War with the Huns is hell.  The rusty operation of the hangar door ushered in the thin morning wind and dew. Dawn hauled itself over the horizon, where all the world shrank to the sound of passing wind on the airstrip, and the pungent smell of tar.  A Nieuport 17 fighter waited in front of the hanger, where my boots were scuffed with dirt. The sides of the fighter were patched with thin metal sheets, strewn on roughly with nails and a mechanic’s blessing. It was not unlike ca

Women were seen as caretakers in the United States, limiting their occupational choices to homemaker, nurse, teacher, or any other “caring, feminine” role. This was a societal box that Loretta Walsh, however, broke. Before her, women had only worked with the military in unofficial capacities or as nurses rather than attaining a rank. In 1917, the United States Navy required more personnel, and decreed that any “qualified persons” could enlist. This included women, so Loretta

What began as a deadlock in Belgium suddenly turned into one of the most horrific battles of the First World War. The Western Front had been stuck in a stalemate with trenches from the Allied and Central Powers spanning France and Belgium leading up to April 22nd, 1915. Tensions were high in Ypres, Belgium, because if the Germans were able to take the town, they could cut communication and supply lines for the Allies in the region by ending use of the French Channel ports. By