President and First Lady Visit Fort Bragg
December 14th, 2011 | The Wires | Posted by Mike Morones
First lady Michelle Obama hugs a soldier in the 440th Structural Maintenance Hangar at Fort Bragg, N.C., Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011. President Obama and the first lady traveled to Fort Bragg to pay tribute to soldiers returning from Iraq. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
SFC Leroy Petry Receives the Medal of Honor
July 13th, 2011 | Photography | Posted by Mike Morones
US Army Sgt. First Class Leroy Arthur Petry is awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty by President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony on July 12, 2011. (J.Lee / Staff)
President Barack Obama shakes the prosthetic hand of U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Leroy Arthur Petry of Santa Fe, N.M., who received the Medal of Honor for his valor in Afghanistan in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, July 12, 2011. Petry lost his right hand as he tossed aside a live grenade during a 2008 firefight in Afghanistan, sparing the lives of his fellow Army Rangers. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
A House Covered
June 16th, 2011 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
A statue of President Abraham Lincoln is covered in the the Capitol as restoration work is completed nearby. On this day in 1858, Lincoln won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, and made his one of his famous speeches against disunion, a “House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand.” (Chris Maddaloni/Staff)
Top Post
June 1st, 2011 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
President Barack Obama appears with Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates to announce at the White House’s Rose Garden the nomination of Army Chief of Staff Martin Dempsey to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Navy Admiral James Winnefeld to be vice chair of the Joint Chiefs; and Gen. Ray Odierno as Army chief of staff, in Washington, DC, May 30, 2011.
Fort Stevens, Under a Different Kind of Attack
February 10th, 2010 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
The only time D.C. came under attack during the the Civil War was at this fort, near the Fort Totten metro station:
On July 11, 1864, Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early’s exhausted Confederates reached the outskirts of Washington near Silver Spring. Skirmishers advanced to feel the fortifications, which at the time were manned only by Home Guards, clerks, and convalescent troops.
During the night, veteran units from the Union VI Corps disembarked from troop transports and marched north through the streets of Washington to bolster the defenses.
On July 12, Early was finally in position to make a strong demonstration, which was repulsed by the veteran Union troops. In the afternoon, VI Corps units sortied against the Confederate skirmishers, driving them back from their advanced positions in front of Forts Stevens and DeRussy.
Also rather interesting: President Lincoln watched the action from Fort Stevens and came under fire from Confederate sharpshooters.
Another view of its location today:
265
June 29th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Cmdr. Zoe Dunning, USNR (Ret.), involved in one of the first “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” legal cases during President Clinton’s term, helps organize a protest at the White House calling for an end to the policy. The demonstration was put on by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a legal service for military personnel affected by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” They estimate that about 265 service members have been been fired under the policy since President Obama took office – which he said would change under his administration during his election campaign.
Obama and Elie Weisel
April 24th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
President Obama and Elie Weisel speak at a Holocaust memorial event in the Capitol…. I’ve heard some funny stories about how happy embassy and aid workers are when they see the Marines arrive to evacuate them from tricky situations – Weisel talked about they joy and gratitude he has for the U.S. military liberating him from a death camp. Several orders of magnitude, eh?