On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, at Pearl Harbor, the Navy is expected to announce that a $12.5 billion aircraft carrier will be named after Mess Attendant 2nd Class Doris Miller, the first African American to receive the Navy Cross for valor for his actions on December 7, 1941, when he manned a machine gun on the USS West Virginia to fire back at attacking Japanese planes.
"I think that Doris Miller is an American hero simply because of what he represents as a young man going beyond the call of what's expected," said Doreen Ravenscroft, president of Cultural Arts of Waco (Texas) and team leader for the Doris Miller Memorial.
In 1941 an African American was not allowed to man a gun in the Navy, and as far as rank was concerned, "he could not really get above a Messman level," Ravenscroft said. Miller's actions started to turn the tide, she added.
"Without him really knowing, he actually was a part of the civil rights movement because he changed the thinking in the Navy," Ravenscroft said Friday.
"In the end, the fact that he didn't think about what could be repercussions - that wasn't a thought when, at the time and in war, he did what was needed in his way to defend the United States of America," she said.
He will be the first African American to have an aircraft carrier named after him, according to Navy records. The big ship is not expected to be home-ported in Hawaii.
Two of Miller's nieces are expected to be at Pearl Harbor for the announcement, including 66-year-old Flosetta Miller.
Ravenscroft said, "Dorie" was a nickname that the Navy gave Miller, while "his family is extremely particular that he be called Doris Miller." USS Miller, a destroyer escort, previously had been named in honor of the Pearl Harbor veteran.
"He headed for his battle station, the antiaircraft battery magazine a mid-ship, only to discover that torpedo damage had wrecked it, so he went on deck," the Navy account states. "Because of his physical prowess, he was assigned to carry wounded fellow sailors to places of greater safety. Then an officer ordered him to the bridge to aid the mortally wounded captain of the ship. He subsequently manned a .50- caliber Browning antiaircraft machine gun until he ran out of ammunition and was ordered to abandon ship."
In high school, Miller was a fullback, and on the West Virginia, he was the ship's heavyweight boxing champion. Miller had not been trained to operate the machine gun.
"It wasn't hard. I just pulled the trigger, and she worked fine. I had watched the others with these guns. I guess I fired her for about 15 minutes," he said later, believing he "got" one of the Japanese planes.
Miller was born in Waco on October 12, 1919. He enlisted in the Navy in September 1939 as a mess attendant.
Miller served aboard the USS Indianapolis from December 1941 to May 1943, the Navy said. He was then assigned to the escort carrier Liscome Bay. Miller died on the ship when it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on November 24, 1943, during the invasion of the Gilbert Islands, according to the Navy.
"He headed for his battle station, the antiaircraft battery magazine a mid-ship, only to discover that torpedo damage had wrecked it, so he went on deck," the Navy account states. "Because of his physical prowess, he was assigned to carry wounded fellow sailors to places of greater safety. Then an officer ordered him to the bridge to aid the mortally wounded captain of the ship. He subsequently manned a .50- caliber Browning antiaircraft machine gun until he ran out of ammunition and was ordered to abandon ship."
In high school, Miller was a fullback, and on the West Virginia, he was the ship's heavyweight boxing champion. Miller had not been trained to operate the machine gun.
"It wasn't hard. I just pulled the trigger, and she worked fine. I had watched the others with these guns. I guess I fired her for about 15 minutes," he said later, believing he "got" one of the Japanese planes.
Miller was born in Waco on October 12, 1919. He enlisted in the Navy in September 1939 as a Mess Attendant.
Miller served aboard the USS Indianapolis from December 1941 to May 1943, the Navy said. He was then assigned to the escort carrier Liscome Bay. Miller died on the ship when it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on November 24, 1943, during the invasion of the Gilbert Islands, according to the Navy.
The Navy has so far ordered four new Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers - the Ford, John F. Kennedy, Enterprise, and CVN 81, which has not been named - as successors to Nimitz-class vessels.
