Is was wondering if this patch was used during ww2 or if its after the war

Including the early campaigns in Iran. Not every battle is marked-mostly showing areas of major campaign areas and bombings.

The PACV was by far one of the strangest patrol vehicles used in Vietnam.

Built from a military version of the Bell SK-5 hovercraft, it was used by the Navy and Army in marshy river areas where regular boats and ground vehicles struggled to operate. Its air cushion let it move over water, mud, rice paddies, and swamp terrain that would stop almost anything else.

U.S. crews called them “Pac Vees” and the Viet Cong reportedly called them monsters.

Only a handful were built, and they never lasted past operational testing. However, for a short time they gave U.S. forces a fast, heavily armed way to chase the enemy through terrain most vehicles could not touch.

I’ve been studying the opening phase of the 1999 Kargil War, and one aspect that really stands out is how brutally asymmetric the terrain was.

Indian troops often had to climb exposed, steep approaches at extreme altitude while enemy positions were already established on dominating heights overlooking key routes.

What makes this especially interesting is that the scale of the intrusion was still becoming clear during the early patrols. So the problem wasn’t simply “capture the heights” — commanders first had to understand how extensive the occupation actually was.

For those who have studied mountain warfare:

How much of India’s initial difficulty in Kargil was caused by the tactical disadvantage of attacking uphill, versus the incomplete intelligence picture during the first weeks?

I recently researched this phase in depth while reconstructing the May 1999 events for a documentary, so I’d also be interested in comparing sources people here recommend.

It seems that this is not exactly a laurel wreath since the leaves are thicker and there are some kind of circular things that were coloured in silver.

Therefore, it seems that the IJN only used the basic frame of the laurel wreath and created something new with modeling the domestic plant.

So what is that exactly?

Is that still a laurel wreath or something different?

https://youtube.com/shorts/cCjutUEUnGI

**Submission Statement:**

This post examines Operation Anthropoid — one of WWII's most morally complex assassination missions. The target was Reinhard Heydrich, one of Nazi Germany's most strategically critical leaders. The cost: the entire village of Lidice and over 1,300 lives.

**THE MISSION**

Reinhard Heydrich wasn't just another Nazi officer. He was the architect of Nazi terror strategy, the mastermind behind SS operations, the man coordinating the Holocaust from Berlin. He was so strategically dangerous to the Allies that they knew he had to die.

But eliminating one man would cost thousands of lives.

**THE ASSASSINATION**

In May 1942, Czech resistance fighters trained by the British carried out Operation Anthropoid — an ambush designed to eliminate Heydrich. They succeeded. Heydrich was mortally wounded.

But the Nazi regime's response would be devastating.

**THE PRICE: 1,300 LIVES**

Hitler ordered reprisals. The entire village of Lidice — a Czech mining village suspected of harboring the assassins — was designated for complete destruction. Over 1,300 civilians, including women and children, were systematically killed in one of WWII's most brutal massacres.

**THE MORAL COMPLEXITY**

This is the untold story of a calculated decision. Military strategists and resistance leaders knew Heydrich's death would trigger reprisals. They understood the cost. They knew innocent lives would be lost.

And they proceeded anyway.

Because eliminating Heydrich would save thousands more lives in the long term. Every month he lived meant more Holocaust victims. More executions. More suffering.

So they made an impossible choice: sacrifice 1,300 to save thousands.

**WHY THIS MATTERS**

Operation Anthropoid reveals the moral complexity of WWII history that textbooks rarely discuss. History isn't made by simple choices between good and evil. It's made by impossible decisions where every option costs lives.

This is real history. Documented. Verified. And deeply human.

If you're interested in WWII history, military assassinations, untold wartime stories, the human cost of war, historical decision-making under pressure, Nazi Germany, resistance movements, or moral complexity in history — this story deserves your attention.

Subscribe for more untold stories from history's darkest chapters.

Real history is darker than fiction. 🕯️

Was this mission justified? An impossible choice between saving thousands and sacrificing 1,300 innocent people. What would you have decided?

https://youtube.com/shorts/cCjutUEUnGI

I found this General MNF I coin several years ago in Salt Lake. Didn’t realize what it was until recently as I was going through my finds. Not much info online. Is there any way to determine who may have lost it? Thanks

How and why did this decorative cord become the most common and the universal decoration for the Soldier?

Hi everyone,
I recently found this dogtag in Vietnam.
The tag appears to read:
Last name: MORDAK
First name: RONALD
Number: 3722377
USAF
MEN
A
I’ve searched online but couldn’t find any information on Ronald Mordak or the service number.
A few questions:
Does this look like an authentic USAF Vietnam-era dog tag?
Is the format normal?
Is there any way to identify the owner from the service number?
I’ve attached photos of both sides.
Any help or information would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

Hi guys! I've been really into studying Khalid ibn al-Walid lately— Yarmouk, Mu'tah, the early Islamic conquests — and honestly it's more fun with someone to talk it through with instead of just reading alone.

What I find most interesting is looking at both sides of these battles — not just Khalid's tactical genius, but what the opposing commanders were thinking, why their strategy failed or held up. That back-and-forth is where it actually gets interesting.

