On this day in 2005, Green Acres star Eddie Albert passes away. You might know him for his success in Hollywood, but do you know about his Navy service during World War II? Perhaps most notably, Albert supported Marines as they fought to secure the Tarawa Atoll and its important airstrip late in 1943. He even received a Bronze Star with Combat “V” for the stunning rescues he made. That invasion began on November 20 as Marines landed on the tiny island of Betio, along the

On this Memorial Day in 1948, a soldier is honored in a ceremony led by none other than General Omar Bradley. Edward G. Wilkin’s young son had received a Medal of Honor on his behalf two years earlier. Now he was also present as Wilkin’s remains were finally brought home. The younger Wilkin remembers the ceremony, “but what it really meant, what it represented,” he admitted. “I never really understood it until I got older of course.” He also remembers Bradley, who spoke t

On this day in 1755, Tench Coxe is born in Philadelphia. Was he a Patriot or a Loyalist? People weren’t so sure at first. But he rehabilitated himself—or at least his reputation—and later served in four presidential administrations. He also became a prolific writer on the importance of an armed citizenry. Perhaps it’s unsurprising, given his background. Coxe’s father was once a stamp (tax) collector in New Jersey. Patriot threats and protests caused him to resign, but then

On this day in 1945, a Seventh-Day Adventist engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. He was the only conscientious objector to receive a Medal of Honor for his service during World War II. Doss, of course, objected to the term “conscientious objector,” right from the beginning. He preferred “conscientious cooperator” or “noncombatant.” After all, he intended to help the Army in any way that his religion allowed. He worked to get himself assigned as a me