Category: Diplomacy & War
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Emperor Hirohito reigns over an inferno
Emperor Hirohito reigns over an inferno In Herbert Lord’s seminal study of the Titanic disaster, A Night to Remember, White Star Line’s president, J. Bruce Ismay, is revealed alternating between distinguished passenger and company operative, at times questioning Captain Smith about estimated arrival times in New York, and at others, slipping into one of the…
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George Washington faces a dilemma
George Washington faces a dilemma My own reference to American history begins with my birth only a decade and a half after the end of the Second World War, during the height of the Cold War. In my formative years, the Vietnam War caused a tumultuous schism among Americans, in part due to mutually exclusive…
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D-Day Saipan – 70 year anniversary
“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…
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Gettysburg at 150
Gettysburg: A question of cost For all its fame, its glory, its countless acts of sacrifice and honor, for all of the reverence now bestowed, Gettysburg was a costly, missed opportunity for the Union. As we honor, and rightfully so, those who fought to preserve the Union during this sesquicentennial of the great battle, a…