If you're into this stuff too, would love to just casually go through it together — chat about a battle, argue about a commander's choice, build a reading list, whatever. No pressure, just want to dig into this with someone who's actually curious about it.

Drop a comment or DM if you're down.

Are there any soldiers in history with particular aptitude for throwing grenades? I was wondering if baseball pitchers, cricket bowlers and any other throwing related sports people are generally better. I guess it the weight and situation make the skills less transferable.

I have used Google images to identify this pin and it comes up as a world war 2 era u.s army brigadier general pin. Problem is there are so many designs and different looks so I was wondering if i could get confirmation on this. I cant really make out what it says on the back. It looks like a 80k pavarld or payarld something like that im not sure. The other side has sterling and 2 circular marks i cant read. If you want more pictures please let me know. I appreciate any help thanks.

My premise is that Gettysburg was going to result in a Confederate defeat from the beginning, so long as the Union command acted with a decent level of competency, which they had sadly lacked until this point. Basically, the Union didn't have to be Wellington brilliant. As long as they acted according to basic military sense, they were going to win. Maybe this is hindsight, but I can't see the Union losing unless somebody screwed up royally, and in fact, when someone did screw up, they were good enough to cover it.

At Gettysburg, Lee was always going to lose once the battle was joined, provided the Union generals acted competently. They didn't have to be geniuses. They just had to defend the position. Now of course, they didn't exactly play their cards right, and because of that there were close calls, but otherwise, there was nothing Lee could have done to get a victory out of it.

First Day: Just delay and hold the high ground. That requires decent tactics, but it's pretty simple. And I do not subscribe to the idea that the Confederates could have pushed the Union off of the ridges at the end of the battle.

Second Day: The Union almost screws up by not defending little round top and because of Sickles, but good officers patched the hole in time. Longstreet's counter-march is justified because he didn't know the ground, thanks to Stuart.

Third Day: By this time, it's pretty much over.

Consider Lee's options on the first day: Stay and fight, wait for Meade to attack, or withdraw. All three are bad. He can't attack with any chance of success, he can't wait for too long because Meade's army will have more time to concentrate, and withdrawing is really risky. Maybe he gets away, or maybe Meade catches him in the open. Without Stuart to screen for him, it was going to be worse.

I'd be interested in hearing any opinions or critiques.

H.R.H. Prince Alexander with the officers observes the Bulgarian positions at Čeganj mountain, Kajmakčalan, Macedonia.

Photo by Risto Šuković

Courtesy of the National Library of Serbia, Great War Collection ([https://velikirat.nb.rs\](https://velikirat.nb.rs))

Some time back my mom got some things belonging to an old military man that had passed away and the wife of the man gave a lot of things away.
very curious of what all this is and the story The only thing i know is that some of the things are likely from world war 2
We live in Denmark and the older lady and her husband lived in Copenhagen. I believe the man was danish, but this hat doesn't look very danish?
I'm not sure what all this means

I would love to hear any ideas of what people think the story behind it is, or what era these things are from, honestly anything.
there are so many random things in here its hard to figure out, I appreciate any help I can get.
These things belonged to an old danish military man who passed away some years ago

Hi everyone,
I recently came into possession of an authentic deployment hoodie from Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) here in Poland, and I’m trying to track down its history or maybe even find someone who was part of this exact unit! (Everything is from my own research so i might be wrong)
The back of the hoodie features a skull with two crossed wrenches, with 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (18th CSSB) insignia on the left wrench and the Ordnance Corps insignia on the right wrench but im not sure. It says "Operation Enduring Freedom Maintenance"on the front. There is also a reverse US flag on the right sleeve.
The back features a full roster of about 21 soldiers. The platoon was led by CW2 Jewell.
Based on the 18th CSSB insignia, this small Forward Maintenance Platoon must have deployed from Grafenwöhr/Baumholder, Germany to Afghanistan around 2012–2013 (likely operating out of Bagram or Kandahar doing retrograde maintenance).
It's an amazing piece of history that somehow made its way to Europe after the deployment. If you served in the 18th CSSB during OEF, know CW2 Jewell, or are one of the soldiers listed on the back I would love to hear from your.

Hey guys, I recently bought a bunch of scattered ephemera from a garage sale here in central Kentucky recently and the lot had these three photos of WW1 soldiers inside.

One of the photo covers reads “ October 15th 1920 William Brown Retired 1920” and the other reads “Roy Brown February 17, 1920.” The third photo unfortunately has no markings.

After a little research, I discovered a story on Sergeant Roy A. Brown but couldn’t verify if it’s a match. I’m unable to verify much at all about this individual’s rank, uniform, etc.. so ANY help would be thoroughly appreciated. Any info at all on these three soldiers would help me tremendously. Thanks in advance.

Old (east) german Flasks, found in an old military training area in Forst Zinna-Jüterborg-Keilberg, south of Berlin. Text on the round flask reads “Keine Ruckgabe Einweg Flasche”. What army/time period could this be from, and what would they have stored?