The heavy iron gates of the prisoner of war camp finally swung open, groaning under the weight of advancing American steel. It was the end of April, 1945. The United States 14th Armored Division, operating under the command of General George S. Patton’s legendary Third Army, had just broken through the outer defenses of Stalag…
April 15th, 1945, Northern Germany. The British 11th Armored Division was advancing through the woods. They were looking for the enemy, but instead they found a smell. It was a stench so powerful, so thick that the tank crews had to tie handkerchiefs around their faces. It smelled like death. It smelled like the end…
April 13th, 1945. The outskirts of Vimar, Germany. A beautiful, sunny spring day. A group of American soldiers from the 80th Infantry Division kicked open the door of a luxury villa. The house was pristine. expensive rugs, crystal chandeliers, fine art on the walls. The air smelled of expensive French perfume. It looked like the…
July 30th, 1964, 100 p.m. The Oval Office. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy entered the room. President Lyndon Johnson sat behind the desk, JFK’s desk, waiting. This wasn’t a friendly meeting. This was an execution. The day before, Johnson had made a public announcement that stunned Washington. No member of his cabinet would be considered…
September 1969. LBJ Ranch, Stonewall, Texas. Lyndon Baines Johnson sat across from Walter Kankite, the most trusted man in American news. 5 years had passed since the Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing President Kennedy. LBJ had created that commission, appointed its members, endorsed its findings, built his presidency on…
At 9:30 a.m. on October 5th, 1963, President John F. Kennedy sat in the cabinet room listening to Defense Secretary Robert McNamera argue for something unprecedented, a complete withdrawal from Vietnam. “We need a way to get out of Vietnam,” McNamera told the president. “And this is a way of doing it.” Kennedy agreed. 6…
November 22nd, 1963. 12:30 p.m. Daily Plaza, Dallas, Texas. The temperature is a pleasant 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The sky is crystal clear. Not a single cloud in sight. Perfect weather for a presidential motorcade. Perfect weather to leave your umbrella at home. But there on the north side of Elm Street, less than 30 ft…
A lot of you in the comments have been asking for this one, and some of you have personal connections to the story. I want to do it justice. The mail bag from Second Corps arrived at the First Division command post while Terry Allen was in the next room briefing his officers on the…
At 10 Downing Street, Churchill convened his war cabinet. The initial briefings painted a dire picture. American units in disarray. Command and control breaking down. German armor driving west toward critical supply depots. Churchill’s reaction, recorded by his military secretary, General Hastings Isme, was immediate and revealing. “This confirms what I’ve long suspected,” Churchill declared….
But on that day, the rules changed. The prisoners were free. The SS guards tried to run, but they couldn’t run fast enough. The prisoners caught them. They dragged them to the top of the cliff, and they gave the Nazis a taste of their own medicine. This is the true story of Mousen. The…
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