History as Prologue

Month: June 2014

  • The Bonus Army and the fate of the GI Bill

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    by

    Mark Thomas
    in

    The Bonus Army and the fate of the GI Bill Douglass MacArthur already had a history of disobeying the president long before Truman removed the general from command during the Korean War. Like so many – if not all – developments in American history, it was from an act of civil protest that progress we now…

  • D-Day Saipan – 70 year anniversary

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    by

    Mark Thomas
    in

    “I have always considered Saipan the decisive battle of the Pacific offensive.” – General Holland M. Smith, USMC, Coral and Brass, 1949 D-Day Saipan – 70 year anniversary Like millions from many nations of the world, I followed the generally good coverage of the Normandy invasion’s 70th anniversary. Since that day in 1944, the landings in France…

  • Flag Day reflections

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    by

    Mark Thomas
    in

    So what’s the big idea about Flag Day? Tomorrow, June 14, is Flag Day here in the United States. Of our several, official days of national recognition for patriotic themes, Flag Day is one of the lesser. Unlike President’s Day, which amalgamated the honoring of Lincoln’s February birthday with what had been exclusively George Washington’s…