Some 750 miles from Hawaii, tiny Johnston Atoll was developed into an airbase and seaplane base during the Second World War. After the war, the developed facilities on a remote base put Johnston at the center of Cold War programs from nuclear tests to spy satellites to storing leftover chemical weapons. The History Guy recalls the forgotten history of the world’s most interesting wildlife preserve.
Tag: cold war
In Stalin’s Shadow
When 85-year-old Lana Peters passed away in 2011 from complications due to colon cancer, the nation seemed to have forgotten the woman who had become a sensation during the Cold War. The History Guy recalls the extraordinary life of the woman whose defection to the United States represented a seminal moment in history.
1960 Invasion of Great Swan Island
In 1960 the Swan Islands, 95 miles from Honduras, were disputed territory, and the front lines of the Cold War. In a History Guy Short episode, the History Guy recalls how the CIA prevented a crisis by offering free beer.