Shahan Russell

Shahan Russell is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE

Articles by Shahan Russell:

Apparently Openly Gay, Maybe Jewish But Joined The SS In Search For The Holy Grail: He Was The Inspiration For Indiana Jones

Otto Wilhelm Rahn was a German writer and medievalist who was obsessed with finding the Holy Grail. This was the cup that Jesus supposedly drank…

The Tragic Tale of Hajime Fujii – A Kamikaze Fighter Who Crashed Into & Sunk The USS Drexler

This is an odd story that involves a flight instructor, his family, and a single-minded request. The whole thing was so strange, in fact, that…

Oi Give it Back: How the Soviets Stole an American F-86 Sabre Jet in 1951

During the Korean War (1950 to 1953) America and her allies sided with South Korea, while Russia and China sided with North Korea. Among their…

The Wacko Story of Jumpin’ Joe Beyrle – The US Paratrooper who Served in a Soviet Tank Battalion a Hero of Two Nations

War sometimes creates strange circumstances. The following story is about a soldier who became a hero of two nations. Joseph Robert Beyrle was born on…

John Capes, In WWII When His Submarine Sank He Swam 170 feet To The Surface and Swam 5 miles To Shore

During WWII, John Hawtrey Capes said he have saved three crew members of a sunken submarine. He was given a British Empire Medal for Meritorious…

Crazy French Count Blew Up German Factory With Baguettes Filled With Explosives

In 1938, 15-year-old Count Robert Jean-Marie de La Rochefoucauld went to pay Hitler a visit in Bavaria. The German Chancellor gave Rochefoucauld a friendly pat…

The First Indian to Receive a Victoria Cross

Despite the term WWI, the images most people have of that conflict are not of the world but Europeans fighting each other. It is therefore…

US Coast Guard, World War Two – The Incredible Rescue Of The Man Overboard

Robert William Goehring (no relation to the infamous Nazi, Hermann Goehring) was born on February 12, 1917, in Somerville, New Jersey. He spent a good…

The Most Decorated Pacifist Of WWI: Stormed German Machine Gun Nests, Taking 35 Machine Guns, Silencing 25 German Troops & Captured 132

He was a deeply religious man who abhorred violence and warfare. Despite that, he went on to become the most decorated veteran of WWI. Alvin…

The British POW Who Was Given Permission To Visit His Dying Mother – He Returned To Camp Voluntarily Only To Dig A Tunnel And Escape

In WWI the German Empire was on the rampage. Europe has always existed through a complex network of alliances. When Germany united in 1871, it…

Audie Leon Murphy: WW2 Two Hero, Medal of Honor Recipient & Hollywood Mega-Star

Some people are so amazing it is hard to believe they are real. One such man started out in the real world, moved on to…

“Come and Fight A Gurkha!” He Yelled, Lost His Right Hand Throwing Back A Grenade Then “Single Handedly” Defended His Post For 4 Hours Against 200 Enemy Soldiers, Neutralized 31

Former Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw of the Indian Army once said: “If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying…