Stephen Ruiz

Military.com • October 18, 2025

This World War II POW Endured More Than 50 Years in Captivity

When Anna Gabulya saw a television report of a POW’s return to Hungary a half-century after he served during World War II, she noticed the resemblance immediately.She saw in András Toma a likeness that reminded her of her late father.

Military.com • October 1, 2025

‘Top Guns: The Next Generation’ Shows the Successes and Struggles of Aspiring Fighter Pilots

Andrew Seepe always dreamed of sitting behind the controls of an F-18 Super Hornet. When he was a boy and his mother was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina, his family attended air shows.

Military.com • September 10, 2025

How the Men on a Navy Submarine Survived After Sinking 240 Feet in the Atlantic

Trapped 240 feet beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, Lt. Oliver Naquin could not ensure the crew of the USS Squalus that they would survive this catastrophe.

Military.com • August 25, 2025

The Terrible Cost of One Deadly Midair Collision at Naval Air Station Fallon

Shortly after striking his head on the ground upon landing, Navy fighter pilot Anthony Roy began to collect pieces of airplane.As he did, a family that had witnessed his descent in a parachute approached him.

Military.com • August 23, 2025

The Gold Star Mom Who Rallied America After Losing 5 Sons During World War II

For eight agonizing months, Alleta Sullivan clung to the slimmest of hopes that her five sons somehow survived the sinking of the USS Juneau in late 1942.

Military.com • August 23, 2025

This Soldier Was Born into a Life of Crime. Somehow, He Became a Medal of Honor Recipient.

Charles Barger's life began under difficult circumstances and never really got any easier. Born into a notorious Kansas crime family, Barger was put up for adoption when his father was imprisoned for murder.

Military.com • July 2, 2025

The Navy Test Pilot Who Shot Down His Own Fighter Jet

Not every military test pilot can set records like Chuck Yeager, but what happened to Tom Attridge on Sept. 21, 1956, was truly remarkable: He shot down his own aircraft in midflight.

Military.com • April 1, 2025

How Comic Legend Mel Brooks Defused Land Mines During World War II

When Melvin Kaminsky arrived in Europe with a field artillery unit, he thought he would be a radio operator. In need of combat engineers, though, the Army noticed the young private's military operational specialty -- the military service had trained him as an electrical engineer -- saw the word "engineer" and immediately reassigned him.

Military.com • March 31, 2025

This NFL Player Lost Both Legs at Iwo Jima – and Rallied His Platoon to Keep Fighting

Jack Lummus' professional football career ended the moment a landmine blew off both of his legs at Iwo Jima. Lummus, a Marine Corps first lieutenant who died on March 8, 1945, at the age of 29 years old, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor -- one of only two recipients of the United States' highest military honor ever to play in the NFL.

Military.com • March 31, 2025

Taps: How a Medal of Honor Recipient Gave America its Most Famous Military Bugle Call Ever

Daniel Butterfield was a brigadier general in the Union Army who would go on to receive the Medal of Honor in 1892. Butterfield could not read or write music, but he knew what he liked.

Military.com • September 14, 2023

How Red Cross Founder Clara Barton Helped Expose the Truth of a Notorious Confederate Prison

Two decades before founding the American Red Cross, Clara Barton was a humanitarian without a cause. A former schoolteacher working as a clerk for the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C., Barton would find it during the Civil War.

Military.com • July 28, 2022

How This POW Became the Only Soldier to Fight for the US and Russia During WWII

After Joseph Beyrle and other prisoners of war bribed a German guard with 10 packs of cigarettes to allow them to escape, they boarded a train supposedly headed to Poland.

Military.com • May 25, 2022

How Douglas MacArthur's Father Helped Deliver 'the Death Knell of the Confederacy'

Before Arthur MacArthur was 20 years old, he had already fought in several significant Civil War battles and survived being shot in the chest, his life likely spared by a packet of letters and a Bible placed close to his heart.

Beacon College communications • September 30, 2020

Beacon President Recognized by OBJ as Inclusion Champion

George Hagerty was completing his freshman year at Stonehill College in Massachusetts when he was declared legally blind because of a rare eye disease.

Military Families • September 20, 2020

MLB prospect starts military commitment

Noah Song did not enroll at the Naval Academy to become a professional baseball player.

Military Families • August 27, 2020

Marine reels in success from off-duty charter business

The first time John Cruise III and Steve Turner discovered they shared a connection beyond fishing, they were surprisingly not on the Atlantic Ocean.

Reserve & National Guard Magazine • August 10, 2020

Cyber 9-Line improves US approach to election security

As primaries are held and the elections in November approach, Air Force Col. George R. Haynes is confident but not comfortable.

Reserve & National Guard Magazine • June 3, 2020

‘Historic’ mobilization of the Guard as missions expand across US

Lt. Col. Christopher Messina said the 12,000 members of the Tennessee National Guard are no different than the people they serve. They’re just like you.

The Grade: Phi Delta Kappan • May 6, 2020

In the remote learning era, charters face an array of challenges

In providing remote learning to students, charter school challenges mirror those of district providers.

Orlando Sentinel • February 4, 2020

UCF basketball player Matt Milon grateful to return home

Ed Kershner, the former legendary boys basketball coach at Oviedo High School, used to tell Stan Van Gundy about one of his players who aspired to work in an NBA front office.