Dave Allen

Does anyone else have mixed feelings about Walter Cronkite? He was a bit of a father figure for me in my youth, and I shared his enthusiasm for the US space program, but he should have kept his opinions to himself after the Tet Offensive in 1968.

May 10 is an interesting date in military history.

On May 10, 1863, General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson passed away as result of complications from being wounded in a friendly fire incident. Less than two months later, the last hopes of the Confederacy vanished on the fields of Gettysburg, and Jackson's absence was conspicuous.

On May 10, 1940, German forces began their invasion of the Low Countries and France.

On May 10, 1972, Randall "Duke" Cunningham became the last US Navy ace flying an F-… Continue

Since when did it become bad practice to arm merchant ships and their crews? "Pirates are generally armed with assault rifles and, increasingly, rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Modern ships' crews are usually unarmed for a number of reasons, among them laws that prevent armed vessels from docking in the ports of many countries."

What silliness. The ONLY way to stop piracy is to stop and KILL enough pirates until the remaining would-be pirates believe they have more to lose than to gain by a… Continue

The hunger begins today. I'm talking literal, constant, long-term hunger. If you look at some of my photos, you can see that my weight tends to vary from time to time. Currently, I am 40-50 lbs. heavier than I want to be. In the past, I have been able to lose that much weight in 6 months or so, but it requires being HUNGRY. I've learned that no matter what foods I eat, how much I exercise, when or how much I eat, the only way I can be sure that I am losing weight is if I am hungry. That means cu… Continue

I frequently travel on business, or for family reasons, and enjoy finding and visiting sites of military history interest -- museums, battlefield sites, etc. However, all too often I have learned, after completing my trip, that I have driven within a few miles of a place I really would like to have visited, but missed.

What would REALLY be cool would be an online application that would find sites along the way (or some defined distance off-route) when I am planning a trip. For example, I could… Continue