Prologue: Pieces of History

                      Have you looked at your money lately? Among the nickels and quarters and dimes, only the copper penny has a bearded profile. But although Lincoln’s facial hair eventually became an iconic part of his image, he originally ran for President as a clean-shaven candidate. [...]

Let’s hope that our winning captioner John is wrong, because if this was a grand military body odor experiment, this world would smell awful. The actual caption is just as unsettling, however. These two marines are enjoying themselves after a nearby atomic blast. As the caption reads: “The atomic cloud formed by the detonation seems [...]

Strafing and bombing missions over Japanese-held islands? Aerial dogfights? Classified destinations in the Pacific? All in a day’s work for the Fighting Lady. This vintage film captures life aboard the Yorktown aircraft carrier during World War II.

Tomorrow there will be a spirited debate at the USS Constitution Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. The Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, will be there. So will senior archivist Trevor Plante. They are convening at the museum that honors the world’s oldest floating commissioned Navy vessel to settle once and for all a centuries-old debate: [...]

When it comes to casualty statistics, we often compare wars. In World War II, it’s estimated that 50 million were killed. During the Civil War, over a half million people lost their lives. In World War I, nearly 16 million were killed. There was one war that topped nearly all those charts. It happened in 1918, [...]