Military History

Honoring the commitment, sacrifice and courage of our all-volunteer military, especially on the Fourth of July, should never be considered controversial or divisive. The U.S. military pledges its loyalty to the U.S. Constitution based on the Declaration of Independence’s “self-evident truths” that all men are created equal and endowed with the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The military’s participation in this year’s celebrations is an important reminder to all Americans that our freedoms are being protected by less than 1 percent of our population.  But we fail our volunteer military, and our fallen heroes, if we think parades, laudatory presidential speeches and just saying “Thank you for preserving our freedoms” is enough. Our leaders and the 99.5 percent of Americans who do not serve in uniform owe it to those who do to fulfill our democratic responsibilities – our part of the democratic social contract — to uphold and continue to strengthen our democracy, its institutions and its foundational principles of honoring human rights.  The U.S. military is upholding its end of that contract, with unquestioning courage, to secure and defend our freedoms. But Americans — civilian leaders and citizens alike — are failing to uphold their end of the bargain.  The American military continues to fight in the longest wars in our history, and continues to deter and defend against threats to our interests and security worldwide. Yet, at home, our politics and democratic institutions have become divisive, hyper-partisan and dysfunctional.  The U.S. military remains at the top of the institutions in which Americans have confidence and trust, while the executive branch, Congress and the press are at the bottom. Public trust in government is at historic lows, according to Pew Research, with only 17 percent of Americans today who say they can trust the government in Washington to do what is right either “always” or “most of time.” The president, members of Congress and the press, the central pillars of our democracy, are clearly failing in their leadership responsibilities. The strength of democracy is built, first and foremost, on the right and responsibility of each individual citizen to vote. As President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who knew the high price of freedom and the vital importance of fighting for it, said: "The future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter."  Only 60 percent of Americans have voted in the last two presidential elections, with just 49 percent of millennials turning out in 2016. And, while the 2018 midterm elections had record voter turnout, it still was only 40 percent of the voting population. The most important way to say “thank you” to our volunteer military is to vote.  The right to vote also comes with the responsibility to be informed. That has only become more difficult as the press, in large part, has retreated to its corners of the political arena and social media giants continue to fall short in their efforts to control fake content from their platforms. While many Americans – 68 percent, according to Pew Research – say that made-up news and information greatly affects American confidence in government and institutions, Americans at the same time seem to have become unwilling or unable to listen to one another—another key pillar of a sound democracy. According to Pew Research, many Americans find their own conversations about politics have become stressful experiences that they prefer to avoid.  The issue this Fourth of July is not whether the military should be part of the celebration of our nation’s independence and values of freedom. Their mission is to deter and defend those freedoms, and their pledge is to defend the Constitution. The issue is whether we, the 99.5 percent on the civilian side, are doing enough, as leaders and as citizens, to fulfill our obligations to preserve and strengthen our democracy.   If we really want to say “thank you” to our military service members, we need to fulfill our part of the social contract to strengthen, not weaken, our democracy, from the grassroots up and from our highest leadership down.

