On this day in 1943, Mrs. Ruth C. Streeter is commissioned as a Major in the United States Marine Corps. She would serve as the first director of the newly formed Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. Women served in every branch of our military during World War II, but the Marine Corps went a step further: These women didn’t merely serve in some sort of auxiliary service, as women in the Navy, Army, or Coast Guard did. They were full-fledged Marines. The Commandant of the Marine Cor

On this day in 1943, American bombers launch their first attack on German soil. “U.S. Airmen,” newspapers soon reported, “flying Fortress and Liberator bombers—their biggest—dealt the first all-American assault to the German homeland today.” The “heavy aerial wallop,” these reports concluded, kept the American promise to “hit them and hit them hard.” But what had taken so long? After all, it had been more than a year since the United States entered World War II. It’s ea

On this day in 1967, the first manned Apollo mission ends in heartbreak. Apollo 1’s crew had been at Kennedy Space Center, preparing for their upcoming launch. Unfortunately, they never made it into space. Instead, all three astronauts were tragically killed during what should have been a simple launch rehearsal. But, then again, nothing had ever felt quite right about Apollo 1. “[E]very time we’d turn a corner there were things that were left undone or answers that we didn’t

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 45 is published. James Madison spent the past few essays defending each power transferred to the new national government. Now he asks whether the accumulation of all these powers (“the whole mass of them”) could be “dangerous to the portion of authority left in the several States.” Madison still believes that the states retain the bulk of power in the new Constitution. If anything, he thinks the national government is likely to be “to

On this day in 2002, a World War II hero passes away . Rudolph B. Davila has been credited with saving the lives of 130 American soldiers. He received the Medal of Honor for his stunning bravery. He surely never expected to be a hero. He’d enlisted in the Army in 1939, largely because times were tough, and he needed a job. Davila’s heroism came on May 28, 1944, as Americans worked to break though German strongholds in the mountains surrounding Anzio, Italy. Then-Staff Sergean

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 44 is published. James Madison (a.k.a. “Publius”) continues his step-by-step defense of the powers given to the new national government. He’s addressed the first four classes of governmental power (identified in Federalist No. 41). This paper tackles the 5th and 6th classes of powers. First, Madison addresses the restraints placed on the states “from certain injurious acts.” These are fairly uncontroversial and are run through quickly

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 43 is published. James Madison (a.k.a. “Publius”) continues his step-by-step defense of the powers given to the new national government. This essay literally reads like a punch list. In Federalist No. 41, Madison had divided the power granted to the government into six classes. Paper 41 discussed the first of these (national security); Paper 42 discussed the next two classes (foreign commerce and relations among states). Now, Madison

On this day in 1944, Allied forces come ashore in “Operation Shingle,” an amphibious landing near Anzio, Italy. Military leaders were determined to break Nazi Germany’s hold on Italy. It had already been a difficult winter. American and British forces had landed in southern Italy in September, intending to work their way north towards Rome, but the effort had turned into a long, hard slog. Much of the trouble came from a German defense barrier known as the Gustav Line,

On this day in 1832, Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, one of the patriotic women behind the folk hero “Molly Pitcher,” dies in Pennsylvania. Who on earth is Molly Pitcher?! Have you ever heard of her? The story of Molly Pitcher is partly legend, which makes it difficult to tell where the real story ends and the mythology begins. But the legend appears to be based on the stories of two women: Margaret Cochran Corbin and Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley. In 1778, Mary was married to h

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 42 is published. James Madison (a.k.a. “Publius”) engages in a detailed defense of various powers given to the national government. His paper is lengthy! (It’s hard to imagine such a lengthy editorial in any newspaper today, isn’t it?!) Thus, I will focus on just three important points. First, Madison underscores the importance of creating a sound structure for government. When laws don’t make practical sense, officials are forced int

On this day in 1922, a hero is born. William K. Nakamura would go on to serve in World War II as a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. That regiment, as you may know, was composed entirely of “Nisei.” They were Japanese-Americans who’d volunteered to fight for their country. They believed in America, even when some Americans weren’t sure if they could believe in their fellow citizens who just happened to be Japanese-Americans. Indeed, the 442nd worked so hard and

On this day in history, Harry S Truman becomes the second President to be inaugurated on January 20, a date specified in the 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution. “Each period of our national history has had its special challenges,” he noted. He would have been thinking of World War II and America’s place in the world following the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. Indeed, the United States had become a leader in a way that it historically had not

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 41 is published. James Madison (a.k.a. “Publius”) begins an orderly review of the powers conferred upon the national government. He makes a point that advocates of big government solutions need to pay attention to, believe it or not. Stick with me. The point comes at the end. Madison focuses on the first class of power that he says was conferred upon the national government: “Security against foreign danger.” “Security against foreign

On this day in 1770, the Battle of Golden Hill occurs. The incident has been called “the first bloodshed of the Revolution.” Yes, you saw that date correctly. The “shot heard ‘round the world” at Lexington and Concord was still more than five years in the future. The seeds for conflict were planted in 1766. The Stamp Act had been repealed, and the people of New York wanted to celebrate! Thus, they erected a Liberty Pole on the King’s birthday, June 4. Their pole carried a fla

On this day in 1923, a hero is born. William “Bill” McGee was an Indianapolis native and the third of five children. But was he an unexpected hero? After all, he didn’t rush to join the Army in the wake of Pearl Harbor. Instead, he was working as a butcher when he was drafted about a year later. As did so many in those days, he married his sweetheart mere weeks before being deployed to Europe. He was soon serving as a medical aidman with the 304th Infantry, 76th Infantry

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 40 is published. James Madison (a.k.a. “Publius”) addresses the contention that the Constitutional Convention exceeded its authority. Was it a runaway convention? The question remains important today. Some states have been considering the possibility of using their Article V power to call for a convention. The Constitution provides that states may apply to Congress for “a convention for proposing amendments.” The Article V power has n

On this day in 1788, Federalist Paper No. 39 is published. The Federalist Papers are a collection of essays that were published in New York newspapers in late 1787 and early 1788. They argued FOR the new Constitution, then being considered for ratification by the states. James Madison (a.k.a. “Publius”) dives in, immediately, to fend off criticism that the new government isn’t a “republican” one. “[N]o other form would be reconcilable with the genius of the people of America,

On this day in 1969, a hero receives the Medal of Honor. The Vietnam veteran had rescued two downed aviators from a nearly impossible situation. Then-Lt. Clyde E. Lassen (USN) simply refused to give up. “We had a good idea our chances were about nil,” one of the downed aviators, John Burns, would later say. “If it hadn’t been for the people who were picking us up doing what they had done, it would have been nil,” the other aviator, John Holtzclaw, agreed. Lassen’s heroi

On this day in 1784, the Treaty of Paris is approved by American officials. Great Britain would soon also ratify the treaty, officially bringing the American Revolution to an end. It had been more than two years since George Washington’s 1781 victory at Yorktown. Peace talks between Great Britain and the United States opened in April 1782, with British negotiator Richard Oswald on one side and Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and John Adams on the other. The negotiations we

On this day in 1794, George Washington signs an act redesigning the United States flag. His signature increased the number of stripes on our national banner from thirteen to fifteen. Did you know that the Star-Spangled Banner had 15 stripes for more than two decades? Indeed, our flag has a long history that many do not know. During the American Revolution, a wide variety of flags were used. Sometimes soldiers brought flags affiliated with their state or region and used th