Military History

Sudan says three foreigners and a South Sudanese national arrested by authorities in a disputed area on the border with South Sudan had military hardware and an armored vehicle in their possession but a representative for one of the foreigners said Sunday that they were on a mine clearing mission. The arrests are a sign of the increased tension along the disputed border, which has seen a spike in clashes between Sudan and the newly created state of South Sudan in recent weeks.

The following was submitted by the office of state Senator Katherine Clark, who represents Malden and Melrose: BOSTON — The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday unanimously passed "The Valor Act" — new legislation that will expand benefits and increase access to a range of services for veterans, active-duty military, and their families, Senator Katherine Clark announced. "I am proud to support this omnibus veterans legislation that continues our strong tradition of supporting veterans and military families and will assist veterans and their families with employment, education, and...

The following was submitted by the office of state Senator Katherine Clark, who represents Malden and Melrose: BOSTON — The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday unanimously passed "The Valor Act" — new legislation that will expand benefits and increase access to a range of services for veterans, active-duty military, and their families, Senator Katherine Clark announced. "I am proud to support this omnibus veterans legislation that continues our strong tradition of supporting veterans and military families and will assist veterans and their families with employment, education, and...

Sudan says three foreigners and a South Sudanese national arrested by authorities in a disputed area on the border with South Sudan had military hardware and an armored vehicle in their possession but a representative for one of the foreigners said Sunday that they were on a mine clearing mission. The arrests are a sign of the increased tension along the disputed border, which has seen a spike in clashes between Sudan and the newly created state of South Sudan in recent weeks.

MOSCOW - As the Kremlin presses a campaign to recast Russia's 20th-century history in a more favorable light, a research paper published yesterday on the Defense Ministry's website blamed Poland for starting World War II. The unorthodox reading of history appears to be the latest effort by Russian historians to defend the Soviet Union and its leaders, especially their role in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War. Poland condemned the research...

NEW YORK -- George Woodbridge, an illustrator for MAD magazine for nearly 50 years, a historical illustrator, and military history buff, has died. He was 73. Mr. Woodbridge died of emphysema at Staten Island University Hospital North on Tuesday, his wife, Deborah Woodbridge, said Thursday. At the time of his death, she said, "he was producing a set of illustrations on Lewis and Clark and had started a group of historical illustrations for a website" he was developing. His cross-hatched pen-and-ink drawings were extremely detailed and...

By Sara Brown, Town Correspondent On this day 236 years ago, Charlestown was the site of one of the pivotal battles of the Revolutionary War, as the colonial army inflicted surprising damage on the stronger, larger British army at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The Bunker Hill Monument commemorating the battle -- which actually took place at nearby Breed's Hill -- was fairly quiet on this rainy anniversary of the battle, with visitors saying the Charlestown monument was another stop on their historical tour of Boston or part of their daily routine.

Sources as indicated Salem 1850s to 1900. By Maggi Smith-Dalton, Globe Correspondent During the Civil War, according to Charles A. Benjamin's chapter on "Military History of Salem," in the History of Essex County, the city sent approximately 3,000 men into the service (of a population calculated at "a little over twenty-one thousand), and appropriated thousands to support the families of those in the field. "Colored" soldiers from Salem were included in this number, with some represented in both the 54th and 55th regiments.

CARSON CITY, Nev. - One was an Iraq War veteran who loved military history. Another was an Afghanistan war vet and fitness buff. Still another would bring in cupcakes for colleagues when they got promotions. All of them were National Guard members, and they were sitting at a table at a Nevada IHOP when a gunman burst in and began shooting on Tuesday morning. All three died in the attack, a death toll that matched the total number of Nevada guardsmen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan over a decade.

I had been anticipating a late-September trip to Martha's Vineyard for weeks. The relentless summertime revelry would have ceased, the traffic and crowds abated, the inflated prices relaxed. I could ease into the calm, fresh-scrubbed fall weather. I'd bring my bike, a sweater, and a book of short stories. I wouldn't bring a cellphone, a watch, or a car. I should have brought an umbrella. An impractical mix of wishful thinking and stubborn denial had kept me ignoring the weekend's weather predictions: The remains of Hurricane Ivan will bring high winds and downpours to the region.