The United States Army celebrates its 244th birthday today. If you see an active duty, former, or retired member of the United States Army today, wish their service Happy Birthday. The Army website provides a short but thorough overview of its history. Here are five things worth knowing: The Army is the oldest of the four services. It was created on June 14, 1775, making it four months older than the United States Navy, five months older than the United States Marine Corps, and 172 years older than the United States Air Force, which began as part of the Army. Eleven Army generals have gone on to become president of the United States: George Washington (General), Andrew Jackson (Major General), William Henry Harrison (Major General), Zachary Taylor (Major General), Franklin Pierce (Brigadier General), Andrew Johnson (Brigadier General), Ulysses S. Grant (General), Rutherford B. Hayes (Major General, Brevet), James A. Garfield (Major General, Volunteers), Benjamin Harrison (Major General, Brevet), and Dwight D. Eisenhower (General). No Navy Admiral, Marine Corps General, or Air Force General has ever been elected president. (Chester A. Arthur was Quartermaster General of the New York State Militia at the start of the Civil War, but I don’t believe he was mustered into federal service.) The highest rank in the Army is General of the Armies of the United States. Only two men have held it: George Washington and John Pershing. Efforts to give General Douglas MacArthur the title failed. Washington got his title posthumously on July 4, 1976. During his lifetime, the highest rank he achieved was Lieutenant General. President Ford issued the executive order elevating Washington to six-star status because given the military’s strict hierarchy he was technically outranked by the four- and five-star generals who came after him. President Ford’s executive order directs that Washington shall always be considered the most senior U. S. military officer. The Medal of Honor has been awarded to a member of the Army 2,452 times. Put differently, 70 percent of all 3,522 Medals of Honor awarded have gone to soldiers. There are about 469,900 active duty Army personnel. I asked Colonel Erica C. Nelson, an active duty U.S. Army officer spending the year as a military fellow at CFR, for her recommendations on what to read to learn more about the Army. Below is what she recommended in light of the Army’s chosen theme this year: America’s Army: Honoring the Call to Service From D-Day to Today. Stephen Ambrose, Band of Brothers, E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne: From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest (1992). Col. Nelson chose this book because it’s “written from actual interviews of the veterans of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment,” who participated in D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge. She adds that “the book personalizes the individual soldier, the bonds that develop while serving, and gives accurate accounts of the battles. Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (2010). Col. Nelson explains it’s “the true story of Army Air Forces bombardier Louis Zamperini, highlighting his extraordinary spirit of survival after his bomber crashed into the Pacific and he was later taken prisoner.” Liza Mundy, Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II (2017). Col. Nelson says this untold story is “a good reminder that the war was not just fought overseas. Women were recruited as code breakers and were an integral part of the wartime intelligence community. Not only did their service evolve military intelligence, it also challenged gender roles.” Hampton Sides, Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission (2001). Col. Nelson says Ghost Soldiers offers “a view of another side of war” because it “tells the story of a daring rescue mission of 513 POWs being held in a Philippines camp, many who were survivors of the Bataan Death March.” Col. Nelson also recommended a miniseries and a film: Band of Brothers. Col. Nelson says this WWII miniseries is her “favorite” and recommends the second episode in particular. The Longest Day. This selection by Col. Nelson is a “classic 1962 war film based on Cornelius Ryan’s book which highlights the D-Day landings at Normandy.” Corey Cooper assisted in the preparation of this post.

