Valor | War History

Fascinating Facts About ‘Platoon’ – Oliver Stone’s Best Movie

William Dafoe, Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger standing together in costume

The 1986 Oliver Stone film, Platoon, has – along with Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Apocalypse Now (1979) – become the ultimate representation of Vietnam…

The Sausage War Between Finland and the USSR Was Among the Weirdest Battles of WWII

Finnish soldiers reading a newspaper

On November 30, 1939, hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers and thousands of tanks and aircraft flooded across the Finnish border, signalling the start of…

Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery: An Abandoned Graveyard That Uses Aircraft Parts As Gravestones

Aircraft tails sticking out of the forest ground at Ämari Pilots' Cemetery

Ämari Pilots’ Cemetery, the final resting place of Soviet-Estonian fighter pilots killed in air accidents, is a strange sight to behold. The spooky part of…

Operation Mongoose: The US Government’s Ridiculous Plot to Overthrow Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro speaking at a podium + John F. Kennedy sitting at his desk

Fidel Castro was one of the most famous figures of the Cold War. He was especially famous in the United States, as officials with the…

Avro Arrow: The Groundbreaking Jet Interceptor Canada Will Never Forget

Illustration of two Avro Arrows in flight

The Avro Arrow is the subject of a frustrating and tragic story about a world-class aircraft that was simply too ambitious for the nation that…

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…