Name: Valley Forge
Brand: Stacey A. Swigart
SKU: 9780738511177
Price: 17.49 USD
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Valley Forge

9780738511177

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Valley Forge is a name that resonates in the minds of many Americans. As the site of the 1777-1778 encampment of the Continental army during the Revolutionary War, it has come to symbolize determination and triumph. While many people know something revolutionary happened in Valley Forge, they do not understand how or why it became a place of remembrance today. Using the rich historical collections of the National Center for the American Revolution and Valley Forge Historical Society, Valley Forge shares the early-twentieth-century history of the area through nearly two hundred images, the majority of which are published for the first time.

Valley Forge offers a variety of historical views and background into the site that became Pennsylvania's first state park. Highlights include Washington's Headquarters and the patriotic and inspiring Washington Memorial Chapel, as well as Revolutionary War artifacts that have found a home in Valley Forge. Thousands of books exist on the history of the American War for Independence, but few describe the events and people who have struggled to preserve that story of independence for people everywhere, as Valley Forge does.

White Sands Missile Range

9780738558783

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Since the official flag raising on July 9, 1945, the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) has become an integral part of global defense for the United States. A mere week after formation, Project Trinity tested the first atomic bomb at an isolated site, which was 100 miles north on what was then part of the Alamogordo Bombing Range--a test site for B-17 pilots. Back at White Sands Proving Ground, as it was then named, personnel were unaware of the massive new weapon tested to their north. Instead their focus was upon the arrival of what would be 300 railroad cars of captured German V-2 rockets and associated equipment. Later that year, over 100 captured German scientists, among them Werner von Braun, would arrive at White Sands to assist in V-2 technology, launching America's race to space; tens of thousands of rockets and missiles have since been fired on the range. Thousands of family members also lived and worked at the range, and their stories can be found inside as well.

Fort Sill

9781467129640

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Established in 1869, Fort Sill initially hosted cavalry regiments, including buffalo soldiers, charged with pacifying native tribes in portions of Texas, Kansas, and Colorado. Replete with old West sagas, heroes, and villains, accounts from the post fascinate enthusiasts even today. Its namesake was chosen by Maj. Gen. "Little Phil" Sheridan to memorialize Brig. Gen. Joshua Sill, who gave his life in the Civil War. Similarly, the lasting impressions of great Americans are commemorated within the fort at Henry Post Army Airfield, "Flipper's Ditch," "Ambrosia Springs," "Sherman House," and of course, "Geronimo's Guardhouse." Even the city of Lawton was named after the "Prince of Quartermasters," Gen. Henry W. Lawton. Fort Sill's reputation as the premier artillery training and development center for the US Armed Forces has endured, preparing servicemen for every significant American conflict since its inception.

Offutt Air Force Base

9781467112710

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The year is 1888, and Pres. Grover Cleveland has just signed into law a bill that will lead to the establishment of Fort Crook. In 1948, that Army post gained a new name: Offutt Air Force Base. The history of Offutt Air Force Base is truly unlike that of any other military installation. In the face of adversity, it has overcome challenges during the United States' rise to global prominence, was active during the golden age of flight, and served as a wartime bomber plant. The base remained ever vigilant during the Cold War and continues to do so as a combatant of 21st-century threats. Its remarkable existence of nearly 125 years can serve as a road map of US history. Today, the 55th Wing serves as the host unit for Offutt Air Force Base; its motto, "Videmus Omnia" ("We See All"), can also be applied to the saga of the base.

Luke Air Force Base

9781467104708

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Luke Air Force Base, created in less than a year from desert scrub and farmland, stands some 20 miles west of Phoenix. On March 31, 1941, months before the United States entered World War II, construction began. That summer, the Army Air Corps named Luke Field after World War I hero and triple ace Frank Luke Jr. Some pilots from Luke Field's first class flew from airfields in Hawaii during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. From the beginning, Luke Field trained fighter pilots, as it does today. Over the years, Luke Air Force Base was home to 14 primary fighter aircraft, graduated over 60,000 students, and accounted for millions of training flight hours. Of the pilots who trained at Luke Field, a number became aces, including the all-time US leading ace, Maj. Richard I. Bong. For decades, Luke Air Force Base has been home to more fighter aircraft than any other base in the United States, earning the moniker "Fighter Country."

