Interview with WWII Veteran Mort Sheffloe: Part II
Just a few summers ago Mark was traveling in France with WWII Veteran Mort Sheffloe. While walking the sands of Omaha Beach and Utah Beach, sitting in cafés in Normandy or dining in Paris, Mort shared his memories of the war, and his battles in Normandy and Brittany in 1944. In the second of the...
Interview with WWII Veteran Mort Sheffloe: Part I
Just a few summers ago Mark was traveling in France with WWII Veteran Mort Sheffloe. While walking the sands of Omaha Beach and Utah Beach, sitting in cafés in Normandy or dining in Paris, Mort shared his memories of the war, his battles and serious wounding from a German sniper and his recovery and return...
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D-Day: Beach Landings
This week marks 76 years since American troops stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day 1944. Mark and historian Marty Morgan discuss the invasion operations, Omaha Beach landings and Vierville Draw, a key part of the brutal battle against the entrenched Germans that led to the success of Operation Overlord and eventual Victory in Europe.
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D-Day: Airborne Operations
In continuing our study of D-Day for this 76th Anniversary Year, Mark talks about the invasion airborne operations. He and guest historian, Marty Morgan, discuss the airborne operations and actions of the American 82nd and 101st Airborne and the British 6th Airborne Divisions on D-Day. They cover the details of the paratroopers, including “the greatest...
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Operation Overlord Part II: Deception Plan
Mark continues his series of podcasts dedicated to the 76th Anniversary of D-Day, discussing Operation Overlord, the planning of the D-Day invasion. He discusses the crucial deception plan, Operation Fortitude conducted to fool Hitler and his staff about the location, strengths and leadership of the upcoming invasion. He includes excerpts from the lectures of historian...
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Operation Overlord Part I: D-Day Preparation
Mark begins his series of podcasts dedicated to the 76th Anniversary of D-Day, discussing Operation Overlord, the planning of the D-Day invasion. He includes excerpts from WWII lectures that historian Stephen E. Ambrose gave at the University of New Orleans, covering the preparation the Allies made for Operation Overlord. By December of 1943 the United...
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U.S. Grant’s Civil War Spy Network
In conducting his Civil War campaigns in Mississippi in 1862-63, Union General Ulysses S. Grant put together a network of spies to provide him with military intelligence. He recruited a young brigadier general to run the operation and they often provided valuable information that enabled him to win several major battles and carry out a...
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April Events in the American Civil War History
During the American Civil War, April lived up to the moniker later bestowed by T.S. Eliot as the “Cruelest Month.” The start of hostilities at Fort Sumter in 1861 initiated the war that defined America and President Lincoln’s assassination in 1865 both occurred in April. The Battle of Shiloh and the Fall of New Orleans...
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April Events in History: Civil War and WWII
Mark takes a look at some significant events that took place in April during the Civil War and WWII. “April is the cruelest month” according to T.S. Eliot, but how accurate is that historically? You decide. Here are some major happenings and a few occurrences that are not so well known: Fort Sumter, Shiloh, Eel...
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Armchair Travel to the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House
This Good Friday, Mark goes back to Good Friday of April 1865 and President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre in Washington with Dorothea Barstow, the curator of the Dr. Samuel Mudd House and Museum. Later that night, assassin John Wilkes Booth, on the run and in desperate need of medical attention for his broken leg,...
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Women in History
In a retrospective of Women’s History month, Mark takes a look at notable women starting with Medieval times and jumping to the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War and WWII. He features a range of heroines from Joan of Arc, who at age 17 led a French army in the Hundred Years...
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Kate Tietzen: Struggles in the Middle East
Middle East expert Kate Tietzen returns to discuss recent developments in the Middle East with special attention to the situations in Iran and Iraq. Mark and Kate review the historical backgrounds of the countries of that region, the power struggles by various ethnic, political and religious factions as well as the influence and involvement of...
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WWI Epic: Finding the Lost Battalion
Mark’s guest is Robert J. Laplander who wrote the book, “Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America’s Famous WWI Epic.” They discuss the deep research Laplander did in order to tell the story of the soldiers and their commander, Charles Whittlesey and their grueling ordeal by fire in the Argonne...
