Military History

Jim Matchin, a Vietnam War veteran, lives in Vicenza, Italy and is working on memorials for 173rd Airborne Brigade soldiers killed in the war.

Retiree looks to highlight 173rd’s storied history and sacrifices in Vietnam

When Jim Matchin visits the home of his former unit, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, he sees memorials to fallen soldiers from World War II and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Matchin, who served with the unit during the Vietnam War, is now working to honor those from his generation.

RELATED Vietnam vets in Bavaria feted in final commemoration curtain call

Old photos of Scarborough, wearing a coat and tie, and Travers, in uniform.

Remains of WWII, Korean War soldiers coming home for burial

The remains of two soldiers — U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Alvin R. Scarborough and Army Pfc. Joseph R. Travers — are coming home for burials with full military honors this week. Scarborough died during World War II; Travers died during the Korean War.

A group of people in a church listen to a historical interpreter.

‘Give me liberty or give me death’ turns 250. Here’s what it meant in 1775

The phrase “Give me liberty or give me death!” has been expressed by protesters from the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising in China to those who opposed COVID-19 restrictions in the U.S. in 2020.

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In a photo taken by a Pfc. Warner of the 166th Signal Photo Co., a U.S. Third Army soldier guards German prisoners in the public square in Kaiserslautern, Germany, as other soldiers mill about, March 21, 1945. The Army seized the southwest German city from the Nazis a day earlier. Today people would recognize the 23rd Monument at center and the Fruchthalle at right.,

80 years ago, Patton’s Army rolled into what is now the largest US military community overseas

The Army’s arrival in Kaiserslautern on March 20, 1945, marked the beginning of a decadeslong relationship that would see the U.S. military shape the economy and identity of the city and surrounding area like nowhere else in Europe.

A black-and-white, 1940s-era image of a Marine in uniform clutching a parachute while standing in the doorway of an airplane.

Amid DEI purge, Pentagon removes webpage on Iwo Jima flag-raiser

A page on the Defense Department’s website celebrating Pfc. Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian who was one of the six Marines photographed hoisting a U.S. flag on Iwo Jima in 1945, was among several that were recently taken down amid the Trump administration’s wide-ranging crackdown on what it says are “diversity, equity and inclusion” efforts in the federal government.

The first day of summer in Section 43 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., June 21, 2017. The cemetery’s 651 acres is the final resting place for more than 400,000 active duty service members, veterans and their families. (U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser/Arlington National Cemetery/released)

Arlington scrubs race and gender from cemetery’s website

The purge was a response to President Donald Trump’s executive order to remove materials related to “DEI.” However, Arlington officials also said materials could be restored after review and possible revision to meet the requirements of Trump’s and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s orders.

A (MLRS) multiple launch rocket system vehicle comes down the range to empty the rocket pods after a successful firing of the system.

From the Archives: Raining steel in the valley

This article first appeared in the Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, Oct. 2, 2001. It is republished unedited in its original form.

A black-and-white 1940s-era image of a ship upside down in the water, with rescue workers standing on the hull and support boats next to it in the foreground.

After decades lying unknown, USS Oklahoma sailor to rest at Arlington

John G. Connolly, the chief pay clerk who died aboard the USS Oklahoma in the 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and became the namesake of a warship that served off Iwo Jima and Okinawa, will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on March 27.

Remains of soldier killed during WWII to be interred this week in South Carolina

Army Pfc. Arthur W. Crossland Jr., who was killed during World War II, is coming home. His remains will be interred Friday at Fort Jackson National Cemetery in Columbia, S.C.

A black-and-white, World War II-era portrait of a Navy sailor in uniform.

One of the last US survivors of Pearl Harbor dies at 102

Jessie A. Mahaffey, one of the last remaining survivors of the sinking of the USS Oklahoma during the 1941 Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, died March 1 in Alexandria, La., at the age of 102.

An Army helicopter hovers over three small soldiers standing on a large block.

From the Archives: US, South Korean troops bridge Han River

A mooring quay in Pearl Harbor bears the name of the ship that was anchored there on Dec. 7, 1941. A National Park Service preservation project has repaired the quay and removed the name.

Park Service works to preserve ‘silent sentinels’ of surprise attack on Pearl Harbor

The National Park Service is engaged in a multiyear preservation project on six battle-scarred mooring quays in Pearl Harbor to repair decay and return them to their 1941 appearance.