Lowry Air Force Base

9780738596648

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From 1937 to 1994, Lowry Air Force Base, located on the eastern edge of the city of Denver, served the nation and the surrounding community in many distinguished ways. The air base, primarily a technical training center, graduated more than 1.1 million enlisted members and officers in skills ranging from armament to photography, tremendously strengthening the country's war efforts in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War. In addition, from the 1980s, Lowry Air Force Base remained one of Colorado's largest employers, with approximately 10,000 military and civilian men and women, providing an economic impact approaching $1 billion annually. Thus Lowry significantly contributed to maintaining the world's largest air force and to promoting the accelerated growth of the Denver metro area and Colorado.

Yuma Proving Ground

9781467104500

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The Yuma Proving Ground's early history began in 1849 with the establishment of Army outposts in the region. When the United States entered World War II in 1942, the Army established a large-scale training center that expanded from eastern California into western Arizona. Gen. George S. Patton Jr. was assigned to develop the Desert Training Center as a location to train personnel and test equipment in the harsh desert for the war effort. As part of the Desert Training Center, Camp Laguna and the Yuma Test Branch were founded to conduct specific training and testing in support of the war effort. In 1951, the Yuma Test Branch was renamed the Yuma Test Station, and by 1957, the Army began training personnel on military freefall. In 1963, the Army renamed the Yuma Test Station as the Yuma Proving Ground. Today, the Yuma Proving Ground stands near the original sites with the continued task of testing equipment and training personnel.

Rosie the Riveter in Long Beach

9780738558141

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During World War II, an unprecedented number of women
took jobs at aircraft plants, shipyards, munitions factories, and other concerns across the nation to produce material essential to winning the war. Affectionately and collectively called "Rosie the Riveter" after a popular 1943 song, thousands of these women came to the U.S. Army-financed Douglas Aircraft Plant in Long Beach, the largest wartime plane manufacturer, to help produce an astonishing number of the aircraft used in the war. They riveted,
welded, assembled, and installed, doing man-sized jobs, making attack bombers, other war birds, and cargo transports. They trained at Long Beach City Schools and worked 8- and 10-hour shifts in a windowless, bomb-proof plant. Their children attended Long Beach Day Nursery, and their households ran on rations and victory gardens. When the men came home after the war ended, most of these resilient women lost their jobs.

Parris Island

9780738514260

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Proud Marines and military aficionados know some of the tales of Parris Island military base, and now you can experience its history first-hand through this pictorial history of the infamous island.

Located near the Palmetto State's historic city of Beaufort, the United States Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina is one of the world's most famous military bases. Having trained Marine recruits since World War I, the base is the oldest major post of the Marine Corps. It is also the first base commissioned exclusively to train United States Marines, and therefore may truly be called ""The Cradle of the Corps."" Parris Island takes the reader on a visual journey through documented photographs that highlight the base's touchstones. Before the American Revolution, the island was partially owned by Col. Alexander Parris, who became the island's namesake. Plantations flourished on Parris Island until the end of the War between the States. A small detachment of Marines first arrived in the late 1800s. It was not until 1915, however, that the Marines arrived for good. Since then, the base has rapidly expanded, first during World War I and more so during World War II. Over the years, much of the physical appearance of the base has changed; yet, through this collection of photographs, former Parris Island Marines will have a chance to relive some of their memories while new recruits can watch the progression of their base unfold.

World War II Shipbuilding in Duluth and Superior

9781467125819

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World War II hinged on the Allies having enough ships to both fight the enemy and to carry millions of tons of war goods across the world's oceans. Shipyards on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Coasts built thousands of vessels, but America's sometimes forgotten Fourth Coast, the Great Lakes, built hundreds of ships as well. From 1940 to 1945, warships, cargo haulers, Coast Guard tenders, and fleet service auxiliaries of many types were launched from the two cities of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, which lie at the far western end of Lake Superior. During the war, half a dozen shipyards in Duluth-Superior produced more than 200 vessels of 10 main types, up to 338 feet long and 5,000 tons, all having to make close to a 2,400-mile journey to the ocean. The shipyards grew from nearly nothing in 1939 to become industries employing thousands of men and women by 1945 and making a major contribution to the story of America in World War II.

