In 1942 the Second World War was in full swing and Japanese forces had control over a vast area in the Pacific. Guadalcanal would become the scene of one of the most important battles of the entire war. On August 7, American Marines landed on the island in the South-Eastern pacific and at first had it very easy, because the only …
The guy who shot down a plane while parachuting
Caption: Owen J. Baggett (1920-2006) was a soldier of the United States Air Force. In 1943, in the middle of World War 2, his plane was severely damaged by Japanese fighter planes over Burma. The crew bailed out with parachutes. While Baggett was in mid-air, a Japanese fighter plane approached him. Baggett drew his M1911 pistol and fired straight …
The first Ironman Race
In 1977, after a regular marathon in O’ahu, Hawaii, a few participants started talking about how to create an even tougher race. Apparently a marathon was not enough of a challenge for them. And since Hawaii was already home to bike and swimming races, the group agreed to combine all three and create one of the toughest challenges in sports. …
Pete Schoening: A man, an ice pick and the will to survive
Pete Schoening (1927-2004) was an American mountaineer. In 1953, he wanted to accomplish the seemingly impossible with a team 6 others: They wanted to climb the K2, the second highest mountain on Earth with a height of 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) it. At that time, several unsuccessful tries had been made to conquer the K2. The team climbed for seven days without …