16 year old German soldier crying after being captured by the Allies, 1945

 

This image of Hans-Georg Henke shows not only the pain of war, but the terror that comes with being a soldier. As hardened as battle renders someone, inside they’re frightened that the next mortar shell has their name on it.

16 is far too young to be drafted into battle, but it’s the only thing that Henke could do to take care of his mother. He joined the Luftwaffe when he was 15 and served in the anti-air squad.

Varying stories about Henke claim that he was either upset that he was captured by American forces, or that he was having a panic attack, but either way it’s clear that he was far too young to deal with the enormity of the situation.

Harriet Tubman's Last Portrait, 1911

 Harriet Tubman was a special kind of person. Not only was she incredibly smart, but she was brave, and knew that she was put on this Earth to make sure every person of color had a chance to live a free life.

After running away from her plantation in 1844 Tubman resolved to return to the south as often as she could in order to help rescue anyone who was brave enough to ride with her, even when she had a $40,000 reward on her head. All in all she made 19 trips to slave country 1860, making her one of the most important figures of the civil war.

Following the war she settled down in Auburn, New York, where she spent the rest of her life. She passed away in 1913 at the age of 93.

Berlin 1961, Escape to the West

 When the Berlin Wall went up, splitting east and west Germany, it felt as if the country would never come back together. Border police like the man stationed here were tasked with taking out anyone who attempted to escape to the west, but that just made the border police themselves want to escape.

On August 15, 1961, 19 year old Conrad Schumann put a plan worthy of the cinema into action. After contacting the police in West Germany he arranged for a car to wait for him on the other side of the barbed wire fence he was guarding. At 4 p.m. he jumped the fence and barreled into the car, by the time the other guards turned around he was already gone.

Schumann spent the rest of 1961 in a refugee center before moving to Bavaria. His story inspired so many of those in East Berlin to seek their own freedom.

Mr.Rogers breaking the color barrier by inviting Officer Clemmons to join him to cool his feet in a pool, 1969

 If you spent your childhood watching Mr. Rogers (and really, who didn’t?) then you remember. Officer Clemmons. He was a kind hearted police officer who often stopped by the neighborhood to check in and see how everyone was doing.

When Clemmons appeared on the program in 1969 it was the first time that a black character had a recurring role on a children’s series. Even though this was a huge deal, something that established a positive portrayal of a black authority figure on television, Clemmons was unsure about accepting the role. He explained:

Fred came to me and said, ‘I have this idea, you could be a police officer.’ That kind of stopped me in my tracks. I grew up in the ghetto. I did not have a positive opinion of police officers. Policemen were sicking police dogs and water hoses on people. And I really had a hard time putting myself in that role. So I was not excited about being Officer Clemmons at all.

On February 12, 1946, hours after being honorably discharged from the United States Army, Isaac Woodard was attacked while still in uniform by South Carolina police as he was taking a bus home.

 It’s truly horrible to see something like this, a man who served his country honorably beaten and blinded. It’s sickening. While riding the bus from Georgia to North Carolina on February 12, 1946, Sgt. Woodard was beaten so badly by the South Carolina police that he was permanently blinded.

Woodard’s assault occurred after he asked his bus driver if he could use the restroom at a scheduled stop. The driver cursed at him and kicked him off the bus at the next stop. There, the Batesburg, South Carolina chief of police was waiting to carry out a beating.

After he was beaten, Woodard was arrested for drunken and disorderly conduct, fined $50, and he was refused medical treatment. Woodard took the local chief of police, Lynwood Shull, to trial, but Shull was cleared of any wrongdoing. In response Woodard said:

The Right One hasn’t tried him yet... I’m not mad at anybody... I just feel bad. That’s all. I just feel bad.

A Women Air Force Service Pilot during World War 2

 Now this is a cool shot. During World War II, the WASPs (that’s Women Airforce Service Pilots) were tasked with taking noncombat military flights, making them the first women to take charge of U.S. military aircraft. There were about 1,100 of them in all.

The WASPs logged more than 60 million miles in the skky behind every possible military aircraft. They were living proof that women can do everything that men can - and look better doing it.

After England insured a victory over Germany in December 1944 the WASP program was dismantled, but people never forgot the importance that these women played in the final World War.

Flight Sergeant James Hyde with mascot dog "Dingo." Hyde was killed when his Spitfire was shot down by German fighters near Nijmegen, Holland, on 25 September 1944

 To be a pilot during wartime is to look death in the face and dare it to give you a try. It’s not a task for the faint a heart, and it’s one of those positions that almost insures loss of life or at the very least an injury.

Sergeant James Hyde gave his life fighting for freedom during World War II, and even if you ignore the fact that he had to leave his little doggo buddy in the care of someone else it’s sad to think that his family was never able to see him again. The knowledge that Hyde is forever a war hero must have brought some solace, but it’s still heartbreaking to think about all the men we lost during such an awful war.

Annie Edson Taylor

 

 Annie Edson Taylor had hoped to become rich with a unique publicity stunt. She planned to ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel. She has a barrel custom built for her that was water tight and padded. She even sent the barrel over the falls with a cat in it as a trial run and, to her delight and the cat’s, the feline survived the plunge. So on October 24, 1901, the 63-year old former teacher climbed in the barrel and had her friends secure the lid. She was left adrift just above the falls where the current would pull her over. An awaiting boat pulled her out immediately after she went over the falls and the battered and terrified woman was found to be alive and uninjured.