The 1,092-foot Fords feature a new nuclear power plant, a redesigned island, electromagnetic catapults, improved weapons movement, and an enhanced flight deck 
capable of increased aircraft sortie rates, according to shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries.
The Navy has been fixing problems with weapons elevators on the USS Gerald R. Ford, which was commissioned in 2017. CVN 81 has a procurement cost of $12.5 billion. It is expected to be delivered in 2032.
According to a 2019 Congressional Research Service report, during World War II, the War Department issued separate draft calls for black and white service members and maintained segregated training and unit assignments.
"The manpower needs of the Korean War (1950-1953) catalyzed racial integration in the services," the report said. "Under pressure to rapidly build up and deploy forces, the Army lacked the time and resources to continue to operate separate training pipelines for black and white soldiers. On the battlefield, Army and Marine Corps commanders began assigning black soldiers to replace losses in white combat units by necessity." African Americans began commanding ships, submarines, and shore establishments in the 1960s and 1970s, the Navy said.
Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, personally presented the Navy Cross to Miller on board the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise in Pearl Harbor on May 27, 1942.
Miller's Navy Cross Citation
"For distinguished devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and disregard for his own personal safety during the attack on the fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. While at the side of his captain on the bridge, Miller, despite enemy strafing and bombing and in the face of a serious fire, assisted in moving his captain, who had been mortally wounded, to a place of greater safety, and later manned and operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until ordered to leave the bridge."
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, is one of the most well-known events of the Second World War. Less well-known is the Doolittle Raid, in which American B-25 bombers bombed the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe on April 18, 1942, in response to Pearl Harbor.
Tragically, the Japanese reprisal for the Doolittle Raid - the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign - is barely remembered today, even though it cost 250,000 Chinese civilians their lives.
After the shock of the unexpected Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had worn off, the United States decided to strike back at Japan.
Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) devised a daring plan to strike at the Japanese home islands by launching B-25 bombers from Navy aircraft carriers, which had never been done before.
On April 18, 1942, Doolittle led the raid on the Japanese homeland, bombing Japanese cities with 16 B-25 bombers. The raid, totally unexpected by the Japanese, was a success. Most of the bombers, after passing over Japan, landed in the Chinese provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi.
Much of China was occupied by Japan at this time, and as a result of the brutality of their invasion, the Japanese occupiers were much hated by the Chinese. Consequently, local Chinese peasants helped many of the American airmen after they crash-landed their bombers on Chinese soil.
What followed was on a par with the Rape of Nanjing in terms of violence, bloodshed, and savagery. Japanese troops swept through the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi. They managed to capture eight US Airmen, of whom they executed three. The worst horrors, though, were suffered by the Chinese civilian population.
When Japanese troops arrived in a town or village in Zhejiang and Jiangxi, they presumed guilt and complicity with the US Airmen on the part of the entire village. This applied to men, women, and children all the way down to domestic animals, regardless of whether any US Airmen had even been anywhere near the settlement.
The sentence the Japanese troops imposed for this crime of suspected complicity was death.
The atrocities committed en-masse by the Japanese forces were witnessed by a number of foreign Christian missionaries who lived in some of these villages and towns. One, Father Wendelin Dunker, described the Japanese horrors with chilling clarity: "they shot any man, woman, child, cow, hog, or just about anything that moved, they raped any woman from the ages of 10 - 65, and before burning the town they thoroughly looted it."
On June 11, the Japanese troops moved from villages and small towns to the city of Nanchang, which had a population of around 50,000.
After surrounding Nanchang so that none of the inhabitants could escape, they took the city in an orgy of bloodshed, rape, murder, and looting. The Japanese troops rounded up 800 women and imprisoned them in a warehouse, in which they were repeatedly raped. Men were summarily killed on the streets, and the city was looted.
The Japanese occupied the city for around a month in a reign of barbarous violence and horrific bloodshed and brutality, before burning the entire city down. The process of burning Nanchang took three days; the troops wanted to make sure that they left nothing of it standing but charred rubble. Other towns and cities in these provinces were taken in a similar fashion, with the Japanese troops laying waste to everything and conducting a campaign of wanton terror, destruction, and looting. In some regions, eighty percent of all homes were destroyed, and the majority of the population were left destitute.
