May update: A fun surprise
History is full of surprises and sometimes these surprises come when you least expect them.
Writing on the past, present and future.
Read about some of the projects I'm currently working on or thoughts that I wanted to share. Currently I am working on a book about the 777th Field Artillery Battalion.
Patreon update
Currently, there is a gap in the existing historiography. Black American soldiers are systematically ignored, forgotten, or tokenized. To acknowledge and address the contributions of these brave warriors, it is important to share the history of Black American soldiers during the Second World War.
Short documentaries for the Militology Channel
For the Militology channel on Youtube I write scripts about a variety of topics. One of the scripts, which I have written, is about the 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion.
April updates: sources added
As a historian, I truly believe that history should be freely accessible. During my research about Black American soldiers during the Second World War, I came across various sources, which I had digitized and are now publicly available.
Allied air assaults in the movie Jugend by Alessandro Pepe
In the movie Jugend by filmmaker Alessandro Pepe about the SS-division Hitlerjugend the relationship with a SS soldier and his girlfriend at home is examined. The twist at the end of the film is -spoiler alert- that his girlfriend has already died in an Allied bombardment. In this article we will examine the mentioned numbers to see if these are correct and what the consequences of this are.
My Honor was Loyalty: SS-romanticization in contemporary media
In various media, a skewed perception of the SS is given. This twisted projection of the past can have different consequences, which again influence other media. But where does this representation come from and what is the role of historians in this process?
March update: Book appeared and manuscript handed in!
It’s been a busy month! Many things have happened and there are two things I wish to highlight for you. First of all, my book on the Tuskegee Airmen appeared. Second, I’ve finished the manuscript of the 452nd Anti-Aircraft artillery Battalion. Read more about them below!
What we can expect from you in 2024?
In between all that’s going on, I thought I’d chime in and let you all know what I am working on.
Tuskegee Airmen book announced!
With pride I can announce that I the book on the Tuskegee Airmen will appear in February 2024! The book deals with the history of the Tuskegee Airmen, which includes the 99th Fighter Squadron, the 332nd Fighter Group as well as the 477th Bombardment Group and the artillery liaison pilots.
Giving a Hero a Face
As a historian, you can sometimes be surprised by history. The photograph below is one of such surprises for me, which shows Mack B. Anderson (16 March 1920 – 20 May 1974) of the 823rd Engineer Aviation Battalion. In this article, I will explain why this photograph is so significant.
Updates about projects: September 2023
The past couple of weeks, I have not been as active as I have been before. I was on holiday in Greece together with some friends. The country was beautiful to visit and we saw many wondrous sights.
Busy with projects: Colorizing historical photographs
Currently, I’m working on a project related to the 452nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. However, my interest has been captured by something else lately. I’ve been coloring historical images with Artificial Intelligence.
ChatGPT and the 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion
Recently Artificial Intelligence has been a lot in the news and as a Cloud Engineer, I frequently use it to help automate simple tasks in my work. Of course, I was also curious about the other options and thus I decided to ask it to teach me about the ‘614th Tank Destroyer Battalion’. Below you’ll find the article and my comments on it!
Film footage of the 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion
In the National Archives and Records Administration is a movie clip depicting soldiers of the 95 Infantry Division. At the moment of filming, the 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion was attached to this unit and as you might have guessed, indeed, the soldiers of the 614th TD were also filmed! Finally I've managed to gain access to this clip and now I can share it with you.
Translating Wagevier his memoirs - Fighting for Napoleon his Army in Russia
The past year I’ve been working on several projects. One of these projects, at which I’ve hinted several times, is the translation of Carel Jacob Wagevier’s memoir. As an officer in the Dutch 125th Regiment of the Line he joined the Russian campaign of 1812. During this campaign he fought in combat and was eventually taken prisoner.
How three black Americans captured 15 Germans
While doing historical research, you sometimes come across little gems. I recently came across an article in the Jackson Advocate of 22 July 1944, titled 3 Signal Corpsmen Capture 15 Germans in Short Order, that I wanted to share with you.
Historical projects and 2023: what to expect?
Since the new year started recently, I thought it might be interesting to provide some insight into the projects that I am currently working on.
Review: The Kármán Line by Dennis Hopeless
The earth is dying. Five astronauts are working in space for a potential Mars colonization program. All of the astronauts are specialists in a different field.
Review: My Life Among Humans by Jed McGowan
My Life Among Humans is a humorous graphic novel. It provides a quick and entertaining read. It’s an endearing story and I greatly enjoyed reading it.
Review of Terror World by Cath Lauria
Scientist Dizzie Drexler is sent out, together with a crew, to uncover an abandoned spaceship on a remote planet. The crew consists of a telepathic centaur, two thieves Grayson and Mason, and an alien bodyguard Divak. The expedition is funded by the secretive alien Ix-Nix-Six. Once there, horror ensues and zombies quickly appear.
Review of The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft
The Dunwich horror was one of my first forays into the work of H.P. Lovecraft. I have read some other horror fiction before, but this was my first book set in the Cthulhu Mythos universe. I’ve read it recently and thoroughly enjoyed it!
Review of The Notebooks of Captain Coignet
At a first glance, the subtitle of the book gives away immediately what this book is about. Captain Coignet was a soldier of the French Empire and served for sixteen years throughout various campaigns and battles. In total Coignet served for more than 16 years in the French army and he was involved in 16 campaigns. He fought in Austria, Spain, Italy, Prussia and Russia, and he wrote about his experiences.
The necessity of an e-reader when traveling
The past year I have traveled extensively and I wasn’t limited to being in one place. Due to my frequent moving, I needed to carry few possessions with me. As the space was limited, I needed to consider the items that I really wanted to take along, regardless of where I was. There’s one item that I always took along with me, regardless of where I was traveling: an e-reader.
Review of Memoirs of Sergeant Bourgogne, 1812-1813 by Adrien Bourgogne
In June 1812 Napoleon Bonaparte attacked Imperial Russia with his armies. More than half a million men and women were gathered for this operation. However, the invasion turned out different than Napoleon expected. After Napoleon had reached Moscow, it turned out that his supply lines were overstretched and his army was unprepared to spend the winter in Russia. He made the fatal decision to retreat. During this journey countless men and women lost their lives.
What a wonderful world we live in
Frequently technology is featured in the news and not always in a positive way. According to some people it would influence our lives too much. We would be too dependent on technology or it would make us anti-social. Personally, I doubt it, because technology allows us to be more connected than ever before. Happily, I’ll share some personal experiences.
