The Icelandic government banned the stationing of black American soldiers in Iceland during the Cold War so as to “protect Icelandic women and preserve a homogenous national body”. After pressure from the US military, the ban was eventually lifted in the late 1960s.
military
Lady Lucy Houston was a British philanthropist…
Lady Lucy Houston was a British philanthropist who, after WWI, recognized the need for a strong Air Force. When the British government refused, she funded development of what became the Spitfire. She passed before WWII, and never saw how much that investment paid off.
The U.S. military has used superstition…
The U.S. military has used superstition and pretended to be vampires and ghosts to scare enemies away. They dispersed scary horoscopes in Germany, staged vampire attacks in the Philippines, and in Vietnam blasted ghost tapes which consisted of spooky music and eerie voices. Only vampires worked.
Russian military used foot wrapping…
Russian military used foot wrapping instead of socks. Technique of wrapping feet in cloth was used since 17th century up until 2013 when they allowed the use of socks and announced the abolishment of centuries old practice.
In 1988, the CIA paid $2 MM to Chad in order…
In 1988, the CIA paid $2 MM to Chad in order to extract an advanced Soviet attack helicopter (Mi-25) from an abandoned Libyan air base using two MH-47 Chinook transport helicopters, flying a total of 500 miles under the cover of night.
WW2 US Army Captain Moffatt Burriss…
WW2 US Army Captain Moffatt Burriss, along with two other me in a Jeep, accidentally stumbled upon a 15,000 strong German Panzer Corps outside of Berlin toward the end of the war. He approached the enemy commander alone and tricked him into surrendering his army and being taken captive.
Braille began as a military code…
Braille began as a military code called “night writing.” Developed by the French army (1819) – soldiers could communicate at night without speaking / using candles. Louis Braille learned the code & developed the more user-friendly, optimized version of the Braille alphabet we know today.
Elvis Presley was drafted into…
Elvis Presley was drafted into the U.S. Army. At the peak of his career, he received his draft notice for a two-year stint in the army. Fans sent tens of thousands of letters to the army asking for him to be spared, but Elvis refused to decline. He was sworn as an army private on March 24, 1958.
Tibor Rubin, a Hungarian Jew…
Tibor Rubin, a Hungarian Jew, was captured by the Nazis and sent to Mauthausen Concentration Camp in 1944. He vowed to join the US Army upon liberation; he did, and went on to received the Medal of Honor in Korea, being imprisoned again in a Chinese POW camp.
After World War 2 Canada had the…
After World War 2 Canada had the 4th largest air force, 5th largest navy, and the largest volunteer army in the world.