The Japanese troops who participated in the Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign did not stop at rape, torture, and murder, though. In August, members of Japan's secret biological and chemical weapons division, Unit 731, attacked the region in a more insidious but equally devastating manner.
Realizing that once they had left the area, it would be reoccupied by both Chinese troops and civilians, Unit 731 poisoned wells, springs, and water sources with cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and paratyphoid bacteria. They also infected food and water rations with these pathogens, leaving them where hungry Chinese troops and civilians would find them.
They even released plague-carrying fleas into the fields. All in all, it is estimated that 250,000 Chinese civilians lost their lives in this campaign of wanton brutality and bloodshed. Yet another tragedy of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign was that few of the troops and officers involved were ever prosecuted for the egregious war crimes that were committed during this campaign.
Field Marshal Shunroku Hata, who orchestrated the campaign, was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment but was paroled in 1954.
Perhaps equally sadly, this campaign of terror has largely been forgotten in the West's remembering of the Second World War.
War movies are great to watch and keep us on the edge of our seats with each powerful explosion, hidden sniper attack, and scandalous missions, but the U.S. Military has been shrouded in myth for too long. It’s time civilians quit believing the silly hype and learn more about the protectors of this nation. It would not hurt to ask a member of the military about the service instead of relying on multimillion-dollar Hollywood productions and music videos.
Myth One
You need to be a perfect physical specimen to join the military.
Surprisingly, enough, not every single member of the military has a 20/20 vision. If you have ever seen the recruits at basic training, you would think you walked into a Mr. Magoo cartoon. You will make you wish you were blessed with the genes of perfect vision, although it is definitely not required.
Myth Two
You would NEVER survive boot camp
The truth is, more than 90% of recruits survive boot camp, and they are normal people. Chances are you will not be crying the first two weeks from the stress or ironing and folding your uniform. Boot camp is a glorified version of fat camp the government pays you to attend.
Myth Three
Soldiers get drunk and party when they are not out fighting
Drinking, fighting, and partying in the barracks is prohibited. Soldiers do not spend their time playing beer pong and taking shots; they are usually washing vehicles and maintaining equipment.
Myth Four
Soldiers are secret assassins
Not every soldier who joins the U.S Military is recruited as a secret assassin in a foreign mission. Soldiers are attending college on their own time and maintaining military jobs similar to the rest of us.
Myth Five
Service members become robots with guns
Service members are taught discipline, uniformity, and leadership. They can actually function in society outside the gates of the base and off the battlefield without wanting to explode or shoot something.
Myth Six
All service members go into combat
Not every single service member is initiated into the service with trips overseas to fight in the wars. We are surrounded by service members at home and abroad who play vital roles in supporting our troops and civilians without the use of guns, bombs, and planes. Some members are armed with a computer mouse.
For every single soldier in combat, there are approximately 2.5 soldiers behind the scenes in supportive roles, but they do not make movies about cooks and mechanics.
Myth Seven
Vets are homeless, jobless, and crazy
Vets returning home from the service are not all homeless and on the verge of mental disaster. Although PTSD is very real, the likelihood of every vet you meet having a traumatizing war story is not exactly high. Veterans of past and current wars often survive the boring civilian lives 
we all must endure without a mental breakdown. Most vets maintain families, jobs, and homes once they reach military retirement and leave the service without the use of stocked medicine cabinets and whiskey-filled glasses.
Hopefully, people have learned it is actually okay to approach a member of our military without being attacked or bombarded with war stories. Our military men and women are normal people with successful careers, families, and scars from hot pans and childhood stunts, not necessarily always from roadside bombs and shrapnel.
It seems that the American people can agree on almost nothing these days. Almost. There is one topic on which they all agree, and that is that people and government must move heaven and earth, if necessary, to get home the remains of any soldier who fought in its wars, whether that be World War II, Korea, or Vietnam.
