Valor | War History

The Jewish Commando Who Rode a Bicycle Through Normandy to Defeat the Germans

Canadian Troops with the 3rd Division disembarking from a ship with bicycles

When you think of the D-Day landings, you likely don’t envision bicycle-riding commandos taking the lead and scouting the area ahead of the other units…

Starlet-Turned-Spy: The Double-Life of Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker in costume

Josephine Baker broke color barriers, is a feminist icon, advocated for Civil Rights and became the most famous woman in France throughout the 1920s and…

Man Revealed As War Hero When His Medals Are Discovered

US Navy pilots sitting in front of an aircraft

We often hear about stories of valor, bravery and medal ceremonies for members of the armed forces. It’s an accepted fact that bravery must be…

Oops! Metal Detectorist Attempted to Sell Live WWII-Era Incendiary Bomb on eBay

British soldier walking by a bomb disposal truck

British metal detector hobbyist Mark Williams, 51, discovered a live World War II-era German incendiary bomb with his metal detector in Southampton, England, and later…

World’s First Modern Submarine HMS D1 Identified In the English Channel

HMS D1 at sea

Divers have discovered a historically valuable submarine wreck on the seafloor of the English Channel, close to the coast of Devon. This 112-year-old British vessel,…

Pauline Cushman: The Union Civil War Spy Who Was Also a Stage Actress

Pauline Cushman dressed in her military uniform

Pauline Cushman may have been considered a mediocre actress, but she’s seen as one of the most successful Union spies of the American Civil War.…

America’s First Female Cryptanalyst Is Having a Ship Named In Her Honor

USCGC Hamilton (WMSL-753) at sea + Elizebeth Smith Friedman standing outside her front door

Mississippi shipbuilder Ingalls Shipbuilding has begun work on a new Legend-class cutter for the US Coast Guard. This new National Security cutter (NSC) is named…

Taylor Bye Belly-Landed Her A-10 Warthog After Its Landing Gear Failed

Taylor Bye holding her Air Combat Command Airmanship Award

Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II pilot Capt. Taylor Bye was awarded the Air Combat Command Airmanship Award for safely belly-landing her aircraft without a canopy…

The Future, Today – Why Lasers Are the Next Big Thing for the US Army

US Army soldier manning an M-SHORAD Stryker light armored vehicle

Lasers, a technology that’s been the focus of sci-fi gadgetry for years, should soon be making their way into the hands of US Army troops…

The US Navy’s Zumwalt-Class Destroyers Will Be the First Outfitted with Hypersonic Missiles

USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) at sea + Common hypersonic glide body being launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii

The biggest research and development effort in the US Navy is hypersonic missiles – projectiles that move faster than the speed of sound. It had…

Wreck of the HMS Urge Found Off the Coast of Malta

HMS Urge at sea

A submarine wreck off the coast of Malta has officially been identified as the British U-class submarine HMS Urge, which was lost in 1942. Since…

The Zimmermann Telegram was Intended to Keep America Out of WWI – It Did the Opposite

Zimmermann Telegram + Portrait of Arthur Zimmermann

It’s believed, today, that few decoded messages have had the global and historical impact of the Zimmermann Telegram in 1917. This single telegram gave the…