written by Todd DePastino Cold War history cycles through our collective memory like snapshots on a slidewheel: Berlin, Cuba, Korea, Vietnam, El Salvador. Rarely included in the Cold War montage is Taiwan. Yet, 65 years ago this month, during what is called the “Second Taiwan Straits Crisis of 1958,” we came as
The VBC is excited to announce that its documentary about the return of members to Vietnam in 2018, We Left as Brothers, is now available on Blu-Ray and streaming on Amazon.In March of 2018, eighteen members of Pittsburgh’s Veterans Breakfast Club traveled to Vietnam to tour old battlefields of what Americans called the Vietnam War.
written by Todd DePastino "Little David" was, by measure of caliber, the largest gun ever built (tied with the British 1857 Mallet's Mortar), and there's only one, housed for the time being at Fort Gregg-Adams (formerly Fort Lee) after its recent transport from Aberdeen Proving Grounds. The Veterans Breakfast Club recently heard
written by Todd DePastino On August 7, 1782, George Washington created what would become known as the “Purple Heart.” It was NOT, strictly speaking, the first US military decoration. Nor was it awarded for wounds suffered in war. But the Badge of Military Merit was of immense significance because, unlike almost all other awards
VBC member and Military Historian Jeff Ballard sent this wonderful photo from the American Memorial on Guadalcanal in the Soloman Islands last week. Note the latest VBC Magazine Jeff is holding. Jeff was there for the 81st Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal, which occurred in August 1942. The battle was an early pivotal
written by Todd DePastino Former USAF pilot Dick Westerhoff recently mentioned that when he flew the F-104 in the late 1950s, the ejection seat fired downward out the bottom of the aircraft. If you think that sounds like a bad idea, you're right. It was. Dick's Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was the leading