Seventy-five years after the D-Day landings at Normandy, U.S. President Donald J. Trump is forcing Europeans to confront long-postponed dilemmas of self-reliance and defense. 

Test your knowledge of the roles foreign countries played in the U.S. civil war, from France to Brazil. 

As 2018 comes to a close, here are ten notable historical anniversaries to mark in 2019.

Today is Veterans Day. Americans first celebrated it on November 11, 1919, one year to the day after the end of the conflict they knew as the Great War and we (regrettably) know today as World War I. President Woodrow Wilson issued a message proclaiming the first celebration of “Armistice Day.” The holiday was meant to show “gratitude for victory” in World War I and solemn pride “for those that died in our country’s service.” On that day, all business was suspended for two minutes starting at 11 a.m. and parades and public gatherings commemorated the war’s end. The choice of time was deliberate. The agreement ending World War I went into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. (This year is the centennial of that armistice). Over the years, the practice of celebrating Armistice Day spread and states began making it a legal holiday. Congress followed suit in 1938, declaring that the November 11 holiday was “dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day.’” In 1954, with World War II and the Korean War having greatly expanded the number of Americans who had fought overseas, Congress renamed Armistice Day “Veterans Day.” In a proclamation marking the renamed holiday, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said the change “expanded the significance of the commemoration” by “paying homage to the veterans of all wars.” You might be wondering why the holiday is spelled “Veterans Day” and not “Veteran’s Day.” The choice is deliberate. The Department of Veteran Affairs states that the apostrophe is unnecessary "because it is not a day that 'belongs' to veterans, it is a day for honoring all veterans." You might also wonder how Veterans Day differs from Memorial Day other than coming after summer’s end rather than near its start. Veterans Day honors everyone who has served in the U.S. military. Memorial Day pays tribute to those men and women who died in military service. Roughly 18.2 million Americans are veterans. Women account for roughly 9 percent of all veterans, and the percentage is growing. Slightly more than 17 percent of all post-September 11 veterans are women. In comparison, 4.4 percent of World War II veterans are women and 2.3 percent of Korean War veterans are women. The price of service in the U.S. military can be high. More than 1.1 million American service members have died during wartime. The Civil War remains the deadliest of America’s wars, with estimates of the death toll ranging from 500,000 to 750,000. World War II is the second deadliest conflict, with 405,000 Americans killed. Nearly 5 million veterans today have a service-connected disability. In 2015, 18 percent of veterans were enrolled in disability programs. That was up from 9 percent in 2001. The Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that roughly 38,000 veterans are homeless. That number is down from some 73,000 in 2009, but it is still too high. So to all of America’s veterans, thank you for your service. Corey Cooper assisted in the preparation of this post.

