On this day in 1970, Apollo 13 prepares for its trip into space. Just two days into its mission, the spacecraft would unfortunately be struck by catastrophe. An oxygen tank would explode, leaving three astronauts in a crippled spaceship about 200,000 miles from Earth.   How would they survive? For days, the country waited in suspense. Congress passed resolutions asking Americans to pray.   The flight began uneventfully enough. Apollo 13 had run into a few pre-flight hiccups,

On this day in 1924, a future U.S. Air Force test pilot is born. Captain Milburn “Mel” Apt is best known for being the first to fly faster than Mach 3. Sadly, his Bell X-2 supersonic aircraft went into a spin mere seconds later. The intrepid pilot was unable to eject in time. “These are powerful rocket planes,” Air Force Magazine described, “each icebox white, small, and more powerful than any engine man has ever built. They are rapier-nosed guided missiles, guided by men who

On this day in 1782, a small American sloop faces off against HMS General Monk . The sloop’s captain was just 22 years old. He was outgunned and outmanned.   Naturally, he outwitted—then defeated—the British in a mere 30 minutes.   “This action has been justly deemed one of the most brilliant that ever occurred under the American flag,” historian James Fenimore Cooper concludes. “It was fought in the presence of a vastly superior force . . . [the ship taken was] superior to h

On this day in 2021, a hero passes away. Charles H. Coolidge had endured a four-day ordeal during World War II. It earned him the Medal of Honor, although he then barely even knew what the Medal was! He’d heard of it only because Sergeant Alvin York had grown up about 100 miles away from his hometown in Tennessee.   Coolidge’s heroism came as Allied forces worked their way across France late in the war. On October 24, 1944, he was with his platoon of machine-gunners. They’d b

On this day in 1939, the aircraft carrier USS Wasp is launched. She is perhaps best known for her stunning end—and the inspired rescue that followed. Nearly 2,000 sailors and aviators were pulled from the water as she went down nearby.   Wasp was with about a dozen other warships on September 15, 1942. She was escorting transports for the Seventh Marine Regiment, then headed to Guadalcanal. She’d been at general quarters all day even as her planes flew antisubmarine patrol mi

On this day in 1984, a hero is born. Thomas Patrick Payne would go on to receive a Medal of Honor for his actions in Operation Inherent Resolve near Hawija, Iraq.   The mission on October 22, 2015, was urgent. Hostages were being held by ISIS, and then-SFC Payne’s special operations task force was working with Kurdish Special Forces to attempt a rescue. Time was of the essence: Freshly dug graves had been spotted outside the prison compound where the hostages were being held.

On this day in 1945, American soldiers and Marines land in Okinawa. They couldn’t then know it, but that campaign would stretch on for three long months, ultimately becoming the last and the biggest of the Pacific island battles during World War II.   It would also prove to be among the deadliest.   The war in the Pacific had been a grueling one. Americans employed a strategy of “island-hopping,” systematically taking tactically important Japanese islands, one at a time. Okin

On March 26, 2026, USA Today ran a piece that I wrote about Virginia and the National Popular Vote compact. I approved a “final” copy of the article on March 25. Unfortunately, further changes were made without me sometime before the piece published at 6:00 a.m. on March 26. I did not approve the last round of changes and tried to get my original restored. The editors declined. In particular, I wanted them to restore the references to NPV that they deleted. I feel that c

On this day in 2014, a former Army nurse passes away. Lille Margaret Steinmetz Magette was among those who heroically served in military hospitals during World War II.   These women didn’t experience a particularly dramatic battle, earning a place in history books. Instead, they simply served, making sacrifices day after day. The accumulation of their contributions was vital to victory.   Lille was just your prototypical American girl, born and raised in small town Missouri.

