Happy Veterans Day!
Well, it’s been nearly 100 years since November 11th, 1918 saw the end of World War One, or the Great War as it was called before anyone knew a second global conflict would occur. As we all know the date eventually became designated as the day for honoring the people who make it possible for the rest of us to lead our lives in relative safety.
Irrational political partisans often forget that the only reason any of them have the luxury of sitting back and making pompous, self-righteous pronouncements is because of the men and women who go out and actually DO something.
And those men and women do it even though they know that Continue reading
ARTHUR R.”RAY” BROOKS – Captain Ray Brooks graduated from MIT in 1917 and immediately volunteered to serve in the World War that the U.S. had just entered. Brooks got his first 3 kills with the 139th Squadron and 6 more after transferring to the 22nd Aero Squadron. FOUR of Captain Brooks’ kills came in one dogfight as he tackled a squadron of 8 Fokker planes single-handedly. Seriously.
Nearly 200 American men served in the French Foreign Legion during World War One. Some were expatriates already living in Europe while others joined up to fight the Germans, Austro-Hungarians and Ottoman Muslim Turks. They had to join the French Foreign Legion because – though the war started in August of 1914 – the United States did not enter the conflict until April of 1917. 
With Veterans Day fast approaching Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at some more World War One history since that conflict gets much less attention than World War Two. 
FRANK LUKE – This 21 year old copper miner from Arizona managed 18 kills in 17 days before meeting his own end. In addition to shooting down enemy planes Frank Luke specialized in bringing down the much tougher targets: lighter than air craft. Pilots had to thread their way through relentless anti-aircraft fire AND rockets to accomplish a kill on such craft, making it sort of the fighter pilot equivalent of stealing bases in baseball. 
The Fourth of July is rapidly approaching! Some people get puzzled about the actual Thirteen Original Colonies of America. They know for instance that Daniel Morgan’s Kentucky Rifles were one of the most storied units of the war and saw action from Canada to the American South. Yet, Kentucky is not listed as one of the original colonies.
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY FROM BALLADEER’S BLOG! Here’s a look at the overlooked final year of fighting in America’s Revolutionary War. 
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