The Marine Corps turns 243 years-old today. On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution to create a Marine force composed of two battalions. Since then, the Marines have been “from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli” and many other places as well. You probably know that the Marine Corps’ motto is Semper Fidelis, or Semper Fi for short. It means “always faithful” in Latin, and it signifies a Marine’s loyalty both to the Corps and to the United States. What you may not know is that Semper Fi wasn’t the Corps’ motto until 1883. During its first century of existence, the Corps had a few unofficial mottos. These included “to the shores of Tripoli,” which commemorates the Marines’ service in the First Barbary War, Fortitudine (meaning “with courage”), and Per Mare, Per Terram (“by sea and by land”), which the Marines borrowed from the British Royal Marines. No Marine has ever become president, but several have made it in politics. Secretary of Defense James Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly were both Marine Corps generals. Secretaries of State James A. Baker and George P. Shultz, Senator John Glenn (who first gained fame as an astronaut), and legendary political consultant James Carville also served in the Marine Corp. Several baseball hall-of-famers are veterans of the Corps, including Rod Carew, Roberto Clemente, Eddie Collins, Bill Veeck, and Ted Williams. Marines who made it in Hollywood include Gene Hackman, Harvey Keitel, Lee Marvin, Steve McQueen, and George C. Scott. Comedians Drew Carey and Rob Riggle were Marines, as was the late, great Jonathan Winters. If you are old enough to remember Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan), he was a Marine. Several famous musicians served in the Corps, including country legend George Jones, hip-hop artist Shaggy, and “The March King,” John Philip Sousa. Marines who made it in the business world include Tom Bell (Taco Bell), Tom Monaghan (Dominos), Bob Parsons (GoDaddy.com), and Fred Smith (FedEx). The Marine Corps is the smallest of the four U.S. armed services in the Department of Defense, with roughly 185,000 active-duty personnel, deployed in the Pacific, South America, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. To put that in perspective, the U.S. Army is about two and a half times larger with roughly 468,000 troops. But compared to most of the world’s militaries the Marine Corps is a giant. Countries that have armies smaller than the U.S. Marine Corps include France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan. I asked Col. Matthew S. Reid, a Marine officer spending a year as a visiting military fellow in CFR’s David Rockefeller Studies Program, to recommend some reading for people hoping to learn more about the Marine Corps. Here are Col. Reid’s suggestions. Albertus W. Catlin, With the Help of God and a Few Marines (1919). Catlin was the commanding officer of the 6th Marine Regiment in France during World War I. He tells the stories of the Battles of Belleau Wood and Chateau-Thierry, which stand at the heart of Marine Corps history.   Leo Uris, Battle Cry (1953). This novel tells the story of Marines during World War II. Uris shows their transformation from young men, ready for action, into the Marines who stormed Guadalcanal and Tawara. It’s not a book about the tactics of major battles, but about the men who fought them.    Seth Folsom, Where Youth and Laughter Go: With the Cutting Edge in Afghanistan (2015). This book concludes a trilogy chronicling Folsom’s time commanding the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment in Afghanistan. It is story about day-to-day challenges Marines face and the strong bonds forged during America’s longest war.   Nathaniel C. Fick, One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer (2005). This memoir tells the story of Fick’s time leading a platoon in Afghanistan after September 11. In telling his story, Fick reveals what makes officers in the Marine Corps tick and, more importantly, what makes them so special. Col. Reid also recommended three films: The D.I. (1957). This film takes place on Parris Island, the training site where Marines are made. It centers on the tense relationship between a drill instructor and a private who isn’t pulling his weight. The former must make sure the latter turns into the Marine he’s meant to be.   Full Metal Jacket (1987). Stanley Kubrick tells the story of a Marine covering the Battle for Hue during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War. At the center of it all is Private Joker, a Marine who is not only a witness to the physical destruction, but also to the psychological destruction of his fellow Marines.   Taking Chance (2009). Lt. Col. Michael Strobl volunteers to escort the remains of Private First Class Chance Phelps, who was killed in Iraq at the age of nineteen, back to his home in Dubois, Wyoming. During the process Strobl learns the true cost of war. It’s a powerful story based on true events.   Chain of Command (2018). This docu-series from National Geographic follows America’s men and women in uniform as they perform their jobs around the world. It’s a deep dive into America’s military commitments overseas and who is doing the work. If you want to know what all Marines are required to read, the Marine Corps has posted its reading list online. Marines.com also has a great timeline of the history of the Marines. The official YouTube page of the United States Marine Corps posted this 243th birthday message, providing a moving reminder of the heroism and sacrifices Marines have made over the years: A tip of the TWE cap to all the men and women who have worn the uniform of the United States Marine Corps. Corey Cooper assisted in the preparation of this post. ​ ​ ​​ ​​

