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The story is told of a great military captain who, after a full day of battle, sat by a warming fire with several of his officers and began talking over the events of the day with them. He asked them, ‘Who did the best today on the field of battle?’ One officer told of a man who had fought very  bravely all day long, and then just before dusk, had been severely wounded.  Another told of a man who had taken a hit for a fellow soldier, sparing his friend’s life but very possibly losing his own.  Yet another told (read more…)

During the four-week siege of Tientsin, in the June 1900 Boxer Rebellion, Herbert Hoover helped erect barricades around the foreign compound and organized all the able-bodied men into a protective force to man them.  Mrs. Hoover went to work, too–helping set up a hospital, taking her turn nursing the wounded, rationing food and serving tea every afternoon to those on sentry duty.  Like her husband, she remained calm and efficient throughout the crisis, and even seemed to enjoy the excitement. One afternoon, while sitting at home playing solitaire to rest after her work at the hospital, a shell suddenly burst nearby.  She (read more…)

When Teddy Roosevelt was asked to give a speech to the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, on June 2, 1897, readiness was his theme.  He insisted the only way to keep peace was to be ready for war, and the only way to be ready for war was to enlarge the Navy.  It was a rousing, patriotic speech.  The following February, the Maine was blown up, killing 264 sailors and Americans across the land cried, ‘Remember the Maine!’  In April, President McKinley asked Congress to declare war on Spain. Not surprised that he backed the war effort, most Americans (read more…)