On that score, Americans are largely united in their wish to see men who fought buried where they should be, where family and friends and others with whom they served can go to pay their respects.
That's what happened recently for Air Force Colonel Roy Knight, whose remains were at long last flown back to Dallas, Texas, during the first week of August. Knight had, at long last, been identified by the United States Department of Defence (DOD) Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing In Action (MIA) Accounting Agency in February 2019.
He was only 36 years old when he died but had already received a Purple Heart and a Silver Star for his service. When his plane touched down, a journalist from Canada, Jackson Proskow, happened to be at the airport.
He was traveling to Washington, D.C., where he is Bureau Chief for Global News, and he heard an announcement over the speakers at Dallas Love Field Airport about Knight's return. He decided to go public with the event on his Twitter feed and captured the landing in real-time.
"As we wait at the gate," Proskow said, "we're told that (Colonel) Knight is coming home to Dallas." Folks at the airport stood quietly in honor of the fallen soldier.
Knight was shot down while on a mission over the Ho Chi Min Trail in late May 1967. Initially, he was listed MIA, but in 1974 the Air Force acknowledged that he was, in all probability, killed in action (KIA).
According to Proscow's feed, the entire, busy airport came to a halt to pay tribute and honor the Colonel. "When he (Knight) left from this very airport to go fight in Vietnam, his five-year-old son came to the airfield to wave goodbye. It was the last time he would see his father alive." In a profound symmetry, Knight's son is the very pilot who flew Knight's remains home to their final and proper resting place.
Proskow said on Twitter that airport staff lined up on the tarmac to give Knight a hero's welcome, and civilians crowded at the windows to watch the procession. Knight's coffin, draped in an American flag, was brought off the plane by U.S. soldiers, all dressed in uniform. "Incredible moment to watch," Proskow said. "The entire airport fell silent."
Knight first served as an instructor pilot, then got orders to go to Vietnam to serve. He fought with the 602nd Fighter Squadron out of Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base beginning in January 1967. Four months later, his plane was shot down.
The U.S. military has never stopped seeking its MIA, POWs, and KIA soldiers, and has worked tirelessly to bring home remains whenever possible.
After the Paris Peace Accord was signed off on in 1973, 591 POWs were returned home immediately. But according to U.S. DOD figures, as of January 2019, 1,558 military and civilian personnel are still listed as missing.
That statistic is a grim reminder of the American involvement in a war that was deeply unpopular with the country's citizens almost from the outset. Protests were rampant in every major city, and three Presidents - Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon - were beleaguered by the problems caused by U.S. involvement in the conflict.
But once in a while, like on the occasion of Colonel Knight's homecoming, the nation stands together and puts aside its problems, differences, and concerns, to welcome home a man who gave his life for his country.
In more modern times, these regular armies recognized a further need: to move away from Armed Forces made up of conscripts to a truly professional volunteer force that was highly trained and motivated.
Nowadays, the Armed Forces in 108 countries are made up purely of volunteers, and another four countries intend to follow suit and do away with conscription in the near future.
Countries that already have a volunteer Armed Forces know that in order to ensure their soldiers are ready for any eventuality, constant training is of paramount importance. Consequently, they need to set aside sizeable areas of land, sea, and airspace, as well as provide substantial resources to create large scale training areas.
Take, for example, the British Army's Lulworth Ranges in Dorset, England. Established in 1917, it covers around 7,000 acres and is used for AFV (Armored Fighting Vehicle) Gunnery practice.
The Army also has access to Salisbury Plain, where a 150 square mile training area can create a highly realistic combat environment.
Furthermore, military exercises offer the opportunity for realism and cooperation on a massive scale, like the annual "Joint Warrior" exercise. This is a British Tri-Service multinational exercise that involves air, land, and sea units. It is the largest military exercise in Europe and prides itself on creating a complex, relevant, and realistic set of challenges.