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Women in the Civil War
General Jack Mountcastle (USA-Ret.), Ph.D., a history professor at the University of Richmond, joins Mark to discuss the role of women in the American Civil War. While we often focus on the pivotal battles, the armies and the leaders, we tend to overlook the important roles that women played. Whether breaking new ground to serve...
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Vince Dooley: The South Carolina Liberty Trail
Some historians believe that the American Revolution was won in the South. Mark has a conversation with Vince Dooley about the Liberty Trail, the American Battlefield Trust’s path of preservation and interpretation of historical Revolutionary War sites in South Carolina. Besides being a legendary football coach at the University of Georgia, Vince Dooley is an...
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January Historical Events
Often we think that historically, not much has happened in the middle of winter. However, that’s far from the truth. From Charlemagne to Henry VIII, Secession in the Civil War to the Soviets battling the Finns in the snow during WWII, there has been a lot of historical heat generated in January over the centuries....
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Cold War In The Middle East
With the Middle East at the forefront of international news, Mark revisits his conversation with Kate Tietzen about the turmoil in the Middle East during the difficult years following WWII to the final days of the USSR. Cold War studies often focus on events in Europe. However, the Cold War quietly and sometimes loudly raged...
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Wartime Christmas
Mark looks at some examples of how Christmas was observed during wartime over the last three centuries. Merciful nurses making wounded and sick soldiers more comfortable with what limited means they had, ersatz reindeer in the Civil War, and how a grant for leave could be the greatest Christmas gift a soldier could hope to...
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Jefferson Davis: His Final Days and Passing in New Orleans
Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, died in New Orleans on December 6, 1889. Nearing the anniversary of his death, Mark talks with Mrs. Gladys LeBreton, whose grandfather was a friend of Davis’. As a child, Mrs. LeBreton’s mother lived in the Garden District home where Davis stayed and was there when he passed away. Mrs. LeBreton...
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Predicting Pearl Harbor
As the 78th anniversary of Pearl Harbor nears, December 7, Mark revisits his interview with historian Ron Drez. They discuss his book, Predicting Pearl Harbor: Billy Mitchell and the Path to War. Gen. Billy Mitchell recognized the signs and foresaw the eventual showdown between the two nations―eighteen years before the tragedy of Pearl Harbor. Yet...
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Conspiracy Theories: JFK and Pearl Harbor
As the 78th anniversary of Pearl Harbor nears, December 7, Mark revisits his interview with historian Marty Morgan on “Conspiracy theories: JFK and Pearl Harbor.” They discuss Lee Harvey Oswald, the new JFK documents that have been released and conspiracy theories that have revolved around the Pearl Harbor attack. Photo: The USS Arizona burning after the...
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The Civil War’s Environmental Impact
What was the environmental impact of the Civil War? Considering that a battle was a major man-made disaster, someone had to take care of the biological mess that resulted. Countless dead bodies of men, horses and mules and amputated limbs were left behind. Whole armies encamped and left spills of gunpowder, lead and other substances....
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First World War with Gary Sheffield – Part II
As the anniversary of the end of WWI nears, Professor Gary Sheffield, one of Britain’s foremost experts on WWI, returns to offer insightful analysis of the conclusion of the War to End All Wars. Mark and Professor Sheffield discuss America’s participation in the Great War, the end of hostilities, the Armistice of 11 November 1918...
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First World War with Gary Sheffield – Part I
WWI ended November 11, 1918. Reflecting on this anniversary, Mark reprises his discussion with Professor Gary Sheffield, one of Britain’s foremost experts on WWI, who wrote the book, The First World War, published in association with the Imperial War Museum. Mark and Professor Sheffield review the War up until the end and American involvement in...
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Hood’s Texas Brigade
Shortly after organizing on October 22, 1861, John Bell Hood took command of the Texas Brigade. By the end of the Civil War, this unit had fought in all the battles engaged in by the Army of Northern Virginia except Chancellorsville. Mark and Susannah J. Ural, a professor of history at the University of Southern...
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