History(Page 2)

Profiles, explainers, and other stories that dig into military history.

Latest in History

Frank S. Wright Promoted To Sergeant
World War II

Legendary Marine Raider finally promoted to sergeant at 100

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Sep 3, 2025

An international harvester tractor strapped to the wreck of the World War II USS Hornet.
World War II

A tractor enthusiast wants to recover one onboard a sunken World War II carrier

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Sep 1, 2025

U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets, assigned to the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, fly a mission over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, March 3, 2025. The HSTCSG is responsible for patrolling approximately 2.5 million square miles of water space and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal and Strait of Bab al-Mandeb. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jackson Manske)
History

What was the Department of War and why was the name changed?

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Aug 29, 2025

The new Mexican Border Defense Medal, with a green and yellow ribbon.
History

Pentagon releases design for Mexican Border Defense Medal

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Aug 23, 2025

Navy aviator Donald McPherson sits inside his Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter during World War II.
World War II

Last American fighter ace from World War II dies at 103

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Aug 23, 2025

Capt. Jim Lovell, NASA astronaut.
Historical Figures

Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 astronaut who helped avert disaster, has died

By Nicholas Slayton

Updated on Aug 9, 2025

Japes Capers
Vietnam War

A legendary Marine doesn’t have the Medal of Honor. Veterans want to change that.

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Aug 8, 2025

A Combined Action Program Marine and a Navy corpsman using diesel fuel to burn the human waste from Combined Action unit Papa Three's outhouse in Cam Hieu village, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, on September 20, 1967. (Photo by Ed Palm Photo/Getty Images)
Vietnam War

Federal watchdog calls out lack of research on burn pits in Vietnam

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Aug 7, 2025

Marines in Afghanistan
Afghanistan War

Pentagon briefly republished Afghanistan photos pulled after withdrawal

By Jeff Schogol

Updated on Aug 6, 2025

“Atomic Echoes.” Karin Tanabe and Victoria Kelly.
World War II

‘Atomic Echoes’ interviews survivors of atomic bombings

By Shannon Corbeil

Posted on Jul 28, 2025

Geb Galle
World War II

Pearl Harbor survivor gets letter from top Navy admiral for his 104th birthday

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Jul 23, 2025

Comic book art depicting a panel from the book on Clint Romesha, Medal of Honor recipient. In it he is in combat gear holding his rifle.
Afghanistan War

Medal of Honor recipient Clint Romesha gets new comic book highlighting his actions in Afghanistan

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jul 20, 2025

Underwater footage showing the anchor from the sunken bow of the USS New Orleans
World War II

Missing bow of World War II cruiser found after 83 years

By Nicholas Slayton

Updated on Jul 12, 2025

The painting, “Operation Phantom Fury — Fallujah 2004,” is intended to capture the uncertainty of urban combat.
History

A Marine veteran recreated a hell house from the Battle of Fallujah on canvas

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Jul 8, 2025

An 8th Air Force B-17 bomber flies over a bombed target in 1943.
World War II

The Army Air Forces tried to use remote-controlled bombers as attack drones in World War II

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jul 7, 2025

Frank S. Wright
World War II

WWII Marine Raider who fought at Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal wants cards for 100th birthday

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Jul 1, 2025

Last Battle of the Pacific

‘Frog Fathers’ — the birth of the Navy SEALs and how the Battle of Okinawa shaped them

By Shannon Corbeil

Posted on Jun 24, 2025

A black and white image showing American landing craft reaching the beaches of Okinawa in 1945.
World War II

US, Japan mark 80 years since the end of the Battle of Okinawa

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jun 23, 2025

Private Fitz Lee, in a suit and hat, poses with his Medal of Honor.
Historical Figures

An Army base will now honor a Buffalo Soldier

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jun 19, 2025

A photo of a crashed U.S. helicopter from Operation Eagle Claw.
Past Conflicts

Operation Eagle Claw and the genesis of Joint Special Ops

By Kyle Gunn

Posted on Jun 17, 2025

Army soldiers with 3rd Infantry Regiment dressed in Revolutionary War uniforms march as part of the Army Birthday Twilight Tattoo at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia on June 11, 2025.
History

The US Army turns 250

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jun 14, 2025

28th Infantry Division in the Battle of the Bulge
World War II

The overlooked Army division that held off the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Jun 13, 2025

A rocket launches from the top of a submarine, spewing a huge plume of smoke, in a black and white picture.
History

When the US Navy tried to send mail using a missile

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jun 8, 2025

Army plans to close more than 20 base museums in major reduction
History

Army plans to close more than 20 base museums in major reduction

By Matt White

Posted on Jun 6, 2025

Operation Titanic: How the SAS and hundreds of fake paratroopers tricked the Nazis on D-Day
World War II

