Showing posts with label Army. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Army. Show all posts

July 11 - Terracotta Army Discovered

 Posted on July 11, 2021

This is an update of my post published on July 11, 2010:



On this date in 1975, Chinese archeologists announced to the world that they had uncovered a 3-acre burial mound that featured 6,000 terracotta (clay) statues of warriors and horses. The statues are life-sized, and each one is an individual, one-of-a-kind—in other words, each and every face is different!




The statues were buried in pits, in battle formation, as if they were guarding the tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. The location of the burial mound, which dates from 210 B.C., is the near the ancient city of Xian.

Actually, estimates of the number of warrior statues is now 8,000 (both the 6,000 figure and this new, higher number are estimates, because most are still buried). Along with the 6 to 8 thousand warriors are 130 chariots with 520 horses, plus 150 cavalry horses.



This amazing archeological find was made by some local farmers digging a well. Can you imagine accidentally stumbling on something like this?



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March 13 - National K9 Veterans Day

Posted on March 13, 2020

I try to thank every active member of the military and every veteran for their service. But I never thought about THESE veterans:





On this date in 1942, the U.S. Army began a new War Dog Program called the K9 Corps. For the first time, dogs were officially a part of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Of course, dogs have been buddies and helpers of soldiers forever - but when the arrangement is official, there is more assurance of good treatment, of adequate training, of acknowledgment of their contributions, and of honors.

Now military dogs have their own retirement ceremonies, awards, medals, and memorial services! So of course we need a Veterans Day particular to them. 



If you are wondering why dogs are a part of the military, wonder no more:

Dogs have superhuman olfactory abilities (in other words, they smell things way way way better than humans), with 10 to 20 times the number of receptors in their noses and a much larger part of the brain dedicated to smell. That means that they can track people or animals far better, and they can detect intruders up to 200 meters away - or even 1,000 meters away if aided by wind! They can detect explosives or narcotics using their super noses, and they can be used in search and rescue operations.


Also, dogs can get into and out of places an adult human can't. And when trained, they can travel silently and can take advantage of natural cover. For these reasons they are used as messenger dogs and tunnel dogs (used to detect and explore tunnels).

Yikes! Military dogs get high marks for courage and loyalty!

This working dog monument is in San Antonio, Texas.







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July 28, 2012 - Buffalo Soldiers Day


This is an actual, official holiday in the U.S., declared so by Congress in 1992. And I bet you didn't even know that buffalo could serve as soldiers, right?


Actually, the Buffalo Soldiers were the U.S. Army regiments of African American soldiers, first formed on this date in 1866. The first of these regiments fought bravely for the Union during the Civil War.

Notice that:
(1) The regiments were racially segregated. White and black soldiers didn't live and fight together in the same regiment until the armed forces were integrated in the 1940s and 1950s.

(2) The segregated African-American regiments often had white officers, although there were some black officers even during the Civil War (Henry O. Flipper is one example). (Also note that in 1989 Army General Colin Powell was appointed as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which meant that an African American general was the highest ranking officer in the entire U.S. military.)
(3) The term “Buffalo Soldiers” was a name given to the black soldiers by some Native Americans that they fought during the Indian Wars. The name could have been praise for the toughness of the soldiers, or mere comment on the soldiers' curly black hair, but some historians think it was a disparaging racial term, meant to insult the soldiers.

Today various groups will hold reenactments, dedications, and special programs in order to pay tribute to the Buffalo Soldiers. There may be screenings of the Oscar-winning movie “Glory” (rated R), and the TV movie “Buffalo Soldiers” (rated TV-14).

Find out more...

  • Here are some interesting illustrated pages about the Buffalo Soldiers, courtesy of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine. 




Also on this date:





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December 20, 2011 - Hanukkah and Elvis!



First Night of Hanukkah

Here is a short History Channel video on Hanukkah. To learn more about this Jewish holiday, check out this and the second half of this other earlier blog post.



Elvis is drafted into the army!

Have you ever heard of “the draft”? This is a system by which people are selected (often randomly) for compulsory service in the armed forces. When Elvis was in his 20s, young men in good health were expected to be available to “serve their country” in the armed forces, if needed.

In 1957, Elvis Presley—who was already rich and famous, having produced such hits as Hound Dog and Don't Be Cruel—received his draft notice that stated that he had to serve two years in the U.S. Army.

Presley had received a letter ten days before saying that he was up for the draft, and the Army, Navy and Air Force recruiters called to offer him special enlistment opportunities if he signed up before being drafted. Part of the Navy's offer was to create a special “Elvis Presley Company” that would include soldiers from his home area. He could be part of Special Services and sing his way through his service. However, Elvis turned all the offers down, taking a chance with the draft.

And then he received the fateful letter: He was told to report to the Army on the same day he was supposed to start filming a movie!

Elvis ended up serving, by choice, with no special treatment. He went through boot camp, carried his own rifle and gear, went on guard duty—just like anyone else. In the meantime, the record companies released the various songs he had already recorded, one by one, keeping Elvis in the limelight despite the fact that he was overseas in Germany. Many people admired Elvis's grit and patriotism shown by his military service. So, in the long run, being away for two years may have actually helped Elvis's career!

By the way, these days, we have an all-volunteer army and other armed forces.

To learn more about Elvis and the draft, go here. 

Also on this date...




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