Military

American Prisoner of War Camps in Colorado describes the experiences of prisoners of war in the state, such as the story of two POWs who escaped from a camp in Trinidad. Was it treason, or were the three Japanese enemy alien sisters seduced by the German POWs who used their map? Stories of other escapes are detailed, such as two men who were shot to death as they tried to flee. All fifty-one prisoner of war camps and hospitals in Colorado during World War II are described, along with the names and burial locations of the seventeen German, Japanese, and Italian POWs who died in Colorado. These experiences are well documented through interviews with former prisoners and guards, translators, and civilians who worked with the prisoners of war. They are further documented by visitation reports from the Vatican Secret Archives, the prisoner of war files at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, and by many books and articles published after the war by former prisoners, guards, and scholars.

The generally humane treatment of the prisoners, led by the Geneva Convention of 1929, as well as the friendship formed between the prisoners and their guards and the farmers whose land they worked, was essential to the development of our current positive relationships with the countries of Germany, Italy, and Japan.

For fifty years, Blytheville was home to a fleet of one of the most versatile pieces of machinery in history. From the Cuban Missile Crisis, through the Vietnam War and Korean Conflict, to the fall of the Iron Curtain in the early nineties, B-52 Stratofortresses cruised the sky, and stayed on alert to be America's first line of defense. Now that America no longer has a need for its "Global Shield," many United States Air Force bases lay dormant and decaying, sinking into the earth from which they came.

From its early beginnings as farmland to a highly secure, fiercely patrolled Strategic Air Command base, to overgrown lawns and decrepit buildings filled with asbestos, to becoming the site of the National Cold War Center, follow along as author Gage Fears digs up history on a crucial part of Arkansas and military history to tell the story of the long abandoned Eaker Air Force Base.

Abandoned Arkansas: Eaker Air Force Base is a unique collection containing new information, interviews of veterans that served on the base, and rare photographs.

Established during World War II, Malmstrom Air Force Base (AFB) has supported the defense of the United States for nearly eight decades. Originally a heavy bomber training base, Great Falls Army Air Base was a nexus of fascinating war stories, from Women Airforce Service Pilots ferrying fighter aircraft to Soviet pilots transferring the same aircraft to the Eastern Front during the closing days of World War II. After the war, Great Falls AFB was selected to train pilots for the Berlin Airlift.

Nuclear deterrence took center stage in the early Cold War years, with Malmstrom AFB providing air defense, command and control, and aerial refueling over the Northern Tier. Reflecting unmatched excellence, Malmstrom AFB was selected to operate the first wing of Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles in 1961. This legacy of being the first has earned the wing the nickname "Wing One," with a storied history to follow. The men and women of Malmstrom AFB continue to work grueling jobs in often difficult conditions, but still maintain the pride and excellence in service that defined their predecessors' successes.

The history of the adoption of the torpedo as a recognized implement of warfare is not unlike that of gunpowder or of exploding shells. Each in its turn was met by the cry, "Inhuman, barbarous, unchivalrous."

During the American Civil War, the Confederate Navy employed submerged mines, called torpedoes, and explosive charges mounted on a long pole referred to as the "spar torpedo" which was bumped into the hull of an enemy vessel exploding on contact. These weapons enjoyed great success during the conflict.

In July 1869, the Secretary of the Navy announced the establishment of the Naval Torpedo Station on Goat Island in the harbor of Newport, Rhode Island, for development of a more sophisticated and deadlier self-propelled torpedo. From its founding until the end of the Second World War, the Naval Torpedo Station has been the Navy's principal center for the design of torpedoes.

Newport continues as the home of the U.S. Navy's most important laboratory for research and development of modern weapons' systems.