Vietnam veteran and Navy Corpsman Ray Amelio is now a social media celebrity. Unless you’re under 25-years-old, you’ve most likely heard about the social media app TikTok, but you probably have no idea how it works. Hundreds of millions of Generation Z use it daily to post weird dance routines and general nonsense videos—all under
Of all the branches of service, the Navy has the strangest customs. Naval History and Cherished Command describes them as, “cherished rites that tie together generations of Sailors with a common bond. They reflect the true story of the Navy, and honor a shared legacy of pride, history, and heritage.”These unofficial certificates document where a
The military is awash in tradition. Challenge coins, the Court of Neptune, Mustache March. When bullets fly, folklore becomes psychic armor, offering magical protection as long as certain rules are followed. One of the most bizarre and stubborn superstitions emerged some time in the 1990s, perhaps as early as Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Rumor has it that the Air Force handed out yellow Stress Cards that permitted a recruit to “take a break” should the training become too strenuous. They were essentially “get out of jail free cards” that could be handed to a Recruit Division Commander, or RDC, for a chance to calm down. If this
In October, 1944, Americans across the country opened their newspapers and saw this photograph of a B-17 Flying Fortress with a nose grotesquely flayed open by enemy anti-aircraft fire. The accompanying story recounted the crew’s miraculous flight back to an English air base after coming under attack during a bombing mission over Cologne, Germany.
A few weeks ago, Chinese authorities charged that a US U-2 spy plane had violated Chinese air space during a People’s Liberation Army training exercise. The most pointed detail of China’s claim was the reference to the U-2, a 65-year-old aircraft with a fabled Cold War history. The U-2 became famous on May 7,