Operation Titanic: How the SAS and hundreds of fake paratroopers tricked the Nazis on D-Day

By Kyle Gunn

Posted on Jun 6, 2025

Vets hope thousands will rally against VA cuts in nationwide protests
History

Vets hope thousands will rally against VA cuts in nationwide protests

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jun 5, 2025

In June 1969, 74 U.S. sailors died when the USS Frank E. Evans, a Navy destroyer, sunk off the coast of Vietnam. When the Vietnam Memorial Wall was dedicated in 1982, family members and surviving crew were stunned to find the names of the lost sailors were not included.
Vietnam War

Why aren’t the names of these 74 sailors on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall?

By Matt White

Posted on May 26, 2025

A howitzer sits on the foreground while a mushroom cloud detonates in the background.
History

When the Army tried out nuclear artillery

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on May 25, 2025

A reconstructed image of a submarine against the dark of the ocean floor.
World War I

Expedition captures the first ever images of the wreck of a World War I submarine

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on May 24, 2025

Army Apache crews who fired ‘first shots of Desert Storm’ receive Distinguished Flying Crosses
Gulf War

Army Apache crews who fired ‘first shots of Desert Storm’ receive Distinguished Flying Crosses

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on May 16, 2025

A black and white photo showing U.S. soldiers crouched low while a Sherman tank advances up a country road.
World War II

When Americans, Germans and POWs fought the SS from the walls of a castle

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on May 5, 2025

A black and white photo showing several U.S. Army tanks moving through the rubble of a bombed out German city.
World War II

80 years ago, American soldiers captured the center of Nazi Germany

By Nicholas Slayton

Updated on Apr 20, 2025

A black and white headshot of a man in an Army uniform smiling.
World War II

Oldest Pearl Harbor survivor dies at 106

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Apr 12, 2025

Teams with a wagon in a black and white photo try to inflate a hot air balloon.
Past Conflicts

How the Union took to the skies in the Civil War

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Mar 24, 2025

Soldiers in vintage uniforms sail on a World War II-era amphibious boat.
World War II

Soldiers sail across the Rhine to mark 80th anniversary of the invasion of Germany

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Mar 23, 2025

Jack Treadwell single handedly defeated six German pillboxes and captured 18 germans during a battle to break through the Siegfried Line near Nieder-Wurzbach, Germany.
World War II

This WWII soldier knocked out 6 German pillboxes and took 18 prisoners by himself

By Joshua Skovlund

Posted on Mar 18, 2025

Army Technician fourth grade James Lobnow took the fight to the insect enemy faced in World War II by hammer.
History

WWII troops took hammers to mosquitoes to battle pests and malaria

By Joshua Skovlund

Posted on Mar 18, 2025

M60 tank
History

Why Washington state used M60 tanks to prevent avalanches

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Mar 12, 2025

A black and white photo of U.S. troops walking towards a bridge.
World War II

80 years ago the Allies found their bridge across the Rhine

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Mar 9, 2025

Dana Klabenes, City Clerk & Treasurer of Neligh, Nebraska, points to Fred Benning, who served as the town's mayor from 1948 to 1952 and who will now be namesake for one of the Army's largest most storied bases, Fort Benning, Georgia.
Historical Figures

The Army didn’t have a photo of the ‘new’ Benning, so we found this one

By Matt White

Posted on Mar 6, 2025

A soldier on skis carries a blue and red flag while on a snowy mountain.
World War II

10th Mountain Division marks 80 years since cliff face victory in World War II

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Feb 24, 2025

United State Marines among the ruins of a house that was levelled by Marines who determined that Communists were taking refuge inside, in Hue, Vietnam, 15th February 1968. (Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
Vietnam War

Marine awarded Navy Cross at Vietnam War’s Battle of Hue remembered as ‘magnificent,’ humble leader

By Matt White

Posted on Feb 23, 2025

A Tuskegee Airman describes an air-to-air dogfight in 'Wings For This Man,' a 1945 Army-produced film on the unit narrated by Ronald Reagan.
World War II

Ronald Reagan narrated a short film in 1945 about the Tuskegee Airmen

By Matt White

Updated on Feb 20, 2025

a red and orange sky.
History

The Cold War nuclear test that turned the sky crimson

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Feb 10, 2025

Tuskegee Airman, Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr. celebrating his 100th birthday.
Historical Figures

