“And retaliation will be our practice now . . .”
After President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the U.S. Army began recruiting black men in earnest. The Confederate government...
“Hair today, gone tomorrow”
During the early 1950’s, all American men were required to register for the draft, and many were called to serve. Elvis was no exception. Inducted into the Army in...
31st Michigan at war
In 1898, these soldiers were photographed in the tent of the 31st Michigan Infantry’s adjutant while deployed to Cuba during the Spanish-American War. The 31st was...
A bandage and a smile . . .
This photograph of a smiling American soldier with a bandaged arm was taken September 26, 1918, in the Argonne region of northeastern France. During World War I, the...
A break in the action
In this 1969 photograph, Private First Class Russell R. Widdifield of 3rd Platoon, Company M, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, takes a break 25 miles north of An...
"A fearless man"
Private First Class Carl B. Bentley described the actions of Private First Class Desmond Doss in April and May, 1945. Doss, an unarmed medic serving on Okinawa,...
A fleet destroyed
During the Spanish-American War, the Spanish Caribbean Fleet left its protected harbor at Santiago, Cuba, at 9:35 a.m. on July 3, 1898. Lt. Thomas Kearny aboard the...