World War II Shipbuilding in Duluth and Superior

Nevada Test Site

9781467117449

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Since Pres. Harry Truman established the Nevada Test Site (NTS) in December 1950, it has played a vital role in the security of the United States. For four decades, the test site's primary purpose was developmental testing of nuclear explosives. Atmospheric tests conducted over Yucca Flat and Frenchman Flat between 1951 and 1962 involved thousands of Army troops and Marines simulating nuclear battlefield conditions. Civil defense planners studied blast and radiation effects and evaluated bomb shelter designs. Testing moved underground in 1963 to eliminate radioactive fallout. Other projects at the NTS included nuclear rocket engine development for space travel, training for NASA's Apollo astronauts, excavation experiments, radioactive waste storage studies, and aircraft testing. Since the last underground nuclear test in 1992, this geographically diverse testing and training complex north of Las Vegas--known since 2010 as the Nevada National Security Site--has been used to support nuclear stockpile stewardship and as a unique outdoor laboratory for government and industry research and development efforts.

World War II Shipyards by the Bay

9780738547176

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In the dark, frenzied years of World War II, the San Francisco Bay Area was the geographic center of a $6.3 billion West Coast shipbuilding industry. Stretching from the Golden Gate to Vallejo to Sunnyvale, 14 Bay Area yards launched many of the ships that helped save the free world. Basalt Rock of Napa, Bethlehem Steel of San Francisco and Alameda, Hunters Point and Mare Island Naval Shipyards, Joshua Hendy Iron Works of Sunnyvale, Marinship of Sausalito, Permanente Metals in Richmond, and Western Pipe and Steel in South San Francisco are names that still conjure memories for many locals of one of the most impassioned war efforts in human history. Offering new opportunities for African Americans and women, recruiters searched the nation for workers who relocated here by the thousands. These motivated men and women delivered Liberty cargo ships like the SS Robert E. Peary, built in seven and a half days, a shipbuilding record that stands to this day.

Charlestown Navy Yard

9780738502212

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Discover within these pages little-known facts about the USS Albany, the U.S. Navy's oldest commissioned warship, USS Constitution, and the WWII destroyer, USS Cassin Young.

The photographs in this exciting new volume illustrate the history of the Charlestown Navy Yard from the late nineteenth century through the twentieth century. Founded in 1800, the yard was oneof the first military shipyards in the United States.Charlestown Navy Yard celebrates the life of the yardthrough one hundred years of photographs, showing thedramatic changes that took place during the transition from wood to steel ships. Charlestown Navy Yard's history is preserved in these images, which include rare views of buildings past and present and snapshots of shipyard workers in the Ropewalk, on the ships, and in the Forge Shop where die-lock chain was developed.

Connecticut in World War II

9781467126984

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With the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan on December 7, 1941, and the United States' entry into World War II, our nation turned to Connecticut--as it did during World War I--for munitions, clothing, and other goods. And Connecticut answered the call: Manchester Mills increased silk production, Waterbury brass producers altered their manufacturing lines, and Bridgeport's Remington Arms--which had produced 50 percent of the US Army's small arms cartridges in World War I--increased its mass production capabilities. By the time Electric Boat, Hamilton Propellers, Pratt & Whitney, and many other Connecticut companies tallied up their production back in 1945, it amounted to over $8 billion in war contracts.

Vandenberg Air Force Base

9781467132091

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A historical cornucopia ranging from native tribal lands and ranch living to infantry training grounds and missile launch site, the location currently known as Vandenberg Air Force Base has held an amazing legacy that continues today. Stretching over 45 miles of pristine California coastline and covering over 99,000 acres, the base has been the vanguard for the United States' space and missile program. Showcasing over 1,900 launches since 1957, Vandenberg put the world's first photoreconnaissance (spy) satellite into orbit and is the only launch location for America's operational intercontinental ballistic missile force. Within Vandenberg's lands are ancient rock drawings from the native Chumash tribe, hundreds of species of plants, insects, and animals, and untouched beaches--protected and thriving under the military's stewardship of the lands. Within these pages are stories and photographs that highlight Vandenberg Air Force Base's legacy as the free world's first missile base.

Quantico

9780738515021

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Located in the northern Virginia hills just south of our nation's capital, Marine Corps Base Quantico is known throughout the world as the Crossroads of the United States Marine Corps. Images of America: Quantico takes the reader on a visual tour of Quantico's evolution-through World War I, interwar service as an expeditionary base, and the development of the amphibious capabilities made famous by the Marines in World War II. The impact of famous Marines, including Generals John A. Lejeune and Smedley D. Butler, is explored, as is the unique relationship between the base and the Town of Quantico, the only United States city surrounded by a military base.