Sources as indicated Salem 1850s to 1900. By Maggi Smith-Dalton, Globe Correspondent During the Civil War, according to Charles A. Benjamin's chapter on "Military History of Salem," in the History of Essex County, the city sent approximately 3,000 men into the service (of a population calculated at "a little over twenty-one thousand), and appropriated thousands to support the families of those in the field. "Colored" soldiers from Salem were included in this number, with some represented in both the 54th and 55th regiments.

CARSON CITY, Nev. - One was an Iraq War veteran who loved military history. Another was an Afghanistan war vet and fitness buff. Still another would bring in cupcakes for colleagues when they got promotions. All of them were National Guard members, and they were sitting at a table at a Nevada IHOP when a gunman burst in and began shooting on Tuesday morning. All three died in the attack, a death toll that matched the total number of Nevada guardsmen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan over a decade.

By Sara Brown, Town Correspondent On this day 236 years ago, Charlestown was the site of one of the pivotal battles of the Revolutionary War, as the colonial army inflicted surprising damage on the stronger, larger British army at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The Bunker Hill Monument commemorating the battle -- which actually took place at nearby Breed's Hill -- was fairly quiet on this rainy anniversary of the battle, with visitors saying the Charlestown monument was another stop on their historical tour of Boston or part of their daily routine.

Madison Smartt Bell has given himself an almost insurmountable challenge. A fictional protagonist should be someone readers can identify with. Though Bell pulls out all the literary stops, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest never quite becomes a character we sympathize with. After all, the real-life Forrest was a slave trader known for his violent temper and vulgar verbal explosions, a man who fought passionately to defend the Confederacy and would later help found the Ku Klux Klan.

MOSCOW - As the Kremlin presses a campaign to recast Russia's 20th-century history in a more favorable light, a research paper published yesterday on the Defense Ministry's website blamed Poland for starting World War II. The unorthodox reading of history appears to be the latest effort by Russian historians to defend the Soviet Union and its leaders, especially their role in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War. Poland condemned the research...

I had been anticipating a late-September trip to Martha's Vineyard for weeks. The relentless summertime revelry would have ceased, the traffic and crowds abated, the inflated prices relaxed. I could ease into the calm, fresh-scrubbed fall weather. I'd bring my bike, a sweater, and a book of short stories. I wouldn't bring a cellphone, a watch, or a car. I should have brought an umbrella. An impractical mix of wishful thinking and stubborn denial had kept me ignoring the weekend's weather predictions: The remains of Hurricane Ivan will bring high winds and downpours to the...

WASHINGTON -- On moving day in Cheryl Irwin's Pentagon office, she chanced upon an artifact of US military history that had been tucked away for decades in a nondescript cabinet. "The first thing I saw was that it was handwritten," she said. Next she noticed the title: "Executed Death Cases Before 1951. " The document is a ledger with the names of 169 members of the US military, as well as seven German prisoners of war, who were convicted of crimes punishable by death and executed.

Madison Smartt Bell has given himself an almost insurmountable challenge. A fictional protagonist should be someone readers can identify with. Though Bell pulls out all the literary stops, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest never quite becomes a character we sympathize with. After all, the real-life Forrest was a slave trader known for his violent temper and vulgar verbal explosions, a man who fought passionately to defend the Confederacy and would later help found the Ku Klux Klan.

NEW YORK -- George Woodbridge, an illustrator for MAD magazine for nearly 50 years, a historical illustrator, and military history buff, has died. He was 73. Mr. Woodbridge died of emphysema at Staten Island University Hospital North on Tuesday, his wife, Deborah Woodbridge, said Thursday. At the time of his death, she said, "he was producing a set of illustrations on Lewis and Clark and had started a group of historical illustrations for a website" he was developing. His cross-hatched pen-and-ink drawings were extremely detailed and historically accurate, the result of...

WASHINGTON -- On moving day in Cheryl Irwin's Pentagon office, she chanced upon an artifact of US military history that had been tucked away for decades in a nondescript cabinet. "The first thing I saw was that it was handwritten," she said. Next she noticed the title: "Executed Death Cases Before 1951. " The document is a ledger with the names of 169 members of the US military, as well as seven German prisoners of war, who were convicted of crimes punishable by death and executed.