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1 SSB on D-Day, and the piper of the Pegasus Bridge
Note the Bren guns and covers on the Enfield .303s The 1st Special Service Brigade (1 SSB) goes ashore at Sword Beach, 1944. The Lord Lovat Simon Fraser is visible to the right of the column wading...
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Fair seas, Jack
WWII veteran Jack O’Neill has reportedly passed away in Santa Cruz, California, of natural causes at the age of 94. Best known as an old school surfer, ocean lover, boating enthusiast, pioneering...
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More bad finger-painting
I tried my ever-evolving hand at art by working up a painting “inspired” by a photo of the USS Lassen (DDG-82) under construction on a foggy day at Ingalls in Pascagoula. USS Lassen prior to float off...
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Making your own battle packs with a kitchen-counter vacuum system
The main struggle with keeping ammo clean and usable for long term storage is that it remains in a cool, dry place. While dry boxes and desiccant are a go-to, you can also vac pack rounds. Yes, there...
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A Brit describes fighting off an intruder in his home, with a very British...
In a country with no right to bear arms, and no right to defense, it can get sticky sometimes. From the Guardian It is unusual for burglars to break into a property knowing there’s someone inside who...
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Tommy guns and Fusiliers, 73 years on
French villagers welcome French Naval Commandos (Commandos Marins) of the 1st BFMC (Battalion de Fusiliers Marins Commandos) who arrived in Normandy during the D-Day landings. Near Amfreville,...
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A special Combat Gallery Sunday: The original Fighting Irish, on the eve of...
Absolution Under Fire, By Paul Wood, via the Snite Museum of Art Notre Dame. Note the drummer boys in distinctive Zouave uniforms and the famous green harp flag. Click to bigup On July 2nd 1863,...
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5 Decent tactical folders I’ve found useful for under $50
A good tactical folder for the purpose of this installment is a knife that can accomplish all your classic “penknife” or “pocketknife” tasks– cutting a thread or cord, trimming fingernails, touching up...
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Five castaways belonging to four different carriers
This has to be a great story in this picture, taken of five men who evidently survived being shot down in the Philippines in late 1944/early 1945 and survived as best they could until being plucked up...
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My 1960s EDC
Every now and then I like to channel the early Don Draper days with the below carry option. It consists of a pre-71 Colt Detective Special in .38 SPL (stoked with period-correct standard velo 158 gr....
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52 years ago this week
Note the WWII-era M3 Grease Gun and cross-draw shoulder holstered M1911A1, both remained in U.S. military service well into the 1980s. Some things never go out of style. On July 12, 1965, Lt. Frank...
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Principles of Operation (1943) United States Rifle, Caliber .30, M1
The above U.S. Army training film explains the principles of operation of the M1 (Garand) Infantry Rifle. John Garand’s M1 rifle was developed at Springfield Armory over a five-year period and put...
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Robert Gould Shaw’s sword, thought lost to history, found in attic
Colonel Robert Gould Shaw clutched the sword in his hand until he was killed in battle by enemy troops at the murderous assault on Fort Wagner. (Photo by Stuart C. Mowbray/MHS) Descendants of Col....
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A Lil Jeep and a lot of swagger
Capt. Forrest F “Pappy” Parham in front of the famous shark teeth of Little Jeep, a P-40 Warhawk when a member of “Chennault’s Sharks” the 23rd Fighter Group in the China-Burma-India theater of WWII....
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That kukri, though
The above video starts off a bit silly but shows the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas performing the traditional Khukuri Dance at the Last Night of the Proms Concert at the Royal Military School of...
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Happy Birthday Rupert Brooke!
The war poet Rubert Brooke has always been a favorite of mine. So much that my daughter carries “Brooke” as her middle name. He died 23 April 1915, while serving with the Royal Navy in the Aegean...
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Papa loved his shotguns, even as a youth
“John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.” Date: ca. 1913. Accession Number: EH783N, Scanned original 2.75X3.5 nitrate negative by SL on DAMS2B. Description: A young Ernest Hemingway...
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New skins for an old warrior
When my grandfather joined the National Guard at 17, but before he headed off to war on active duty, he bought a “fighing knife” from a local hardware store as any strapping youth in olive drab needed...
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Summer days in the South
Spent some time last week in Jackson at the Cathead Distillery (the only one in the state since Prohibition) helping to promote The Mississippi Encyclopedia, a 1,600-page scholarly reference work...
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Pritzker on Southeast Asia
“Home Cookin’, 1967. A member of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division eats his first hot meal in five days after operating in the Quảng Ngãi Province. Photo by Specialist 5 Robert C. Lafoon, U.S....
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