St. Martin of Tours was a bishop, born at Sabaria, Germany about 316 and died at Candes, Touraine, most probably in 397. He was moved to Pavia in Italy in his early years when his father, a military tribune, was transferred. Martin accompanied him and when he reached adolescence, he was enrolled … Read more
Having selected ten prisoners to die in the starvation bunker to serve as a lesson for an escaped prisoner, Nazi SS Captain Karl Fritsch was about to leave Auschwitz concentration camp’s Block 13 when the unimaginable happened. Prisoner 16670 stepped out of formation. A murmur spread through the line of prisoners. Facing … Read more
During the 1968 Tet Offensive, then Captain Gordon Batcheller earned the Navy Cross when his unit, Company A, 1st Battalion Marines, engaged a numerically superior force of the North Vietnamese Army. Although injured by shrapnel, he aggressively led his men in a fierce assault against the enemy and was seriously wounded in … Read more
The history of the twentieth century saw the spread of communism the world over and the virtual river of blood left in its wake was unprecedented. Communist expansion was greatly facilitated in the West through subtle psychological maneuvers and a policy of appeasement which weakened the anti-communist’s will to resist. From ping … Read more
“For those who fought for it,” said an unknown soldier, “freedom has a meaning the protected will never know.” A collection of military giants who fought for freedom convened in Washington, D.C. for the 14th Annual Veterans Conference, put on by the American Veterans Center. Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen from the … Read more
At 1:15 am, on June 6, 1944, most people in German-occupied Normandy were asleep. Then, from the west, came the increasing drone of aircraft engines and of anti-aircraft fire. The largest air armada ever assembled was passing over — 882 U.S. planes, which now began to disgorge their contents: thirteen thousand paratroopers … Read more
“War is Hell” General William Tecumseh Sherman once noted. Indeed there is nothing to celebrate about warfare; however unfortunately it has been present with mankind in his fallen nature since departing from the Garden of Eden. War was a common affair throughout the Old Testament. Saint Augustine understood the sometimes unfortunate necessity … Read more
Early on August 6, 1945, a lone American B-29 Superfortress bomber circled in a vividly blue sky over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The unsuspecting inhabitants on the ground barely glanced at the plane. They were unaware of the deadly payload it was about to unleash on them, ushering in the atomic … Read more
It was the most memorable Veterans Day of my life. As many recognized the sacrifices made by the living I paid my respects to someone who sacrificed it all. His name was Sgt. Daniel Shaw of West Seneca N.Y. I was doing home visits with the pilgrim statue of our Lady of … Read more
There is something about toy soldiers that brings out the boy in every man. Before toys became genderless and pacifistic, the toy soldier was the mainstay of countless boyhood games. How many boys marched their soldiers into battle, staged mock wars, and dreamed of military glory! Indeed, how many military careers were … Read more