Maryland Veterans Museum at Patriot Park

05/29/2026

Distinguished Flying Cross recipient Sergeant Philip Charles Taylor served as an aerial observer with A Troop, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 1st Aviation Brigade — one of the many cavalry aircrews flying dangerous reconnaissance and combat missions over Vietnam and Cambodia.

On May 27, 1971, Taylor was aboard an OH-58A Kiowa helicopter with pilot 1LT Thomas W. Knuckey during a battle damage assessment mission in Kratie Province, Cambodia, near the South Vietnamese border southeast of Snuol.

The mission was already dangerous.

Enemy machine gun positions hidden below had survived repeated air strikes, and the small observation helicopter was sent in low to assess the damage and locate surviving enemy positions.

Pass after pass, the OH-58 circled over hostile ground.

Then, during the final run over the target area, enemy fire found the aircraft.

The helicopter was struck by groundfire and exploded while still in the air.

Witnesses watched helplessly as the burning OH-58 crashed to the ground and exploded a second time. The wreckage burned intensely, and those observing the crash knew instantly that no one could have survived.

Heavy enemy activity prevented any immediate recovery operation.

Sergeant Philip C. Taylor and Lieutenant Thomas W. Knuckey were listed as killed in action — bodies not recovered.

For years, the jungle in Cambodia kept its silence.

Only in the early 1990s was the crash site finally excavated. On February 26, 1993, recovered remains were repatriated, bringing long-delayed answers to families who had waited decades.

Philip Taylor had already distinguished himself in aerial combat, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight.

But like so many cavalry aviators in Southeast Asia, he continued flying missions where survival often depended on altitude, speed, visibility, and luck.

A reconnaissance helicopter.
A hidden machine gun.
A fireball in the Cambodian sky.

We remember Sergeant Philip Charles Taylor and Lieutenant Thomas W. Knuckey.

05/29/2026

US Army 1st Cavalry Division History:
Vincent Suarez on horse

05/29/2026

05/29/2026

Afghanistan's special operators find new lives in the U.S, thanks to nonprofits like Honor the Promise and the Global SOF Foundation.

05/29/2026

USAAF CPL Glenn Hodak was Killed as a Prisoner on May 26, 1945 in Tokyo Japan, he was 23 years old…

Born on March 17, 1922 to to Peter & Queenie Hodak in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, Glenn Herbert Hodak had seven siblings. Their father Peter passed away in 1930.

Glenn enlisted in the USAAF and was sent to gunnery school, afterwards he was sent to the Pacific, serving with the 93rd Bombardment Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group.
On March 10, 1945, he was the tail gunner on B-29 Superfortress 44-69686 "Tall in the Saddle" which took off from North Field on Guam with a crew of twelve for a bombing mission over Tokyo.

Hit by AA fire, their B-29 crashed near the village of Itabashi, now known as Ina. Only three of the crew survived the crash; 2Lt Leland Fishback, CPL Laverne Zehler and CPL Hodak.

Taken to Kempeitai HQ in Tokyo, 2Lt Fishback, who was injured, was beheaded there, Zehler and Hodak were imprisoned as POWs at the Tokyo Military prison.

During a B-29 raid on May 26, 1945, the Tokyo Military Prison caught on fire, the guards prevented the Prisoners from evacuating, those who attempted to escape the flames were executed. An estimated 64 US POWs were killed including Zehler and Hodak, they were all buried together in a trench.

In 1950, the remains were found by US Investigators and exhumed & reinterred as unknowns at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. At the time, 25 were identified through dental records, all USAAF Bomber crews.

The remains of CPL Hodak were not identified at the time and he was listed as Missing in Action and Memorialized at the Honolulu Memorial.

Older brother Park Ardell Hodak served in the Army during WW2 & Korea, he passed away at the age of 71 in 1990.
Older brother Victor Allen Hodak Sr served in the USAAF during WW2, he passed away at the age of 79 in 1999.
Youngest brother Donald Harry Hodak served in the Army during the Korean War, he passed away at the age of 63 in 1993.