The 2019 exercise is to be based off the coast of Scotland and will involve 35 warships, five submarines, and 59 aircraft and helicopters. Over 10,000 military personnel from NATO and the UK's closest allies will be involved, and the exercise will last for two weeks.
But this level of intense training comes at a cost - and not just in terms of time and finance. According to the UK Ministry of Defence, 143 UK Armed Forces deaths have occurred while on training or exercise between January 1, 2000, and August 31, 2018.
In comparison, the British Armed Forces lost 47 men during the Gulf War that ran from 1990 to 1991 (Operation Desert Storm). It would seem that the correct type of ongoing training must be as deadly as war itself.
It all comes back to that adage of having to train hard to fight easy.
The Americans go a step further in terms of both scale and realism with such military exercises as its Red Flag exercises, which have been held since 1975 by the USAF (United States Air Force).
These are two-week-long advanced aerial combat training exercises that are held several times a year. Their purpose is to provide realistic air-combat training to military pilots and their crews. These exercises are held in Nevada and Alaska.
Each year, it is reckoned over 500 aircraft are involved in the Red Flag exercises and carry out around an average of 40 sorties each. Such maneuvers offer valuable experience to thousands of aircrews and ground support personnel.
On top of this, both the US Air Force and Navy use Aggressor Squadrons of US aircraft camouflaged to look and trained to act like enemy aircraft. These are used to help improve US aircraft air-to-air proficiency skills and teach ACM (Air Combat Maneuvering) to a higher level. Currently, such aircraft as the F-16N are used to represent the Russian MiG-29 Fulcrum.
But what about on the ground? Well, some US Army units like the 4th Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment based in Southern Germany have improvised and created local training schemes using converted M113 Armored personnel carriers, which have been turned into mock Russian tanks.
These are classed as "VISMODs" (Visually modified vehicles). Despite adding a turret, a fake gun barrel, non-standard camouflage, and body molding, the end result may not look like any NATO MBT (Main Battle Tank), but nor does it look like the T-72B3 Russian tank. In fact, the vehicle ends up looking more like an Australian M113A1 Fire Support Vehicle of the 1970s.
The VISMOD M113 uses an improved Hoffman training device for added realism. This device is located above its fake gun and is designed to replicate both the sound and smoke plume of a tank gun firing. The Hoffman device resembles a typical tank multiple grenade launcher.
This system has not been without controversy, as there was a common problem with the canisters prematurely detonating for no apparent reason. The new, improved system used on the VISMOD M113 appears to have largely cured this issue.
At the National Training Centre (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California, back in the United States, they carry out much larger scale exercises using VISMODs. They even incorporate aerial VISMODs units such as UH-1 Hueys helicopters converted to look like Russian Mil Mi-8.
For a long time, M551 Sheridan light tanks were used to represent Soviet armored opposition forces (OPFOR). They were modified to resemble Russian-made T-72 and T-80 tanks. Unlike the VISMOD M113, they bore an uncanny resemblance to the vehicles they were meant to portray.
Less successful was when they were used to portray Russian BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles. The fundamental problem was that the Sheridan was a tank with a crew of four, whereas the BMP-1 was designed to carry eight passengers as well as a three-person crew - something the Sheridan simply could not do.
As a result, you had the ludicrous situation of Sheridans converted to look like BMP-1s with American trucks following behind them carrying the infantry element that was meant to be inside the VISMOD Sheridans. This ruined the veneer of realism, which was the whole point of the exercise.
After much service in the VISMOD role, the Sheridans were retired in 2003 as these 35-year-old vehicles became harder to maintain. Now, Humvees utility vehicles, M113 armored personnel carriers, M-2 Bradley Infantry fighting vehicles, and M1 Abrams tanks VISMODs are used to portray the enemy forces.
The emphasis at the NTC has changed over the years, moving away from the focus on training for large scale armored battles in the 1980s and 90s to concentrate more on urban warfare and counterinsurgency.
One feature of the NTC facility today is 12 mock "villages." These villages are highly realistic, being filled with all the appropriate buildings like hotels, government buildings, religious structures, and markets. The largest village consists of 585 buildings.
