The Ghost Army of World War II was made up of over 1,000 artists who worked hard to confuse and trick the enemy
Compared with many other Allied units of World War II, the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops remains relatively little known despite its important contribution to the…
Dwight D. Eisenhower lost a bet to Bernard Montgomery during World War II and had to hand over a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Wartime leadership is not usually remembered for friendly bets, but one such story reportedly emerged in 1943 involving Dwight D. Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery. According…
During the Cold War era, these double agents were some of the best and most dangerous
While James Bond exists only in the fictional world created by Ian Fleming, history has produced intelligence operatives whose activities were every bit as complex.…
Elvis Presley helped support fundraising efforts for the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor
During the 1950s, military conscription brought many young Americans into uniform, including a number of prominent athletes and entertainers. Among them was Elvis Presley, who…
Almost 50,000 M4 Sherman tanks were built during World War II, making it one of the most-produced tanks of the war
Many tanks of the Second World War struggled with mechanical reliability, particularly heavy German vehicles such as the Tiger and King Tiger. The M4 Sherman,…
The CIA spent millions of dollars trying to study psychic abilities and ESP during the Cold War
Project Stargate often brings to mind ideas from science fiction, such as space travel or interstellar gateways, but its actual purpose was far more grounded.…
4,000 sea mines detonated at the same time near the coast of North Vietnam because of… the sun?
In August 1972, U.S. magnetic sea mines deployed off the coast of North Vietnam unexpectedly exploded in large numbers despite the absence of any confirmed…
The Girardoni Air Rifle was the first repeating rifle to be used on a large scale by a military
Although guns are commonly linked to the violence of the American West, the Lewis and Clark Expedition carried a more unusual firearm: the Girardoni air…
Richard E. Fleming was the only man awarded the Medal of Honor out of every American who fought in the Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is often considered one of the most consequential naval battles ever fought. In June 1942, three American aircraft carriers confronted a…
A Russian submarine accidentally ran into an American spy submarine in this awkward international incident
Although the Cold War officially came to an end with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, decades of competition and suspicion between the…
Almost 80 percent of soldiers surveyed during the Vietnam War experienced dangerous problems with the M16 rifle
When the M16 rifle was introduced during the Vietnam War, it was promoted as a major advancement for U.S. forces—lighter than previous service rifles, highly…
8 Great D-Day movies to watch before you go see “Pressure” (2026)
D-Day, on June 6, 1944, remains one of the defining moments of World War II, when Allied forces launched a massive amphibious invasion on the…