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History (Page 2)

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

Latest in History

Medal of Honor Roddie Edmonds
World War II

Soldier who shielded Jewish POWs from guards will receive Medal of Honor

By Matt White, Jeff Schogol

Posted on Feb 18, 2026

Jeff Evans, center, with his sons Jake and Austin, at a seaside bar in Nha Trang, where his father was station in 1968. Family members believe the brothers might have gotten together in the city before David Evans' death in November 1968.
Vietnam War

A father and uncle were killed in Vietnam. This family returned to remember them.

By Matt White

Posted on Feb 16, 2026

Royce Williams
Korean War

Navy pilot to receive Medal of Honor nearly 75 years after shooting down 4 MiGs

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Feb 5, 2026

Family and friends attend a posthumous commission ceremony at Ke’ehi Lagoon Memorial State Park, Honolulu, Hi., Jan. 26, 2026. The ceremony was held to posthumously commission University of Hawaii ROTC cadets who died in combat during WWII. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Peter Bannister)
World War II

Labeled ‘aliens’ in World War II, 7 Japanese-American soldiers posthumously commissioned

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jan 28, 2026

On Aug. 16, 1960, Col. Kittinger stepped from a balloon-supported gondola at the altitude of 102,800 feet. In freefall for 4.5 minutes at speeds up to 614 mph and temperatures as low as -94 degrees Fahrenheit, he opened his parachute at 18,000 feet. (U.S. Air Force photo) (Photo by NASA/Corbis via Getty Images)
History

When the Air Force had a guy jump from the edge of space

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jan 20, 2026

NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Italy (Aug. 22, 2021) An Afghan family waits to exit a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III at Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella during Operation Allies Refuge Aug. 22, 2021. NAS Sigonella is currently supporting the Department of Defense mission to facilitate the safe departure and relocation of U.S. citizens, Special Immigration Visa recipients, and vulnerable Afghan populations from Afghanistan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Daniel M. Young)
Afghanistan War

Veterans defend Afghan ally programs as Trump closes doors

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jan 14, 2026

Image: (Original Caption) The Charleston shot was part of Operation Plumbbob and was fired from a balloon on September 28, 1957. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
History

The military once considered using balloons as nuclear weapons systems

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jan 5, 2026

Technician from Office of Naval Research (ONR) participates in freeflight after extensive testing for the Hiller Flying Platform. The platform was first flown in public in 1955. (Photo by US Navy/Getty Images)
History

When the military tried to give soldiers personal flying platforms

By Nicholas Slayton

Updated on Jan 1, 2026

Image: Jeep: US soldiers of the 3rd Division having Christmas dinner on the hood of a jeep on the front lines, World War Two, France, December 25th 1943. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)
World War II

How US troops in World War II celebrated Christmas dinner on the front

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 25, 2025

A mushroom cloud rises from a nuclear weapon test during Operation TUMBLER-SNAPPER. Over two thousand Marines witnessed the event, which was conducted in 1952 at the Nevada Proving Ground.
History

The Army once considered a nuclear-powered tank built by Chrysler

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 16, 2025

Royce Williams
Korean War

Navy pilot who took out 4 Soviet jets in covered-up mission may get Medal of Honor

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 8, 2025

Bush, Rumsfeld, Trump, Hegseth
Gulf War

As Congress tries to claw back power, the president can still wage war unilaterally

By Jeff Schogol, nicholas Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 8, 2025

World War II veteran Charles Norman Shay, a Penobscot Native American, who took part in the Operation Overlord (Battle of Normandy) during the D-Day on June 6, 1944, poses on May 4, 2019 in Omaha Beach, western France. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP) (Photo credit should read LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)
World War II

D-Day vet who moved to Normandy in final years dies at 101

By Matt White

Posted on Dec 4, 2025

Description: circa April-May 1923 The destroyers are, from left to right: USS Pruitt (DD-347) USS Stewart (DD-224) USS Preble (DD-345) USS Hulbert (DD-342) and USS William B. Preston (DD-344). The Japan-China Steamship Company (N.K.K. Nisshin Kisen Kaisha) docks are in the foreground, with a river steamer alongside in the center and an ocean-going freighter at right. Many local small craft are also present. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1969. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.
History

The Navy’s original island hopping strategy

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Dec 1, 2025

Two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning IIs, assigned to the F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team, fly in formation prior to conducting air-to-air refueling over Utah, July 1, 2025.
History

Why are so many US military aircraft painted grey?

By David Roza

Posted on Nov 25, 2025

On a snow covered hillside, three members of a US machine gun squad lay exhausted after taking a Communist position. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Korean War

On this day 74 years ago, one soldier staged a last stand to protect his unit

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Nov 24, 2025

Four F4U Corsair fighter airplanes return from a combat mission over North Korea and circle the aircraft carrier USS Boxer while waiting for the planes in the next strike force to launch from the deck, September 1951. US Navy photo. (Photo by Interim Archives/Getty Images)
Korean War

That time the Air Force held a Marine hostage for steak

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Nov 12, 2025

A team of vets have created an interactive map of Afghanistan where vets can upload pictures and notes from the war as they remember it.
Afghanistan War

Veterans built an interactive map of Afghanistan to record 20 years of war

By Clay Beyersdorfer

Posted on Oct 21, 2025

Robert Lodge
Vietnam War

A pilot went down in Vietnam to protect secrets. Will he get the Medal of Honor?

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Oct 21, 2025

adam driver john chapman air force combat control movie anne hathaway
Afghanistan War

Adam Driver will portray Air Force Medal of Honor recipient John Chapman

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Oct 6, 2025

George Hardy, in a red sweater wearing a hat that says "Tuskegee," stands in front of his plane from World War II.
World War II

One of the last original Tuskegee Airmen dies at 100

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Sep 28, 2025

Julia Moore watches Lt. Gen. Hal Moore at his retirement ceremony in 1977.
Vietnam War

Fort Moore could come back as Congress considers base name changes

By Drew F. Lawrence

Posted on Sep 22, 2025

Composite of the Medal of Honor and U.S. Army Capt. Willibald Bianchi.
World War II

Medal of Honor recipient’s remains identified after 80 years

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Sep 20, 2025

Students of Martial Arts Instructor Course 2-14 grapple against each other during their final exercise on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, April 17, 2014.
History

Marines are fighting over who gets to rebuild Tun Tavern

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Sep 18, 2025

The General train, on display in Georgia.
Past Conflicts

A new ‘Great Locomotive Chase’ will bring real Medal of Honor recipients along for the ride

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Sep 15, 2025

Iwo Jima Tank
World War II

World War II Marine veteran reunites with tank he drove on Iwo Jima

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Sep 10, 2025

John "Lucky" Luckadoo near a B-17 in World War II.
World War II

‘Lucky’ Luckadoo, last original pilot of World War II’s ‘Bloody Hundredth’ dies at 103

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Sep 8, 2025

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 Jr.
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, the USS Frank E. Evans sunk off the coast of Vietnam after colliding with an aircraft carrier, killing 74 sailors, after months of combat, shelling enemy forces to support Marines and soldiers. When the Vietnam Memorial Wall was dedicated in 1982, family members and surviving crew were stunned to find the lost sailors were not included.
Vietnam War

Why aren’t 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