All are populated with foreign language speaking actors portraying various roles like government officials, local police, local military, villagers, street vendors, and even insurgents.
The training experience is further enhanced by the widespread use of UAS (simulated Unmanned Aircraft System), including Drones. In addition, MILES (multiple integrated laser engagement system) is used, which employs lasers and sensors to accurately replicate the firing characteristics and hit probability of any given main armament.
The NTC is complimented by the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, Louisiana, which uses VISMODs to improve the units' combat readiness. The JRTC focus is to put forward training scenarios of particular relevance to a given unit and offer exercises as mission rehearsals for forthcoming operations.
As we enter the second decade of the 21st Century, the American Armed Forces - despite budgetary challenges - continue to see the need for ongoing realistic and comprehensive training environments and regimes.
As the US General Colin Powell once said: "There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure."
Sam White was a dyed-in-the-wool Civil War fanatic. He was never happier than when he was searching for Civil War relics or restoring those that he had found.
Sadly, 12 years ago, in February 2008, his hobby cost him his life, when a cannonball that he was restoring exploded, killing him instantly.
Sam, who lived in Chester, a pretty suburb of Richmond in Virginia, would scour the countryside around his home looking for buttons, bullets, flags, and even artillery shells that have lain in the earth undisturbed for 140 years.
His desire for Civil War artifacts also drove him to don scuba gear and search the rivers for any interesting bits and pieces.
Harry Ridgeway, a fellow relic hunter, said that there are very few places in the Southern States of American that were not battlefields during the Civil War. He shared the thrill of finding relics with Sam and thousands of other Civil War buffs.
Back in February 2008, 53-year-old Sam White very sadly lost his life while trying to restore a cannonball. One hundred forty years after it was fired, the explosives contained within the ball were still powerful enough to blast a piece of shrapnel a quarter of a mile, where it landed on the porch of a house.
Colonel John F. Biemeck, who retired from the Army Ordnance Corps, said that merely dropping one on the ground is not enough to make it explode.
White's death sent shock waves through the very close-knit community of Civil War relic hunters. It also brought the issue of Civil War munitions and the safety of those munitions into the public sphere.
There are still tons of this type of explosive littered around Civil War battlefields. Yet, explosives experts have said that the odds of one of these artillery pieces exploding are extraordinary.
In the period 1861 to 1865, Confederate troops from the southern states and Union forces from the north blasted an estimated 1.5 million artillery pieces at each other, some on land and some on the water.
Journals from that period indicate that as many as one in five of the fired pieces were duds and did not explode on contact.
There are many cannonballs and other artillery shells recovered regularly. In March of this year, a substantial 8-inch mortar shell weighing 44-pounds was retrieved from the site of the 292-day Siege of Petersburg. This shell was safely detonated.
The cannonballs and other artillery shells of this period were filled with a mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal, commonly known as black powder.
Black powder does not explode easily, and it needs a combination of friction and extremely high temperature - 572°F to cause it to detonate. Sam's friends never saw anything to give cause for concern over his work in restoring cannonballs.
Sam's family often watched him work on these restorations, and it is estimated that he had restored around 1,600 shells for collectors.
Jimmy Blankenship, the curator and resident historian at the Petersburg battlefield, said that Sam knew Civil War munitions very well.
As this was an explosion, there was a full investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Police that attended the scene examined the shrapnel and concluded that it was an explosion by a Civil War munition that caused his death.
White was working on the restoration and disarming of a 75-pound, 9-inch naval shell. These contained a potent explosive, that was many times more destructive than that used in shells used on land, along with a complex fuse.
There has been speculation about what White was trying to do when he died. Colonel Biemeck and Peter George, who co-authored a book on munitions used during the Civil War, suspect that White was using a drill or a grinder to remove debris from the cannonball.
The intricate fuse design may also have led White to incorrectly conclude that there was no powder left in the ball.
This, in conjunction with the shower of sparks from the drill, could have been enough to cause the cannonball to explode.
