This Memorial Day, people all across the USA will be remembering those servicemen who have fallen in the service of their country, in wars ancient and modern. We’ll also (hopefully) be remembering with thanks those of our countrymen who are serving right now, both at home and abroad, keeping us safe. I thought I’d like… Continue reading Memorial Day: Remembering Beslan
Tag: Military memories
The smells of war – in computer games?
A report from England suggests that computer war games may soon smell like the real thing. The Ministry of Defence is part-funding a project in which foul smells are released into the air during training videos so that recruits literally learn to sniff out trouble. If the technology proves a success, it is expected to… Continue reading The smells of war – in computer games?
Memories of younger days
I was transported back to my late teens by an e-mail from a friend today. He sent me some photographs of Dune 7, near Walvis Bay in Namibia, and reminded me of the torture we both experienced on it. Locals claim it’s called ‘Dune 7’ because it’s the seventh-highest system of sand dunes ever measured… Continue reading Memories of younger days
The Great Escape – 65 years later
65 years ago, in March 1944, 76 Royal Air Force and Allied airmen escaped from Stalag Luft III prison camp in Sagan, Germany, through a tunnel they’d nicknamed ‘Harry’. Their feat would become known as ‘The Great Escape‘. Some of the few surviving prisoners of war who were incarcerated at Stalag Luft III have just… Continue reading The Great Escape – 65 years later
A new light on fitness reports
Those of us who’ve served in armed forces around the world will be familiar with so-called ‘fitness reports’, the assessment of our performance compiled by our superior officers which could have so much effect on our promotion and career paths. A friend, Mike W., has e-mailed me a list of (alleged) entries from US and… Continue reading A new light on fitness reports
Mike Mike Foxtrot Delta
My friend Lawdog recently posted about ‘Mike Mike Bravo Tango’ on his blog. It made me chuckle – and remember a story from the buildup to Operation Desert Storm in 1991. I heard it from a friend in the Royal Air Force. The RAF sent its Tornado aircraft to the Gulf as part of the… Continue reading Mike Mike Foxtrot Delta
On this day: February 23rd, 1945
Today is a hallowed date in the history of the US Marine Corps. On February 23rd, 1945, the US flag was raised atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima by a group of Marines, to be immortalized on film by Joe Rosenthal in a photograph he titled Raising The Flag On Iwo Jima. It won the… Continue reading On this day: February 23rd, 1945
On this day: February 23rd, 1945
Today is a hallowed date in the history of the US Marine Corps. On February 23rd, 1945, the US flag was raised atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima by a group of Marines, to be immortalized on film by Joe Rosenthal in a photograph he titled Raising The Flag On Iwo Jima. It won the… Continue reading On this day: February 23rd, 1945
Armistice Day
At 11 a.m. on November 11th, 1918, the guns fell silent across Europe as the Armistice of Compiègne brought an end to the fighting of the First World War. The war itself would not be officially over until the peace settlement of the Treaty of Versailles the following year, but the killing had ended. The… Continue reading Armistice Day
Lest we forget
We should never forget the suffering of so many during World War II. Of the millions who died (estimated at anywhere between fifty and one hundred million, depending on who’s doing the counting), the vast majority were civilians. Among the military casualties were many taken prisoner by the Axis powers, who were usually merciless to… Continue reading Lest we forget