Oleg Penkovsky: The Spy Who Helped Save the World
President Kennedy meets with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko in the Oval Office on 18 October 1962. The President knows but does not reveal that he is now aware of…
London’s Spy Tunnels: The Kingsway Exchange Tunnels
Kingsway Exchange Tunnel in 2014. Photo: John Pannell from Watford, UK. CC BY 2.0. The Kingsway Exchange Tunnels are a hidden network of underground passages that stretch for about a…
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu commenced in mid-March and concluded in early May of 1954. Ultimately, out of the 16,000 French troops who found themselves besieged at Dien Bien…
The KGB: How It Influenced Russia and the World
The Lubyanka building (former KGB headquarters) in Moscow. Photo: A.Savin. CC BY-SA 3.0. The KGB was the main security and intelligence agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until its…
Vietnamese Beer during the Vietnam War
1964. Beautiful picture of my father in Vietnam. 25 years old in a road side shack on the road to Pleiku. Traveling from Quy Nhon Vietnam. Dangerous road for an…
The Culper Spy Ring: Secret Network of Revolutionary War Spies
Major Benjamin Tallmadge, founder of the Culper Spy Ring There is nothing more necessary than good intelligence to frustrate a designing enemy, & nothing that requires greater pains to obtain.”…
Napalm in the Vietnam War
My father told me that he once raced the family car, with my siblings and me to the beach at Vung Tau while the American military laid down some napalm…
Vietnamese Food During the Vietnam War
Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the rich culinary traditions of Vietnam, offering a delightful fusion of flavors and tastes. Each meal is a harmonious blend of five fundamental tastes known as “ngũ…
Rogers’ Rangers: Leading the Way
Cropped painting of Rogers Rangers, “To Range the Woods”, New York, 1760. US Army Center for Military History Army Artist Team XXII. Rogers’ Rangers was a famous unit of colonial…
The Origins of Coffee
Silencio Calm Chaos Medium Roast Coffee. National Coffee Day is observed on September 29th in many countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia. For many of us though, every…