Eyes in Ghana
The patients waiting for cataract surgery were dignified, stoic, and silent. Many had endured hot and uncomfortable journeys to come and stand in the long line outside the clinic. Yet they waited, patient and [...]
Stonewall Jackson: Battle of Cross Keys and Battle of Port Republic
In order to understand the importance of the Battles of Cross Keys and the Battle of Port Republic, we must emphasize the importance of the Shenandoah Valley. Stonewall Jackson summed up this region’s strategic importance. [...]
Operation Bagration Russian Contribution to Allied Success on D-day
Russian Contribution to Allied Success on D-Day Started June 22, 1944 “Invading Russia. It is always a bad idea.” Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery “People of Western Europe: A landing was made this morning on the [...]
Operation Market-Garden September 19 to September 26, 1944 ” A Bridge Too Far”
I recently returned from a two week trip that sought to replicate the important battle engagements of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division. Our group of some twenty-five people was stimulated by the presence [...]
Munich Pact: September 29, 1938
A Fatal Submission to the Territorial Demands of Adolph Hitler “How could honourable men with wide experience and fine records in the Great War condone a policy so cowardly? It was sordid, squalid, sub-human, and [...]
Japanese American Soldiers in WWII The Nation’s Most Decorated Soldiers
The 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team initially consisted of Japanese American volunteers from the mainland United States and the Hawaiian Islands. This team became the most decorated unit in United States history. 18,000 total awards, including [...]
Bastogne: Battle of the Bulge – If you do not know what “Nuts” means
“The enemy (Germany) is at present fighting a defensive campaign on all fronts; his situation is such that he cannot stage major offensive operations.” December 15,1944 Field-Marshal Montgomery The Battle of the Ardennes was the [...]
Arab-Israeli Relations
I wanted to express some of my personal thoughts after hearing the most articulate Palestinian woman in the last class. First of all, my primary point is that while I will spend my efforts challenging [...]
Hundred Years War, 1337-1453
The Hundred Years War, lasting from 1337 until 1453, was a defining time for the history of both England and France. There was another series of wars between the two countries from 1600-1815. Thus, much [...]
New Political Relationships with China
Nixon Doctrine of Balance of Power Departed From Wilson Idealism Nixon: “Taking the long view, we simply cannot afford to leave China forever outside the family of nations, there to nurture its fantasies, cherish its [...]
Great Influenza
Death of 50-100 Million One-Fifth of the World Infected “I had a little bird, its name was Enza I opened the window And in-flu-enza." The Great Influenza of 1918 could have killed as many [...]
America’s Civil War: History 393 Documents; Professor John C. Willis
Professor John C. Willis U.S. Grant, Meetings with Robert E. Lee, 9 and 10 April 1865 I had known General Lee in the old army, and had served with him in the Mexican War; [...]
Day at West Point: Making History Fun
This past weekend I spent a day with friends at West Point, the campus of America’s foremost military academy since its founding in 1802. The campus architecture has stone masonry that is most attractive. Because [...]
Barbarossa – The Surprise German Attack on Russia
On June 22,1941 Germany launched a surprise attack on Russia. Hitler announced “Soldiers of the eastern front an assembly of strength on a size and scale such as the world has never seen in now [...]
Paperclips: Attempt to Understand the Holocaust
The recently released documentary, Paperclips, provides another compelling Holocaust project that seeks to create a legacy of tolerance through examination of the Nazi extermination of 6 million Jews, including some 1.5 million children below the [...]
Edward VII (1841-1910), King of the United Kingdom
Edward VII might have been the son of Queen Victoria, but in this case the apple fell very far from the tree. He truly relished his role as the leader of the social life [...]
Cortes: The Conquest of Mexico
In 1519 Hermando Cortes sailed from Cuba to Mexico with one hundred ten mariners, five hundred and fifty-three soldiers, ten canon and sixteen horses. Over the next three years, he defeated an empire composed [...]
Charles Schulz “Peanuts Creator”
Charles Schulz was the creator of “Peanuts” and 355 million people around the world read the tender and sage comic strip starring Charlie Brown. Mr. Schulz recognized his responsibility for his comic characters. He [...]