As this was a naval shell, the ball would have been watertight, as it was designed to fly over the water at high speed and strike an enemy ship along the waterline. This protective cover would have ensured that the black powder inside was protected from degradation by the elements.
Sam White's widow, Brenda, convinced that her husband did nothing wrong and that there was an inherent manufacturing defect in the shell that he could not possibly have known about. She said that he had disarmed the shell before it exploded.
Following Sam's death, the neighboring houses were evacuated, while experts removed all the artillery pieces from his collection and detonated them safely.
No Ordinary Dog is the powerful true story of a SEAL Team Operator and military dog handler, and the dog that saved his life.
Two dozen Navy SEALs descended on Osama bin Laden's compound in May 2011. After the mission, only one name was made public: Cairo, a Belgian Malinois and military working dog. This is Cairo's story, and that of his Handler, Will Chesney, a SEAL Team Operator whose life would be irrevocably tied to Cairo's.
Starting in 2008, when Will was introduced to the SEAL canine program, he and Cairo worked side by side, depending on each other for survival on hundreds of critical operations in the war on terrorism. But their bond transcended their service. Then, in 2011, the call came: Pick up your dog and get back to Virginia. Now.
What followed were several weeks of training for a secret mission. It soon became clear that this was no ordinary operation. Cairo was among the first members of the U.S. military on the ground in Pakistan as part of Operation Neptune Spear, which resulted in the successful elimination of bin Laden.
As Cairo settled into a role as a reliable "spare dog," Will went back to his job as a DEVGRU operator until a grenade blast in 2013 left him with a brain injury and PTSD. Unable to participate in further missions, he suffered from crippling migraines, chronic pain, memory issues, and depression. Modern medicine provided only modest relief. Instead, it was up to Cairo to save Will's life once more - and then up to Will to be there when Cairo needed him the most.
Reader Reviews
I am one of the people fortunate enough to know Will Chesney, and very lucky to have spent a little time with the 'retired' Cairo. I've said many times that I don't really think I KNOW Will, which is kinda sad/unfortunate because I met him 6+ years ago. I'm so grateful for this incredible book as I've gotten to know a wonderful young man, the real man, the man he doesn't talk about, himself!!
Will doesn't talk about what he's been through, the things he's seen, or the heartache he's endured. I've heard him talk about Cairo on numerous occasions, that's a part of him he's always wanted to share!! You can't keep a lid on that kind of love!! I'm only halfway thru the book, and I've cried (sobbed too), cringed, smiled, and laughed a little! I like that Will has incorporated his early years, BUDS training, his unimaginable trust, bond, love, loyalty, and devotion to Cairo!! So looking forward to reading more, to see where he goes next!!!
Will, I love you and will be forever grateful for your service, Cairo's service, and the many sacrifices you've both endured for our country!! I pray for your continued good health!! Thank you, Will, for putting your story out there for all of us to share what most of us could never begin to imagine!! Love and many blessings to you always.
~Jean
This book is absolutely outstanding! It's like Marley and me, but with Navy SEALs. I was quite literally laughing while I was crying half the time. It's beautifully written and an amazing story about the friendship between a military working dog and his Handler. Plus, I'm always fascinated with any insight into the Osama bin Laden raid. It's a great departure from all the self-aggrandizing Navy seal books out there. It's obvious Chesney had a special connection with this dog and doesn't want the limelight. This is all about Cairo.
~W.S.
I didn't know what to expect from this book, other than I love dogs, and Cairo's eyes on the front of the book stole my heart. The introduction was the best I have ever read for sincerity and compassion from a dog lover. Navy SEAL training explanation took and kept me right there with them. I loved every minute of it! I am not ashamed that I shed many tears.
I have purchased the book for a fellow dog lover, who now has cancer, for a gift, and know that he will enjoy reading it, having had several really special dogs. I know the book will bring him joy!
I applaud the authors, and "Cheese" is to be rewarded for a job really WELL DONE!
I am a veteran, and my heart goes out to this Handler!
