More than a full stomach: Nutrition and Developments in the Field Ration
The Army’s daily ration underwent little change between 1775 and the 1890s, and, in some ways, the Army took a number of steps backwards. Vegetables and spruce beer were eliminated in 1790. Rum was dropped from the ration in 1832, with coffee added as the replacement.
The M240B General Purpose Machine Gun
Many infantry weapons past and present—automatic rifles, submachine guns, assault rifles, and general purpose machine guns—can be traced directly to World War I.
Cavalry And Armor Art
The origins of the U.S. Army’s mounted forces date back to 12 December 1776, when the Continental Congress authorized a regiment of cavalry.
The Flu Strikes Fort Belvoir: Camp A. A. Humphreys and the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918
Each year, as the fall and winter months approach, many Americans become concerned with getting their annual flu shots to ward off the latest strains of influenza, a potentially deadly disease. In the summer and autumn of 1918, the Spanish influenza pandemic struck Europe and the Americas, killing millions of people during the closing stages of World War I. This article will examine how the flu struck Camp A.A. Humphreys (now Fort Belvoir), Virginia, in 1918 and how military authorities coped with its effects.
U.S. Army Fire Trucks 1925-1942
World War I accelerated America’s transition from horses to motorized transportation. The U.S. Army Transportation Museum website (http://www.transchool.eustis.army.mil/Museum/LIBTrucks.htm) lists forty-six truck manufacturers that contributed to the development of Army trucks during the war, resulting in the production of 118,000 trucks for the military. Of these, only 51,554 were shipped overseas. The most famous of these trucks was the “Liberty” Truck. The Liberty Class B, also known as the Standard B, was a three ton, 4×2 workhorse propelled by a 425 cubic inch, four-cylinder, fifty-two horsepower engine.
