When we last discussed the Chindit forces more than a year ago, we came to the conclusion that the perceived successes of Orde Wingate’s brainchild were greater than the actual success. But we also realized that, in early 1943, any good news for the Allies was pounced on and broadcast to the masses back home. [...]
Archive for August, 2011
Executive Decision Births Merrill’s Marauders
Posted in China/Burma/India, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1943, General Frank Merrill, General Orde Wingate, Merrill's Marauders, President Franklin Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 31 | Leave a Comment »
Capitol’s Sacking Leads to Armstrong’s Sacking
Posted in The War of 1812 (1812-1815), United States, tagged 1814, John Armstrong, President James Madison, President James Monroe, Washington on August 29 | 1 Comment »
Let’s pick up where we left off the other day with President Madison’s return to (what was left of) Washington, D.C. The next day (the 28th of August if you’re following the chronology), the Commander-in-Chief got his first look at the devastation. He described the White House as “in ashes, not an inch but its [...]
President Madison Returns Home to…?
Posted in The War of 1812 (1812-1815), United States, tagged 1814, Fort Washington, President James Madison, Washington D.C. on August 27 | Leave a Comment »
Today was a beautiful day. Bright sunshine, a few clouds, low humidity, and temps around 80. I’m not sure I could have ordered a better day. Meanwhile, the East Coast is battening down the hatches as Hurricane Irene has come ashore and is working its misery. As I type, New York City is in the [...]
John Carmack: Computer Gaming Legend
Posted in United States, tagged 1970, Doom, id Software, John Carmack, Quake, Wolfenstein on August 20 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve written about computer games on a couple of occasions, so you if recall those, you know I’m a fan. I don’t play games as much as I used to, but from time to time, I’ll fire up the big machine in the office and have a go for an hour or two. Once in a [...]
Koga’s Zero Sails South
Posted in North America, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Akutan Island, Dutch Harbor, Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Tadayoshi Koga on August 12 | Leave a Comment »
It was just a single plane. One silly plane. A lone Mitsubishi A6M Zero, one of nearly 11,000 made by Japan during the Second World War. Today, there are a handful of flyable Zeroes in the world, but as far as I know, there exists but one example that still flies with the original engine. These [...]
Philippe Petit: Balancing Act
Posted in Later twentieth century (1961-2000), United States, tagged 1974, Highwire Artist, Philippe Petit, Twin Towers, World Trade Center on August 7 | Leave a Comment »
Philippe Petit might not be a name that immediately attaches itself to a face. In fact, I wouldn’t know a single thing about the man except that I read his name as a youngster in an old copy of the Guiness Book of World Records. Most all of us, however, know about the World Trade Center. [...]
Colin McRae: World Rally’s Wild Man
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged 1968, Colin McRae, Colin McRae Rally, Richard Burns, World Rally Championship on August 5 | 1 Comment »
I started writing my farewell post this morning. I believed I had reached a point where I wasn’t writing enough to justify continuing the process. It seemed that (at least) a temporary vacation of a month - or maybe a couple of months – would either re-kindle the cooling desire or confirm that Today’s History Lesson had [...]