~Rebecca Wolfe
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Will Chesney served in the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group as an operator and dog handler.
He participated in Operation Neptune Spear, which resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden.
Chesney received a Silver Star and a Purple Heart, and now helps veterans who have suffered a traumatic brain injury.
"I think that Doris Miller is an American hero simply because of what he represents as a young man going beyond the call of what's expected," said Doreen Ravenscroft, president of Cultural Arts of Waco (Texas) and team leader for the Doris Miller Memorial.
Two of Miller's nieces are expected to be at Pearl Harbor for the announcement, including 66-year-old Flosetta Miller.
"It wasn't hard. I just pulled the trigger, and she worked fine. I had watched the others with these guns. I guess I fired her for about 15 minutes," he said later, believing he "got" one of the Japanese planes.
capable of increased aircraft sortie rates, according to shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries.
After the shock of the unexpected Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had worn off, the United States decided to strike back at Japan.
What followed was on a par with the Rape of Nanjing in terms of violence, bloodshed, and savagery. Japanese troops swept through the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi. They managed to capture eight US Airmen, of whom they executed three. The worst horrors, though, were suffered by the Chinese civilian population.
On June 11, the Japanese troops moved from villages and small towns to the city of Nanchang, which had a population of around 50,000.
Realizing that once they had left the area, it would be reoccupied by both Chinese troops and civilians, Unit 731 poisoned wells, springs, and water sources with cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and paratyphoid bacteria. They also infected food and water rations with these pathogens, leaving them where hungry Chinese troops and civilians would find them.
Myth Two
Myth Six
we all must endure without a mental breakdown. Most vets maintain families, jobs, and homes once they reach military retirement and leave the service without the use of stocked medicine cabinets and whiskey-filled glasses.
On that score, Americans are largely united in their wish to see men who fought buried where they should be, where family and friends and others with whom they served can go to pay their respects.
Knight was shot down while on a mission over the Ho Chi Min Trail in late May 1967. Initially, he was listed MIA, but in 1974 the Air Force acknowledged that he was, in all probability, killed in action (KIA).
The U.S. military has never stopped seeking its MIA, POWs, and KIA soldiers, and has worked tirelessly to bring home remains whenever possible.
Countries that already have a volunteer Armed Forces know that in order to ensure their soldiers are ready for any eventuality, constant training is of paramount importance. Consequently, they need to set aside sizeable areas of land, sea, and airspace, as well as provide substantial resources to create large scale training areas.
The 2019 exercise is to be based off the coast of Scotland and will involve 35 warships, five submarines, and 59 aircraft and helicopters. Over 10,000 military personnel from NATO and the UK's closest allies will be involved, and the exercise will last for two weeks.
Each year, it is reckoned over 500 aircraft are involved in the Red Flag exercises and carry out around an average of 40 sorties each. Such maneuvers offer valuable experience to thousands of aircrews and ground support personnel.
This system has not been without controversy, as there was a common problem with the canisters prematurely detonating for no apparent reason. The new, improved system used on the VISMOD M113 appears to have largely cured this issue.
The training experience is further enhanced by the widespread use of UAS (simulated Unmanned Aircraft System), including Drones. In addition, MILES (multiple integrated laser engagement system) is used, which employs lasers and sensors to accurately replicate the firing characteristics and hit probability of any given main armament.
Sadly, 12 years ago, in February 2008, his hobby cost him his life, when a cannonball that he was restoring exploded, killing him instantly.
There are still tons of this type of explosive littered around Civil War battlefields. Yet, explosives experts have said that the odds of one of these artillery pieces exploding are extraordinary.
The cannonballs and other artillery shells of this period were filled with a mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal, commonly known as black powder.
There has been speculation about what White was trying to do when he died. Colonel Biemeck and Peter George, who co-authored a book on munitions used during the Civil War, suspect that White was using a drill or a grinder to remove debris from the cannonball.
No Ordinary Dog is the powerful true story of a SEAL Team Operator and military dog handler, and the dog that saved his life.
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