Will Dabbs

Marriage, divorce, graduation, and retirement can all be challenging for their own unique reasons as well. Periods of transition in military history, however, are invariably bloody.

Novel, unique, and oddly effective within its admittedly narrow applications, the American 180 is an artifact of the golden age of gun design.

Though hardly what might be considered air combat in the Space Age, in January of 1968 the crew chief on an Air America Huey helicopter did indeed bring down an enemy biplane with an AK47.

The archetypal Old West gunfight was largely the product of pulp fiction writers’ vivid imaginations. However, there were a few frontier shootings and a few frontier shootists that were legitimately larger than life.

The Korean War era was a confusing time. Almost two million Americans served, and nearly five million people were killed on both sides.

In what is one of the most awesome lines ever uttered in the midst of a gunfight, the frightened, disheveled, irritated daughter of the Queen stated flatly, “Not bloody likely!”

In shooting the avant-garde artist, Andy Warhol, a mentally ill aspiring writer named Valerie Solanas did indeed achieve her fifteen minutes of fame.

The security contractor did what we all hope we would do. He ran to the sound of gunfire, took charge of the chaos, and risked his own life to save others. His story is fraught with life lessons for armed Americans.

Our vision of Old West gunplay was formed by Western movies rather than the Old West itself. The very term “Gunslinger” was an early-20th century concoction. Clay Allison, however, was the real deal.