On this day in 2009, a Medal of Honor recipient passes away. Alejandro Ruiz had perhaps been an unlikely hero? Indeed, he might never have been at Okinawa but for a somewhat humorous legal scrape that he got himself into.   A 20-year-old Ruiz had been transporting cows across Texas in 1944 when he made a spur-of-the-moment decision to propose to his girlfriend, Eliza Martinez. He was supposed to take the cows to Carlsbad, but he detoured to Barstow to find Eliza instead. Perh

On this day in 1943, a former Detroit Lion engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Yet Maurice “Footsie” Britt earned more than just a Medal. He was also the first American to earn the four highest U.S. Army combat decorations for valor, all during a single war.   Even better, he lived to tell his stories.   Britt had been an athlete in college, of course, but he’d also joined the Army Reserve Officer’s Training Corps during his time at the University of

On this day in 1944, a hero engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor.  Charles E. Mower was a Wisconsin native and the son of a World War I veteran.   He’d been a football coach before joining the Army and could have gone back to such a life, but “since God has seen fit to change those plans,” Mower’s high school classmate James Theirl concluded, “we know that what Chuck did on that final day was his greatest work.”   That “final day” was November 3, 1944,

On this day in 1944, a soldier engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Private George “Joe” Sakato would not receive his Medal until nearly 56 years after his action.  Even then, he was stunned.   “I couldn’t believe they were going to give me the Medal of Honor,” he said, noting that he only ever saw 90 days of combat. “I was just a recruit. I was just a raw private.”   But it was even more than that. When Sakato joined the Army, he was short and somewha

On this day in 1942, the Battle for Henderson Field begins. Marines in the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines stand as the last line of defense between the Japanese and an all-important airfield on Guadalcanal.   Company C took the brunt of the attack that night, but our Marines staunchly held on.   As the Japanese retreated, someone reportedly hoisted a flag made from an old, white parachute. It bore a skull and crossbones and the words “Suicide Charley, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines.”

On this day in 1944, a U.S. Army nurse pens a letter to the American G.I. Frances Slanger’s words would ultimately be published as an editorial in the Stars and Stripes  newspaper.   It meant the world to our boys!   “These Soldiers had been fighting every day since they landed,” historian Bob Welch writes. “They had lost their sense of humanity, lost most of their sense of dignity, and lost their sense of hope. Suddenly, along came this nurse who wrote this letter . . . and

On this day in 1980, a hero passes away. William Soderman’s hometown of West Haven, Connecticut, had long known him as a quiet, hardworking man who would “always see a task through to the end.”   That determination would turn him into a one-man army at the Battle of the Bulge. Would you believe that Soderman took on multiple German tanks, single-handedly?! The move earned him a Medal of Honor.   Pfc. Soderman’s heroism came near Rocherath, Belgium on the night of December 17-

On this day in 1921, a future flying Ace is born in Watertown, Massachusetts. Fred Christensen’s love of flying started early, when a friend’s father took him up in a plane as a teenager.   “From a very early age,” his daughter Diane would explain years later, “he did anything he could to get to the airport or befriend those at school whose dads had planes. As children, we thought he could fly without wings.”   Christensen joined the Army soon after the Japanese attack on Pea

On this day in 1941, USS Kearny participates in an emergency rescue mission—and it would be attacked by the Germans. But wasn’t the United States neutral in World War II at that juncture? The attack on Pearl Harbor and declarations of war on Japan and Germany were still nearly two months away. Believe it or not, several American vessels clashed with the Germans in those months. As early as April 1941, USS Niblack was dropping depth charges to ward off a potential German U-b

On this day in 1917, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born. Truman Olson would go on to become one of the heroes of the bloody and...

At about this time in 1944, Barbara Miller Finch makes history as the U.S. Navy’s first female war correspondent. Naturally, she wasn’t going to be satisfied with simple credentials.   She was bound and determined to convince the Navy that she could go into a war zone, too.   The Navy wasn’t then too keen on giving credentials to female war correspondents. “She spends a good part of her time trying to convince the Navy that she is a reporter, not just a woman,” the Los Angele

On this day in 2023, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is commissioned. USS Jack H Lucas  is named for the youngest...

On this day in 1924, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born. Perhaps Michael Joseph Daly was an unexpected hero? True, his father was...

On this day in 1946, a hero is awarded the Medal of Honor. William Robert Caddy left his life as a milkman’s assistant to join the...

On this day in 1998, Army nurse Elaine Roe passes away. She is best known as one of four nurses to be awarded the Silver Star during...

On this day in 1945, Wake Island is finally returned to American hands. The Japanese had been in possession of the island since December...

On this day in 1945, a formal surrender ceremony is held aboard the USS Missouri. Today is the anniversary of V-J Day! On this day, World...

On this day in 1914, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born. Stephen Raymond Gregg is credited with saving the lives of seven of his...

On this day in 1943, USS Harmon is commissioned. It was the first U.S. Navy warship to be named after a black American. The destroyer...

On this day in 1892, the future Elizebeth Friedman is born. Elizebeth would go on to become an expert codebreaker, even cracking Nazi and...