On this day in 1945, a prisoner of war is liberated. But Roderick “Roddie” Edmonds wasn’t the only man freed that day. Because of his heroic actions, hundreds of other prisoners were liberated alongside him.   Do you remember this American hero, who received the Medal of Honor earlier this year?   Then-Master Sergeant Edmonds was among those serving with the 106th Infantry Division, 422nd Infantry Regiment at the Battle of the Bulge. Unfortunately, he was also among those cap

On this day in 1794, the United States begins building the first ships for its Navy. They weren’t the first ships built for an American Navy, of course, but they were the first since the Constitution had been adopted.   Would you be surprised to hear that the Continental Navy created during the American Revolution did not have universal support?   “It is the maddest idea in the world,” Samuel Chase of Maryland stormed, “to think of building an American fleet . . . we should m

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 75 is published. Next up on Publius’s list of presidential powers? The treaty-making power. The Constitution provides that the President can enter into treaties, “by and with the advice and consent of the Senate . . . provided two thirds of the senators present concur.” Publius notes that some have expressed concern about separation of powers, but he references his earlier arguments about why powers should not be *completely* separate

On this day in 1982, a groundbreaking ceremony is held for a new national memorial. Its design would spark debate—but it would also soon become one of the most powerful places of remembrance in America.   Indeed, over the course of the past several decades, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., has become a place of reverence and healing for many.   The Memorial might never have existed but for Jan C. Scruggs, a Vietnam War veteran.  The years after the war were

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 74 is published. The ever-organized Publius is still scrolling down his punch list of presidential powers. This paper analyzes a few presidential powers in quick succession, but Publius spends the bulk of his time discussing the President’s ability to grant “reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, EXCEPT IN CASES OF IMPEACHMENT.” Publius starts from the assumption that, for humane reasons, the “prerogative of par

On this day in 1945, Allied forces determine that “organized resistance has now ceased” in western Germany. Just one day earlier, Allied forces had conducted World War II’s largest single-day airborne drop, a mission codenamed “Operation Varsity.”   The drop might not have been needed but for the Rhine River, a huge natural obstacle protecting Nazi Germany from Allied forces to the west.   How could the Allies get across the river and deal a final blow to the Nazis?   British

On this day in 1943, an unusual sort of hero is born. Just six months later, he would go on to save the lives of at least 100 people during a fast-moving World War II campaign.   Wait. What? Just six months after his birth? Yes. You read that right. The hero in question was a homing pigeon named G.I. Joe. His stunning flight would make him the first American recipient of the PDSA Dickin Medal.   Impressively, he remained the only American recipient of the Medal for more than

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 73 is published. You may remember that essay 70 outlined several ingredients needed for an “energetic executive.” This paper tackles the third of these ingredients: “adequate provision for its support.” Alexander Hamilton writes as Publius in this particular paper. Publius’s discussion of this third ingredient is quick. He notes the constitutional provision that presidential compensation cannot be increased or decreased during the Pre

On this day in 1945, the aircraft carrier USS Franklin is miraculously saved. Just one day earlier, a Japanese Judy dive bomber had dropped two bombs on the American vessel. Franklin then had dozens of planes, fully gassed and armed, sitting on her flight deck or in her hangar. Those planes became fuel for the firestorm that would rip through much of the ship. [See yesterday’s story .] USS Santa Fe alongside the burning USS Franklin “It was like looking into hell,” AMM3/c Gle

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 72 is published. Alexander Hamilton (a.k.a. “Publius”) is still discussing the duration of presidential terms and the manner in which these 4-year terms contribute to an “energetic executive.” Publius reminds his readers that frequent presidential elections will not only result in frequent changes of the Executive, but it will also result in frequent changes of the subordinate officers who are running the various departments of govern

On this day in 1945, USS Franklin is attacked by a Japanese dive bomber. Her crew thought she’d surely capsize—but she didn’t. Amazingly, Franklin even managed to limp back home to Pearl Harbor. It was the second time that Franklin had survived such an attack. Mere months earlier, she’d barely survived the Battle of Leyte Gulf, but now she was back in operation. Her new task? Help neutralize the Japanese kamikaze threat before the planned invasion of Okinawa. USS Franklin, o