Tuskegee airman who notched three air-to-air victories in one day dies at 100

By Joshua Skovlund

Updated on Feb 3, 2025

Contractors with JMJ Construction of New Lisbon, Wis., along with support from Heritage Movers of Blue River, Wis., move a World War II-era building in the 1600 block on the cantonment area Feb. 24, 2023, at Fort McCoy, Wis. The contractors are relocating and repairing four barracks buildings that are currently located in the 1600 block to alternate locations in the 1700 and 1800 blocks, according to the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works. The plan is to relocate the buildings to the new locations before the ground thaws, then lift them onto the new foundations and complete the remaining work by summer 2023. This was the first time in Fort McCoy's history a barracks building was moved like this. (U.S. Army Photo by Greg Mason)
World War II

The Army is moving WWII-era barracks across a base to house visiting troops

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jan 29, 2025

Air Force cuts Tuskegee Airmen, WASP history class from boot camp on Trump order
History

Air Force cuts Tuskegee Airmen, WASP history class from boot camp on Trump order

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jan 25, 2025

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Little an electrician with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa, applies a tourniquet to a simulated casualty during a combat lifesaver course at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, August 4, 2016. During the four-day course, Marines learned to recognize injuries, perform the appropriate procedures and control the patient to prolong survivability until help arrives. U.S. Marines and Sailors assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa Command support operations, contingencies and security cooperation in the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alexander Mitchell)
Afghanistan War

This Navy SEAL doctor is a big reason US troops carry tourniquets in combat today

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jan 14, 2025

A WW-II tanker used a teaspoon ruse to take 24 POWs after becoming one himself.
World War II

This WWII Tanker took more than 20 prisoners while armed only with a spoon

By Joshua Skovlund

Posted on Jan 10, 2025

1st Battalion, 4th Marines
World War I

Storied Marine infantry battalion to be transformed into Littoral Combat Team

By Jeff Schogol

Updated on Jan 8, 2025

Nick Sanza was a tunnel rat during the Vietnam War
History

A day in the life of a Vietnam ‘tunnel rat’

By Joshua Skovlund

Posted on Jan 8, 2025

The Navy will name a guided-missile destroyer for Senator Robert Kerrey, the first Navy SEAL awarded the Medal of Honor in Vietnam.
Vietnam War

Navy names new destroyer for Senator who was first SEAL awarded Medal of Honor

By Matt White

Posted on Jan 7, 2025

The first two Distinguished Service Cross recipients were two female Army nurses.
History

The first Americans to earn the Distinguished Service Cross were two Army nurses

By Joshua Skovlund

Posted on Jan 6, 2025

A composite of two men in military uniform. Both are wearing hats.
Vietnam War

These 2 soldiers will receive the Medal of Honor for their heroism in Vietnam

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Jan 3, 2025

A composite of five men in military uniform. One is in color the rest are black and white photographs.
Korean War

Five Korean War vets to receive Medal of Honor including Fort Cavazos namesake

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jan 3, 2025

jetpack light mobility system
History

The Army once hoped jetpacks could give soldiers the edge in combat

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jan 1, 2025

Black and white photo showing several American soldiers in the snow, a church behind them.
World War I

When Americans spent Christmas and New Year’s freezing in Russia

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 30, 2024

President Jimmy Carter, in a dark suit, with an American flag behind him
Historical Figures

President Jimmy Carter, Navy veteran and humanitarian, dies at 100

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 29, 2024

William Anders' "Earthrise." (photo courtesy NASA)
History

The Air Force once proposed bombing Earth from the Moon

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 29, 2024

An older man shakes hands with a man in military uniform.
World War II

Pearl Harbor survivor and last living crewmember of the USS Utah dies at 105

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 27, 2024

OSS crossbows were built for commandos and spies in World War II.
History

This tiny crossbow is the perfect Christmas gift for your favorite World War II Spy

By Joshua Skovlund

Posted on Dec 25, 2024

Dr. Lytle S. Adams, a dental surgeon, concoted a weapon to compete with the atomic bomb.
History

That time the US military burned down one of its own bases with a ‘bat bomb’

By Joshua Skovlund

Posted on Dec 20, 2024

Capt. Rick Woolard, a Navy SEAL commander, used V40 mini-grenades during his three deployments to Vietnam.
History

These tiny, Vietnam-era mini-grenades were known as ‘Hooch Poppers’

By Joshua Skovlund

Posted on Dec 19, 2024

Lt. Col. Craig Andrle, 79th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander, taxis after a combat sortie March 20, 2017 at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. The 79th EFS provides counterterrorism to support a successful train, advise, assist mission in Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Katherine Spessa)
Afghanistan War

This pilot dropped every bomb on two different F-16s in one mission

By Matt White

Posted on Dec 18, 2024