Chief Joseph (1840-1904): An American Tragedy
The treatment of Chief Joseph, known to his followers as Thunder Rolling Down, was disgraceful both personally and to his tribe, the Nez Perce. The chief of a peaceful tribe, many of whose members [...]
Buck Compton, Band of Brothers
As the green light suddenly glowed the young second lieutenant shuffled up to the door of the C-47 and leapt out into the darkness. Other troopers tumbled out behind him. Parachutes unfurled and clapped [...]
Bannister Stuns World with 4-Minute Mile
On May 6,1954, Sir Roger Bannister, a twenty-five year old medical student, accomplished one of the greatest feats in sports history when he became the first person to run a sub-four minute mile. I [...]
Vending Machines: Twenty-Two Hundred Year History
With the advent of modern technology, the vending machine has taken on ever increasing functionality. Over the past decade, nationwide vending sales have risen some 40%, to $24.3 Billion. Recently a machine carrying 130 items [...]
The Cultural Revolution: The Great Leap into Madness
1966-1976 Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) during his last decade in power to renew the spirit of the Chinese revolution. Perhaps never before in human history has a political leader unleashed such massive [...]
Role of Canada in the American Revolution
Today, Canada and the United States are peacefully neighboring states with well-defined boundaries. However, the future course of these countries was determined during the American Revolution. That is, Americans unsuccessfully invaded Canada, thwarted by British [...]
Foreign Diplomacy, Ultimate Chess Game
“War is another form of Diplomacy” is a paraphrase of the activities undertaken by sovereign states striving to develop a temporary balance in their relationships. In rereading one of my favorite books, The Deadly [...]
The Trial of Galileo
In the 1633 trial of Galileo Galilei, two worlds come into cosmic conflict. Galileo’s world of science and humanism collides with the world of Scholasticism and absolutism that held power in the Catholic Church. The [...]
Brief History of The Maginot Line
A series of fortifications designed to keep Germany “the beast that sleeps on the other side of the Rhine” violate French territory. The Maginot Line was built between 1929 and 1940. It was built to [...]
Battle of Britain July-Oct 1940
Although I have read endless accounts of the Battle of Britain, I can never fully accept that four years before I was born a battle for the survival of civilization was fought where the “side [...]
Black Confederate Soldiers: A Surprising Fact
The existence of Black Confederate soldiers almost sounds like an historical contradiction. Given that the South initiated the Civil War to preserve slavery, it is hard to imagine that (1) Southern leaders would utilize black [...]
Eugenics: Psuedoscience Designed to Eliminate “Inferior” Human Beings
I am always troubled when our country does not live up to its wonderful ideals. Fortunately, over time we have confronted our errors and terminated errant policies; however, mistaken policies have caused needless hardships for [...]
Some Universities Fraudulently Use Federal Grants
On August 16, 2005, the Wall Street Journal reported that since 2003, Northwestern University, Harvard University, John Hopkins University, the Mayo Clinic and the University of Alabama at Birmingham have agreed to civil settlements. [...]
Nationalism: Nothing is More Powerful Than an Idea Whose Time has come
There are many different definitions of nationalism. From the perspective of an individual, nationalism is a feeling of identification with and dedication to a particular nation-state to the exclusion of all other nation-state. Nationalism is [...]
Freshwater and Foreign Policy: New Challenges
According to the foreign policy association, the United States needs to implement new ideas, technologies, and institutional skills to solve the world’s mounting water problems. The United States currently has no consistent or comprehensive [...]
Apache Chief Geronimo, 1829-1919
Geronimo, one of the most famous, and maybe infamous, Indian chiefs and warriors died in a prison hospital in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was both feared and admired by his cavalry adversaries. One of [...]
Al Smith “The Happy Warrior”: Trail Blazer for JFK (1873-1934)
Al Smith, four times Governor of the State of New York, who rose from the sidewalks of New York, was the first Roman Catholic to represent a major political party for the presidency of [...]
Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties are Bankrupting Our Future
Peter Peterson, the Former Chairman of the New York Economics Council, Lehman Brothers, and the Blackstone Group, has articulated in his book Running on Empty the growing financial crises that confront the United States. [...]