Valor | War History

The Ingenious Reason Farmers Painted Stripes On Their Cows During the Blitz

Woman painting white stripes on her cow during the Blitz

While facing the Blitz during World War II, British farmers resorted to an unusual and creative tactic to protect their livestock and the public from…

Philip Toosey Served As the Inspiration for Lt. Col. Nicholson In ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’

Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa as Lt. Col. Nicholson and Col. Saito in 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' + Military portrait of Philip Toosey

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) was a sensational film so well-received that it earned several Academy Awards. What most people don’t realize is…

Bell X-1: America’s Experimental Rocket-Powered Aircraft That First Broke the Sound Barrier

Bell X-1 in flight

The Bell X-1 was a rocket-powered aircraft designed by Bell for a supersonic joint research project between the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and…

Henschel Hs 129 :The Luftwaffe’s Soaring Tank Buster Armed With a 75 mm Cannon

Sky at sunrise + Drawing of a Henschel Hs 129

As tank warfare evolved and became a key strategy during the interwar period, the German Wehrmacht envisioned a new kind of blitzkrieg – one that…

‘More Than Fitting’ – Mel Gibson Speaks Out About Fort Benning Being Renamed for Hal and Julie Moore

Mel Gibson as Hal Moore in 'We Were Soldiers'

Throughout the last few years, the US government and military have worked together to formulate a plan regarding the renaming of streets, installations and vehicles…

Harry Belafonte Narrowly Missed One of WWII’s Deadliest Disasters On US Soil

Portrait of Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte passed away in April 2023, ending a decades-spanning career that forever changed the faces of music, cinema and activism. Prior to becoming a…

The Red Army Recruited Blind Citizens During the Siege of Leningrad

Silhouette of soldiers manning a sound detector

The Red Army turned to desperate measures following Operation Barbarossa, as they were outnumbered. In one instance, they deployed camels, instead of horses, during the…

National Emergency Command Post Afloat: The ‘Floating White Houses’ for Times of Nuclear War

USS Wright (CC-2) at sea + Mushroom cloud rising into the sky

During the 1960s, America’s Continuity of Operations plans included the National Emergency Command Post Afloat (NECPA). It was one of three parts – airborne, ground…

‘The Battle of Algiers’ Is So Realistic That Guerrilla Groups Took Training Notes From It

Samantha Franco
French paratroopers marching along a street + Close-up of a man's face

The Battle of Algiers (1966) is a powerful and provocative film directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. It covers the Algerian struggle for independence from French colonial…

‘Last Post’ Memorial In Ypres Undergoing Two-Year Restoration

Exterior of the Menin Gate

After a century of battling the elements, the Menin Gate in Belgium is about to get some well-earned rest and recuperation. The monument dedicated to…

Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star: The Only US Jet Fighter to See Action In WWII – During Secret Operations In Italy

Lockheed P-80A-1-LO Shooting Star in flight

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, also known as the F-80, was the first jet fighter used operationally by the US Army Air Forces (USAAF). While…

The ‘M*A*S*H’ Death That Stunned America

Cast of 'M*A*S*H'

In an episode titled “Abyssinia, Henry,” the producers of M*A*S*H (1972-83) decided that McLean Stevenson’s character, Henry Blake, was to depart from the show. It…