Los Angeles in World War II

9780738581811

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During World War II, the Los Angeles region underwent rapid industrial growth as Kaiser Steel opened a giant mill in Fontana, and the aircraft giants--North American Aviation, Lockheed, Douglas, and Hughes--expanded with war contracts. The war economy's demographic and ethnic dimensions included women and African Americans entering factory work and troops streaming through Union Station to San Pedro for embarkation. The Zoot Suit Riots defined the tensions between servicemen and the Mexican American community, and the internment of Japanese Americans led to the eventual disappearance of established neighborhoods. The war inspired home front efforts by local civic and academic institutions, by the entertainment industry, and by émigrés from Nazi Germany. It led to the training of civilian corps, rationing, and vigilance for enemy activities. American participation in World War II from 1941 to 1945 energized the region's growing industrial infrastructure and spurred postwar economic and housing development.

Battleship Cove

9781467121491

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Located on the waterfront in historic Fall River, Massachusetts, Battleship Cove, a nonprofit maritime museum and war memorial, is home to the largest and most diverse collection of preserved US Navy ships in the world.

It is the commonwealth's official memorial for the events of September 11, 2001, and the official veterans' memorial for World War II and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf Wars. Beginning with the opening of the battleship USS Massachusetts in 1965, the ""Fall River Navy"" has continued to grow. The vessels include the submarine Lionfish, destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., and PT boats 617 and 796. Having hosted nearly six million visitors from all over the world, Battleship Cove is one of the most popular attractions in southeastern Massachusetts. It now stands at the threshold of a new era in its ambitions to modernize for the 21st century.

The Cruiser Houston

9781467127424

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The cruiser Houston was the first warship named for the Bayou City, and the ship proved a favorite of the city for which it was named. It was also a favorite of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who traveled on the Houston no fewer than four times. Houston was twice the flagship of the US Navy's Asiatic Fleet. In the opening days of World War II, it battled the Imperial Japanese Navy, culminating in its midnight loss at the Battle of Sunda Strait. The Cruiser Houston tells the story of this magnificent ship and the city of Houston's reaction to its namesake's loss.

Marinship

9781467129770

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Marinship was a World War II shipyard built by the W.A. Bechtel Company to fulfill an urgent need for cargo ships to support soldiers all over the world. Sausalito was selected as the site for its unused railroad capacity and access to a deepwater channel and the Golden Gate Bridge. In March 1942, the shipyard was built on the site of the railroad maintenance yard and adjacent vacant mudflats, with the first ship being launched in September. At the time of its peak operation, there were as many as 20,000 workers. Workers were recruited from local resources at first but eventually a more widespread recruitment brought people from the Midwest and the South. These new workers, including minorities and women, enabled Marinship to become a leader in the integrated workforce phenomenon. As the war in Europe was won, fewer ships were needed. The Marinship labor force was reduced by about half until the victory in Japan, when ships were no longer needed. Marinship was soon taken over by the US Army Corps of Engineers, which disposed of what it did not need for its operations and currently maintains several buildings to facilitate its regional operations.

World War II Chicago

9780738532097

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Chicagoans united in their World War II effort against the Axis powers. They signed up for military service, rallied to the call for increased wartime production, and aided the war effort through the rationing of food and gasoline. From fast growing victory gardens to mini-monuments to local servicemen-Chicago, the "City of Neighborhoods," saw all of its geographic parts vie for recognition and honor in a ethnic mosaic of patriotism.

The war years ushered in changing times for Chicago. The city became an important military center as thousands of troops trained or passed through en route to the war fronts, while Chicago's civilian population engaged in manufacturing war materials. As defense plants sprang up all over Chicago, African-American tenant farmers, who migrated from the South, and women replaced the male labor force.

Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego

9780738588780

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Located northwest of downtown San Diego, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) is rich in the history and traditions of the US Marine Corps. The base was born in part of the perseverance of Col. Joseph H. Pendleton and the efforts of Congressman William Kettner. MCRD San Diego was commissioned in 1921 and officially designated as the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in 1948. It is the oldest operational Marine Corps base on the West Coast and graduates over 20,000 new Marines every year. MCRD San Diego is one of only two Marine Corps recruit-training bases in the United States and is responsible for the basic training of all male recruits west of the Mississippi River. Every Marine begins his career by participating in a 13-week training period that isolates him from the civilian world. Basic training at MCRD San Diego emphasizes physical fitness and adaption to the Marine Corps lifestyle.

