The Complicated Vietnam War Legacy of Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger, U.S. national security adviser and later secretary of state at the height of the Vietnam War, died on Nov. 29 at the age of 100. His polarizing career…
Inside the US Army’s Failed Nuclear Ice Lair in Cold War Greenland
As Soviet ICBM tests and the launch of Sputnik in the 1950s added intensity to the Cold War, the United States turned its attention to the ice sheets of Greenland…
Yes, Buzz Aldrin Walked on the Moon But We Asked Him About His Fighter Jock Days
Buzz Aldrin. (Randy Glass Studio) When Military History sought an interview with Buzz Aldrin, he initially demurred. The second human being ever to walk on the surface of the Moon—on…
The Americans Had the B1. The Soviets Doubled Down with the Blackjack
The Cold War was at its coldest in the 1960s, with the United States and the Soviet Union each engaged in massive military buildups to prepare for possible war with…
The Americans Had the B1. The Soviets Doubled Down with the Blackjack
The Cold War was at its coldest in the 1960s, with the United States and the Soviet Union each engaged in massive military buildups to prepare for possible war with…
When A Spaghetti Tree Hoax Caused A Nationwide Uproar
Once upon a time in 1957, a BBC news crew decided to broadcast an April Fool’s Day joke. Producers allowed a cameraman a shoestring budget of £100 and the freedom…
Liquor Numbed the Pain, Took the Edge Off Homesickness… and Caused Havoc During the Civil War
Rain fell along Virginia’s Rapidan River in December 1863 as the 5th New York Cavalry set about building its winter quarters at Germanna Ford. The thickly wooded hill of Devil’s…
Read Henry Kissinger’s Secret Message on the Fall of Saigon
This cable from April 19, 1975, was sent by U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to Graham Martin, U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam about the impending evacuation of Saigon. It…
Louisa May Alcott Wanted to Be a Nurse…Until She Realized It Required Bathing Soldiers
New England novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) is perhaps best known as the author of young adult fiction, including Little Women (1868), and Little Men (1871). However, Alcott put her…
Why Was This Soldier Betrayed?
As a housekeeper for the German Embassy in Paris, Marie Bastian had two tasks. She was expected to gather the day’s paper trash twice a week…unless she recognized something worth…