Of special interest: On September 13, 1814, Baltimore's Fort McHenry withstood 25 hours of bombardment by the British Navy. The following morning, the fort's soldiers hoisted an enormous American flag, a sight that inspired Francis Scott Key to write a poem he titled, "The Star-Spangled Banner." British forces subsequently left the Chesapeake Bay and began gathering their efforts for a campaign against New Orleans. |
Mexican-American War 1846-1848
The Mexican-American War marked the first U.S. armed conflict chiefly fought on foreign soil. It pitted a politically divided and militarily unprepared Mexico against the expansionist-minded administration of U.S. President James K. Polk, who believed the United States had a "manifest destiny" to spread across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. A border skirmish along the Rio Grande started off the fighting and was followed by a series of U.S. victories. When the dust cleared, Mexico had lost about one-third of its territory, including nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. Source: http://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war |
Cold War (1945 - 1991
After World War II, the United States and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its satellite states began a decades-long struggle for supremacy known as the Cold War. Soldiers of the Soviet Union and the United States did not do battle directly during the Cold War. But the two superpowers continually antagonized each other through political maneuvering, military coalitions, espionage, propaganda, arms buildups, economic aid, and proxy wars between other nations. The United States and the Soviet Union also tried to fight the Cold War by demonstrating their power and technology. One example of this was the Arms Race where each side tried to have the best weapons and the most nuclear bombs. The idea was that a large stockpile of weapons would deter the other side from ever attacking. Another example was the Space Race, where each side tried to show that it had the better scientists and technology by accomplishing certain space missions first. |
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In 1989 the Washington State Legislature, at the urging of numerous veterans' organizations, business owners, and citizens, authorized the first ever state-sponsored Korean War Memorial. The project was approved for two purposes: "to express the gratitude of the citizens of the state for all who served in Korea, and to project the spirit of service, willingness to sacrifice, and dedication to freedom in remembering those Washingtonians who lost their lives in the war." Roughly 122,000 Washington soldiers served in Korea, now often referenced to as "the forgotten war" - 532 of these troops were killed.
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On August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had been making threats against Kuwait for some time, but his actual invasion caught most of the world by surprise. The magnitude of the invasion also was a surprise. Those who had expected an attack, such as the commander of U.S. Central Command, Norman Schwarzkopf, expected a limited attack to seize Kuwaiti oil fields. Instead, within a number of hours, Iraqi forces had seized downtown Kuwait City and were headed south toward the Saudi Arabia border.
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The World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. is located on the National Mall, beside the National World War II Memorial. The domed temple was restored in November, 2011. The restoration efforts now allow the memorial to be utilized as a bandstand.
The names of 499 Washingtonians who lost their lives during WWI are inscribed on the base of the memorial. |