New Mexico in World War II

9781467106702

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In 1941, New Mexico was an agrarian state with just over half a million people, many of whom lived without electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, or paved roads. However, the state provided more military volunteers per capita--including eight Medal of Honor winners--than any other state and had the highest casualty rate per capita in the country. New Mexico provided essential resources ranging from oil and coal to potash and copper. The state is often remembered for being the location where the first nuclear weapon was designed and tested in 1945, but more important at the time were the development of the proximity fuze and the testing of the top-secret Norden bombsight. The state also housed German and Italian prisoners of war, and, in one of the darkest moments in US history, incarcerated American citizens of Japanese descent in several concentration camps.

Camp Roberts

9780738530550

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Camp Roberts, in the Salinas Valley, is one of California's largest military training camps. Named for a heroic World War I tank driver, it took the threat of global war in 1940 to kick-start its construction. Soon Camp Roberts had a capacity to house and train 23,000 men. During the war, almost half a million men trained here. Row upon row of wooden buildings, replete with churches, stores, a hospital, and an amphitheater where A-list stars performed, made it a mobilized city of 45,000 at its peak. In 1946, it became a ghost town overnight. Revived during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, it passed into National Guard control in 1971. However, all branches of the military continue to train here, and the camp has renewed relevance for troops bound for the Middle East.

Fort Bragg

9781467130851

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In 1857, Fort Bragg was an Army post on the Mendocino Indian Reservation. Coastal California north of San Francisco had been home to the Pomo and Yuki people for thousands of years. In the early 1800s, that area was visited by Russian, English, and French fur trappers. In 1850, an opium trader carrying goods from the Orient to gold-rush San Francisco shipwrecked near Fort Bragg. Would-be salvagers discovered giant redwood trees, and lumber mills soon sprang up at the mouth of every stream. "Dog-hole schooners" transported lumber, passengers, and supplies, and the world-wide Dollar Shipping Lines started here. Former reservation lands were acquired by lumber interests, and the city of Fort Bragg sprang up around them, all while photographers, artists, and writers documented the "far West." Today, the former California Western logging railroad transports tourists through the redwood forests. Hollywood movies continue to be set in the New England-style towns along the rocky Mendocino Coast, and Paul Bunyan Days celebrates old-time logging skills. The area's colorful past permeates and enriches local culture.

The Battleship Texas

9781467123938

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The USS Texas was built when dreadnought battleships were kings of the seas. It was the world's most powerful battleship when first commissioned in 1914, and for over a century it fought many battles. Some took place while the Texas served as a warship in the US Navy in World Wars I and II. Since becoming a museum ship and war memorial in 1948, it has fought a longer and more difficult struggle as it combats the ravages of time for its very survival. Throughout its existence, the Texas has made history, leaving a wealth of fascinating stories in its wake.

McGuire Air Force Base

9780738511740

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McGuire Air Force Base, built on property ceded by the Boy Scouts of America, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the contiguous Fort Dix, has served the nation proudly for decades. Originally, it was intended to be used as a home for observation antisubmarine reconnaissance aircraft and army support as Fort Dix Army Air Field, but the focus of the base quickly changed as a result of its strategic location. McGuire Air Force Base recounts the contributions of this military asset with more than two hundred photographs from the archives of the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army. Among its many achievements, McGuire was the first American military base to become operational with the F-106 Delta Dart; the first base to operate an all-jet military transport, the C-135 Stratolifter; and finally, the first base to become operational with a ground-launched antiaircraft nuclear missile squadron. In the 1950s, McGuire became the air force's principal aerial port on the East Coast-a role it continues to this day.

The Tuskegee Airmen

9780738500454

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In 1941, Tuskegee, Alabama, was selected as the site of an important new development in military training. For the first time, black Americans were to be allowed to serve their country as members of the United States Army Air Corps. During its five-year history, Tuskegee Army Air Field was home to almost 1,000 African-American pilots. More than 10,000 black men and women served as their vital support personnel. Together, they filled the ranks of the 99th Fighter
Squadron, the 332nd Fighter Group, and the 477th
Bombardment Group. Their remarkable achievements at home and overseas destroyed stereotypes and helped to bring about the eventual integration of the United States military. Under the harsh restrictions of segregation, the African-Americans both trained and served together, and in this forced isolation, developed unbreakable bonds .

Laughlin Air Force Base

9781467107099

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Today, Laughlin Air Force Base is one of the busiest pilot-producing bases in the world. Named after Jack Thomas Laughlin, the base traces its history back to 1942. During World War II, the base was called Laughlin Field and trained bomber pilots in the B-26 Marauder. The base closed in 1945, after the war, but reopened again as an Air Force base in 1952 to train fighter pilots for the Korean War. It then took on a Cold War mission from 1957 to 1963. During this time, the base was home to the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, which flew the U-2 spy plane. The 4080th played a key role in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. From 1961 onward, however, Laughlin has served primarily as an undergraduate pilot training base, helping hundreds of brave men and women, every year, earn their wings as military aviators.