Test your knowledge of World War I, from the Battle of the Somme to the Armistice.

The U.S. Navy turns 243 years-old tomorrow. On October 13, 1775, the Continental Congress commissioned two ships, each with eighty sailors, “for intercepting such transports as may be laden with warlike stores and other supplies for our enemies.” The foe at the time was Great Britain, whose navy ruled the seas. By the end of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Navy had grown to about fifty ships. In 1789, the U.S. Constitution guaranteed the navy’s future by granting Congress the power “To provide and maintain a navy.” George Washington once said that “as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive—and with it, everything honorable and glorious.” Those words are even more appropriate in the twenty-first century when U.S. interests span the globe. To serve and protect those interests the U.S. Navy today has 286 deployable ships, more than 3,700 operational aircraft, 328,267 active duty personnel, 98,748 reserve personnel, and more than 210,000 civilian employees. John F. Kennedy was the first navy veteran to be elected president. But five of the next six presidents also served in the navy: Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush. Well-known navy veterans include baseball hall-of-famers Yogi Berra and Stan Musial, basketball hall-of-famers David Robinson and John Wooden, football hall-of-famer Roger Staubach, former Tonight Show host Johnny Carson, actor Humphrey Bogart, and astronaut Neil Armstrong. I asked Captain Kevin M. Brand, a naval officer spending a year as a visiting military fellow in CFR’s David Rockefeller Studies Program, what reading he would recommend for those wanting to learn more about the navy and its history. Here are his suggestions: Alfred Thayer Mahan, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 (1890). This selection should come as no surprise since this highly accessible book gave birth to modern navies. Mahan, a U.S. Navy officer serving from 1859-1896, is perhaps the preeminent naval historian and strategist. He argued that, despite advances in modern technology, certain naval principles are constant. Mahan’s work was quickly consumed by the major powers of the time. Sir Julian Corbett, Principles of Maritime Strategy (1911). Corbett was a British naval historian that viewed the sea like any other battlefield, where solid communication lines and a focus on outsmarting the enemy were imperative. He also argued that naval strategy must be incorporated into a larger national strategy. Unlike The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, Corbett’s book is a bit more technical for those not well versed in maritime vocabulary. Ian W. Toll, Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy (2006). In 1794, Congress authorized the construction of six frigates: the USS Constitution, USS Chesapeake, USS Constellation, USS President, USS United States, and USS Congress. Toll traces the story of the navy back to the founding fathers and sheds light on their foresight about the important role America’s navy would play. James D. Hornfischer, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour (2003). The Battle of Samar took place off the coast of the Philippines on October 25, 1944. It was a battle where the U.S. Navy was far outnumbered by Japanese ships and one in which the Americans were sure to be defeated. But they weren’t. Hornsficher tells the story of the USS Samuel B. Roberts, whose crew beats the odds in one of the most riveting naval encounters of World War II. James D. Hornfischer, Neptune’s Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal (2011). The Battle of Guadalcanal, fought between August 1943 and February 1944, is perhaps one of the most famous military campaigns of World War II’s Pacific theater. However, most histories of the campaign focus on the Marines. In this book, Hornfischer sheds light on the role the U.S. Navy played in the campaign, highlighting the stories of those who manned the battleships, cruisers, and destroyers based off the coast. Richard H. O’Kane, Clear the Bridge! The War Patrols of the USS Tang (1977). The USS Tang was a submarine that sank thirty-three ships during World War II. O’Kane was the ship’s commander and received the Medal of Honor for his service onboard the ship. Clear the Bridge is a gripping, first-hand account of submarine warfare during World War II. Nicholas Monsarrat, The Cruel Sea (1951). This novel tells the story of two British ships and their skirmishes with German U-boats in the North Atlantic during World War II. Monsarrat is said to have based the book on his own wartime experiences. The fictional characters shed light on the truthful hardships faced at sea during wartime. James M. Ennes Jr., Assault on the Liberty (1979). Ennes was a U.S. naval officer onboard the USS Liberty in June 1967 when the Israel Air Force and Navy attacked the vessel in international waters during the Six Day War. Thirty-four U.S. sailors were killed.   Doug Stanton, In Harm’s War: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors (2001). A Japanese torpedo struck and sunk the USS Indianapolis on June 30, 1945 shortly after it delivered parts used to assemble Little Boy, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Three hundred crewman died when the ship sank, while another nine hundred were left to the shark-infested waters with few lifeboats and almost no food or water to await rescue. When help finally came four days later, only 317 sailors were still alive. Stanton tells the story of the greatest single loss of life in the history of the U.S. Navy from the sinking of a single ship through the narratives of the survivors. Admiral James Stavridis, Seapower: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans (2017). When we think of history, we often focus on the events that occurred on land. But human history has been shaped just as much by the geography of oceans and mankind’s encounters on them. Admiral Stavridis, the only admiral to serve as the supreme allied commander of NATO, takes readers onto the captain’s bridge for a lesson in seapower they will never forget. Tom Clancy, The Hunt for Red October (1984). This book introduced the world to the fictional character of Jack Ryan. Red October is a Soviet nuclear submarine that is defecting to the West. Jack Ryan finds himself between two superpowers and the risk of nuclear confrontation. P.W. Singer and August Cole, Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War (2015). This fictional tale of a twenty-first century world war imagines what a global conflict would look like with today’s technology. General Robert Neller, commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, said “It’s exciting, but it’s terrifying at the same time.” Patrick O’Brian, Master and Commander (1969). This novel is the first in a twenty-book series set during the Napoleonic Wars. It’s a story about Jack Aubrey, the master and commander of the HM Sophie, and Stephen Maturin, the ship’s surgeon. Aubrey is adventurous and daring as he and his crew sail and battle in the Mediterranean. If that’s not enough naval information for you, you can learn more about the U.S. Navy online through the U.S. Naval Institute website. Corey Cooper assisted in the preparation of this post.

The United States Air Force marks seventy-one years of service.

Take this quiz to test your knowledge of the major events of World War II, from Normandy to Nagasaki.