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Articles by Chris Heatherly

Posted on Jul 29, 2016 in Front Page Features, History News

Interview: Louis Valiante, WWII P-61 Black Widow Crewman

Interview: Louis Valiante, WWII P-61 Black Widow Crewman

Heatherly: Tell me about your early years. Valiante: “I was born in June 11, 1922. We lost my maternal granddad in 1927. Also my paternal grandmother the same year. They both were our favorite grandparents. I loved them both. I went to Catholic school and the first and second grade were in the same room. I was appointed to read to the first graders while the nun taught the second graders. Then in 1928, my Dad who had been in the World War One, was very sick. He had been mustard gassed and had to have a major operation. He did not go to the Veterans hospital. Our home doctor said he knew a surgeon who would do the operation and my dad would be recuperating at home. My Dad did not go back to work until 1933. Our doctor came to our house twice a day until my Dad got up his stamina. Being a vet he was given a very easy task for the city. Then in...

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Posted on Jul 28, 2016 in Boardgames

Easy Roller Dice

Easy Roller Dice

When Armchair General’s editorial staff inquired if I was interested in reviewing gaming dice from the Easy Roller Dice Company, I leapt at this rather unique assignment. I considered multiple approaches to best fashion this review but my last experience with active gaming was years – truth be told, decades – ago when I rolled the dice over many an enjoyable evening of Axis and Allies or Dungeons and Dragons. The last time I bought my own dice from the local hobby shop I had to color in the numbers by hand with a black crayon. Finally, I hit upon the perfect solution. I turned the dice over to my daughter and introduced her to gaming. The Easy Roller Dice Company website offers a number of gaming accessories including a wide variety of plastic and metal dice sets, roller cups, gaming mats, dice bags and gift cards. The majority of their product line is built around a standard seven piece set of plastic gaming dice consisting of D4, D6,...

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Posted on Oct 2, 2015 in Books and Movies

Drone Warfare: The Development of Unmanned Aerial Conflict – Book Review

Drone Warfare: The Development of Unmanned Aerial Conflict – Book Review

Drone Warfare: The Development of Unmanned Aerial Conflict. Dave Sloggett. Skyhorse Publishing. Hardcover. 249 pages. $24.99. The term “drone” is a word fraught with controversy. One man’s efficient and modern weapon system is another man’s object of terror. Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technology has the power to beguile the user into believing it affords solutions to complex global issues – solutions devoid of the third rail in foreign policy development, namely “boots on the ground.” Author Dave Sloggett’s latest work, Drone Warfare, explores the history and controversy of these aerial platforms and their role in today’s warfare. Sloggett writes from a position of unquestioned expertise having served for decades as a scientific advisor to the British military as well as a strategic advisor to publisher IHS Jane’s. While the reader may picture the iconic Predator drone flying over the endless Afghan mountains, the actual use of drone technology is much more widespread and increasingly available. Contrary to popular belief, drones are not a legacy of the post 9/11 world; their actual genesis began with...

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Posted on Mar 9, 2015 in Books and Movies

Flying Warbirds – Book Review

Flying Warbirds – Book Review

“Flying Warbirds” is a coffee-table book for people who hate coffee-table books. It includes beautiful photos of WWII aircraft, the history and unique features of each model represented, and stories of individual planes within the Flying Heritage Collection.

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Posted on Sep 16, 2014 in Books and Movies

Lion Rampant – Book Review

Lion Rampant – Book Review

“Lion Rampant,” a book of sergeants and privates fighting, living, suffering, laughing and dying at the tip of the Allied spear, is Robert Woollcombe’s engaging memoir of his WWII experiences with the King’s Own Scottish Borderers.

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Posted on Apr 21, 2014 in Books and Movies

Samurai Revolution – Book Review

Samurai Revolution – Book Review

Romulus Hillsbourgh’s “Samurai Revolution” examines the pivotal late Edo and Meiji Periods of Japanese history, when the Western world injected itself into isolationist Japan. It is also serves as a warning for America today.

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Posted on Feb 19, 2014 in Books and Movies

Shooting Victoria – Book Review

Shooting Victoria – Book Review

Paul Thomas Murphy’s Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy is as much a trip though Victorian society as it is an examination of the various attempts to assassinate the queen.

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Posted on Dec 31, 2013 in Books and Movies

Old Enough to Fight – Book Review

“Old Enough to Fight: Canada’s Boy Soldiers in the First World War” focuses on the generally forgotten boys, some as young as 10, who enlisted, trained, deployed, fought and sometimes died as uniformed Canadian soldiers in the bloody years of the Great War.

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Posted on Aug 9, 2013 in Books and Movies

Civil War Battlegrounds – Book Review

“Civil War Battlegrounds – The Illustrated History of the War’s Pivotal Battles and Campaigns” covers 18 key battles. Clearly written and easy to follow, t is a good starting point for readers just beginning to study the war, but serious Civil War historians are unlikely to find new information here.

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Posted on May 15, 2013 in Books and Movies

Those Angry Days – Book Review

“Those Angry Days – Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America’s Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941” examines an interesting, if overlooked, era of American history; more significantly, it explores questions America may face in the near future.

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Posted on Mar 28, 2013 in Books and Movies

The Military Quotation Book – Book Review

The Military Quotation Book; Revised for the 21st Century. Book review. Edited by James Charlton. Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press. 176 pages. $17.99 What does an author say to prospective readers in a review about a book on military quotes? At its essence, The Military Quotation Book is just that—a well-researched collection of over 1,100 sayings and thoughts attributed to famous, and some not so famous, personalities. Quotes are arranged in a diverse number of topics ranging from air bombardment to freedom to speed in war to guerilla warfare. Sadly, there is no index or glossary to assist readers searching for particular speakers or subjects. Several quotes inspire, others strive for humor, and some cause us to reflect on the cost, brutality and horrors of warfare. Presidents and dictators, historians and strategists, poets and playwrights, admirals and generals, civil rights leaders and Hollywood actors all grace the pages of The Military Quotation Book. This is Mr. Charlton’s third edition of The Military Quotation Book, with the previous two hitting...

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Posted on Jul 6, 2012 in War College

USS Texas – Last of Its Kind

USS Texas (BB-35) is the world’s last surviving dreadnought. Commissioned in 1912, the batttleship was involved in both world wars and now stands rests in the Port of Houston.

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