Author: Mitty Steele As told by: Om (Aunt) Ear “After the coup many people from the village joined the Khmer Rouge to fight against the new government…While the government had squashed this uprising, it was only the beginning of the civil war.” The Lon Nol coup occurred on March 18, … Continue reading
The El Mozote Massacre took place in El Mozote, El Salvador, on December 11, 1981. The Salvadorian Army killed more than 800 civilians. Only one person, Rufina Amaya, survived the massacre. In this video, she recalls the day the massacre took place, saying: “They took me at about five in … Continue reading
On December 20, 1989, the United States Armed Forces invaded Panama in Operation Just Cause. As a result of the invasion, dictator Manuel Noriega was deposed, the Panamanian Defense Force dissolved, and president-elect Guillermo Endara was sworn into office. The U.S. relationship with Noriega had started out on a more … Continue reading
James Fleming was an Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War, and received the Medal of Honor for rescuing six of his fellow soldiers when they were stranded amongst enemy soldiers. In this video, Fleming recalls November 26, 1968, the day that earned him his Medal of Honor, saying: “These … Continue reading
The My Lai Massacre took place on March 16, 1968, when members of the U.S. Army killed between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians in the South Vietnam hamlets of My Lai and My Khe. Hugh Thompson Jr. was a helicopter pilot for the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. On … Continue reading
Paul Hackett was a Storekeeper 2nd class on the USS Mindanao when the ammunition ship USS Mount Hood exploded on November 10, 1944. All crew members aboard the USS Mount Hood that day were killed in the explosion. The Mindanao was only 350 yards away from Mount Hood at the … Continue reading
Pat Tillman, born November 6, 1976, was a professional American football player and soldier in the United States Army. Tillman gave up a lucrative NFL career in order to enlist in the United States Army in June, 2002, following the September 11 attacks. Tillman was killed while serving in Afghanistan … Continue reading
Early on October 25, 1983, the United States led an invasion of the Caribbean island of Grenada. It was the first major military action taken by the United States since the Vietnam War. The mission was known as Operation Urgent Fury, and was undertaken by the US for a few … Continue reading
See this never before shown footage of the SS Normandie (aka The Lafayette) as she burns in New York Harbor. The SS Normandie, a French-built ocean liner, began service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship in operation. The Normandie is still considered to be the most powerful … Continue reading
Admiral Grace Hopper joined the U.S. Navy in 1944 at the age of 37. She was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer and wrote the first compiler for a computer programming language. When asked by Letterman how she knew so much about computers then, Hopper … Continue reading