In 2022 the remaining unknowns from the Tokyo Military Prison were exhumed for possible identification through DNA, and on September 25, 2024 DPAA announced that the remains of CPL Hodak had been identified.

CPL Glenn Hodak was finally laid to rest with full military honors on May 19, 2025 at Spring Creek Cemetery in Spring Creek, Pennsylvania.

CPL Laverne Zehler who was shot down with Hodak has not yet been identified and he remains Missing in Action.

Thanks Tyler Godfrey for the picture restoration

05/29/2026

🇺🇲 Vietnam War Stories: A Salute to Bob Hope: Champion of US Soldiers for Over 80 Years: Happy Heavenly Birthday Bob

"Believe me when I say that laughter up at the front lines is a very precious thing — precious to those grand guys who are giving and taking the awful business that goes on there. There's a lump the size of Grant's Tomb in your throat when they come up to you and shake your hand and mumble 'Thanks.' Imagine those guys thanking me! Look what they're doin' for me. And for you."
- Bob Hope

We would like to remember Mr Bob Hope - as today would have have been his 123rd Birthday.

He loved the troops... The troops loved him... Mr Hope went straight to the front lines to entertain the men and boost morale. With no regard for his personal safety - Bob Hope became the original Mr Entertainment.

According to the USO: "Bob Hope dedicated much of his nearly 80-year career to entertaining the troops, both at home and abroad. Whether it was performing on the front lines, befriending injured soldiers or personally writing heartfelt letters home – he was committed to using his talents to give thanks for their sacrifice."

Please join us in honoring Mr. Bob Hope. Happy Heavenly birthday Bob and thank you for a lifetime of dedication and service to the US military. You were one of a kind. Rest in peace. In closing we will borrow one of your most inspiring quotes:

"I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful." - Bob Hope





Vietnam War Stories©️ original description and photos sourced by The USO website, IMDb Database and US Army Center of Military History.

05/29/2026

Two World War I veterans who never knew each other in life are now forever connected through their families and their stories.

Arthur Singleton and Jessie Lockett both served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France in 1918. Years later, their families were united through marriage, and in 2024 their shared granddaughter donated their manuscripts to the Veterans History Project.

These collections are the first in VHP from African American World War I veterans and include letters, journals and photographs that reveal both the hardship and humanity of their service.

Singleton’s journal shows a leader who built community within his unit through literary societies, performances and brotherhood, even while facing racism and segregation during the war. Lockett’s letters home tell a deeply personal story of love and separation as he writes to his wife about life away from their Georgia farm.

Explore their stories:
Arthur Singleton Collection: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.12345/
Jessie Lockett Collection: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.67890/

Together, their voices remind us that history is preserved not only in official records but in family stories passed down across generations.

05/29/2026

USAAF SGT Charles Markowitz went Missing off of Japan on May 29, 1945, he was 19 years old…

Born on October 4, 1925 in New York City to Philip & Ida Markowitz, Charles Markowitz had a brother & sister. Their father Philip was from Russia, their mother Ida was from Poland, they immigrated separately and met & married in the USA.

Markowitz was enrolled in college when he enlisted in the USAAF in 1944 and was trained as a gunner. Sent to the Pacific, he served with the 62nd Bombardment Squadron, 39th Bombardment Group on Guam.

On May 29, 1945, Markowitz was the tail gunner on B-29 44-69889 "Slic Chic" on a bombing mission to Yokahama Japan with a crew of eleven. Over the target the B-29 was hit by flak, after loosing two engines they decided to ditch around 120 miles offshore.

The crew dumped as many loose items as possible overboard and opened all the escape hatches. According to a crewmember on a fellow B-29, they performed a beautiful open water landing with full flaps, but the B-29 broke into three sections on impact and started to sink.

Of the eleven man crew only seven survived to be rescued by a USN submarine, "Slic Chic" was one of seven B-29’s lost on that mission.

SGT Charles Markowitz was one of the four who didn’t survive, he was later declared Missing and is Memorialized at the Honolulu Memorial in Hawaii.

Thanks Tyler Godfrey for the picture restoration