 24th Infantry Division Saved South Korea at the Start of the Korean War
In July of 1950, the Korean War looked as if it was about to come to an unexpectedly quick conclusion. South Korean troops had been pushed far south before gradually falling into a defensive line around the port of Pusan. Across the Sea of Japan, American soldiers boarded transport planes at Itazuke Air Base, Japan, […]
How a Rag-Tag Group of Soldiers, Marines, Choctaw, Militia and Pirates Saved New Orleans From the British
By December of 1814, American forces were in tatters. The Redcoats had repeatedly defeated them in the War of 1812, repulsed their invasion of Canada and even burned the Whitehouse. While diplomats were preparing peace documents, a veteran British force moved into the Gulf Coast, preparing to take New Orleans. Fresh from his major victory at […]
Vietnam DUSTOFF Pilot Who Saved 3,000 Earned Gold Medal Honor for MEDEVAC Crews
Warrant Officer Stephen Peth was making his final turn at treetop level when he looked through the green Plexiglas above his head. In the landing zone below, South Vietnamese soldiers were standing upright — usually a good sign. Suddenly, enemy rounds punched through the helicopter. Peth felt the impact in his right arm and pulled […]
Rescued From a WWI Battlefield, This Dog Became Hollywood's Biggest Star and Saved Warner Bros. From Bankruptcy
On Sept. 15, 1918, Corporal Lee Duncan walked through the bombed-out ruins of a German camp near Flirey, France. There, he found a kennel that housed military-working dogs meant for the German army. Most were dead, but he discovered a starving German shepherd mother with her litter of five newborn puppies. Their eyes hadn’t even […]
‘He Saved My Life’: Colorado Veteran Honors His Service Dog’s Loyalty
As more veterans have accepted service dogs into their lives, they’ve seen the value of having a loyal companion by their side. Life Saving For one veteran, however, his service dog likely saved his life. Hank Ford, an Army and Marine Corps veteran from Fort Lupton, Colorado, was awakened early in the morning last February […]
Saved by an Army Vet, a Bald Eagle Named Freedom Now Calls a NJ Zoo Home
Turtle Back Zoo joined in the Eagles Super Bowl hoopla. First, Lady Edwina, the resident groundhog, predicted Philadelphia would win by munching on a snack near their logo before the game. Then, the zoo launched a campaign to promote another resident, Freedom, the bald eagle. Now that the confetti has fallen in Philadelphia, Turtle Back […]
Black D-Day Combat Medic's Long-Denied Medal Tenderly Laid on Omaha Beach Where He Bled, Saved Lives
OMAHA BEACH, France (AP) — A medal richly deserved but long denied to an African American combat medic wounded on Omaha Beach in the D-Day landings was tenderly laid Friday on the hallowed sands where he saved lives and shed blood. U.S. First Army soldiers held a ceremony in honor of Cpl. Waverly B. Woodson […]
A Black Medic Wounded on D-Day Saved Dozens of Lives. He's Finally Being Posthumously Honored
WASHINGTON — Waverly Woodson Jr., a medic who was part of the only Black combat unit to take part in the D-Day invasion of France during World War II, is being posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in recognition of the heroism and determination he showed treating troops under heavy enemy fire. The announcement was […]