Fort Hancock

9780738550008

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Armed with incredible power and an array of technological and weaponry innovations, Fort Hancock protected New York Harbor from any mode of attack for almost 80 years. Named in 1895 after Civil War hero Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock, it sits on the northern tip of New Jersey's seashore on the Sandy Hook peninsula. The fort's evolution serves as a classic example of how the U.S. Army defended American harbors from the War of 1812 through most of the cold war era. It blazed the way in defending a prime U.S. harbor, while boasting impressive and unique architecture. Since 1975, Fort Hancock has been administered by the National Park Service and thousands of visitors delight in its history year round from sunrise to sunset.

Travis Air Force Base

9780738529417

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Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Base, later to become Travis, was born on the windswept plains of Solano County. To meet the urgent need for an air gateway to the Pacific, the base soon had two runways on a 945-acre site between the twin farming communities. The gusty winds challenged the gutsy young pilots who trained here, many of whom saw the Golden Gate--their last view of the mainland--as they flew out to do battle. Expanding through the next two decades until it encompassed over 6,000 acres, Travis is now the largest base under the U.S. Air Force Mobility Command.

World War II Italian Prisoners of War in Chambersburg

9781467127233

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During World War II, the US government interned more than 1,200 captured Italian soldiers at the Letterkenny Army Ordnance Depot located near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. These troops collaborated with the United States in a collective effort to defeat the Axis powers. They formed the 321st Italian Quartermaster Battalion, and their work consisted mainly of stocking and shipping materials--ammunition, military vehicles, weapons, and machinery parts--to the war fronts in the European and Pacific theaters of operation. For entertainment, the soldiers formed an orchestra and band and for sport, several different company soccer teams. As a sign of their faith, they built a chapel and bell tower, which are still used today. Many POWs forged deep friendships with Americans, and after the war, a few married their sweethearts and returned to live in the United States. Today, warm relations still continue between children and grandchildren of the POWs and the wider Chambersburg community.

World War II Italian Prisoners of War in Chambersburg

Fort Ord

9780738528694

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From its establishment during World War I to its closure at the end of the Cold War, the Army installation best known as Fort Ord made a significant contribution to our national defense. Founded as a training area for Presidio of Monterey troops in 1917, Fort Ord covered more than 28,000 acres near the city of Monterey in its heyday. The local topography made it ideal as an infantry training center, and this was its primary mission throughout much of the 20th century. Most recently, Fort Ord was home to the 7th Infantry Division (Light), which was inactivated in 1993. In September 1994, Fort Ord closed its gates and became a part of military history.

USS Alabama

9781467110211

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Powerful: this single word aptly describes a naval vessel known as a battleship. The USS Alabama (BB-60) was the last of four South Dakota-class battleships built for World War II.

She is well armored and designed to survive an attack while continuing to fight. Her main battery, known as "Big Guns," consisted of nine 16-inch guns; each could launch a projectile weighing as much as a small car that could hit a target 21 miles away. Her crew numbered 2,332 men, none of whom were lost to enemy fire, earning her the nickname "Lucky A." She served as more than just a battleship: she carried troops, supplies, and seaplanes and served in the Pacific and Atlantic; her doctors treated patients from other ships; she was the wartime home for a major-league ballplayer; the movie setting for Hollywood films; and she traveled home to the state of Alabama with the help of schoolchildren.

Fort Monroe

9780738567341

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This volume will highlight more than 140 years of images that capture Fort Monroe's varied missions, historic buildings, the families who lived there, the resort hotels, and other aspects of this unique national landmark.

Fort Monroe was once a powerful symbol of America's national defense system. From 1823 to 1945, its primary military mission was to protect Hampton Roads and the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay from enemy attacks. Over the years, as military technology advanced, Fort Monroe's defensive posture changed. To counter potential threats, American coastal defense installations such as Fort Monroe developed sophisticated steel disappearing guns, mortars, anti-aircraft weapons, and submarine mines. As the site of the army's Coast Artillery School, Fort Monroe trained thousands of soldiers. After World War II, Fort Monroe's role as a coastal defense installation ended, and the post took on new missions as a training headquarters facility. With more than 200 original photographs, this volume unveils the layered history of this massive stone-and-brick installation from the end of the Civil War to the present.