Arnold Ringstad - Weird-But-True Facts about the U.S. Military

Published by The Childs World
1980 Lookout Drive Mankato, MN 56003-1705
800-599-READ www.childsworld.com

Acknowledgments
The Childs World: Mary Berendes, Publishing Director
Red Line Editorial: Editorial direction
The Design Lab: Design
Amnet: Production

Copyright 2013 by The Childs World
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means
without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 9781614734208
LCCN 2012946527

Printed in the United States of America
Mankato, MN
November, 2012
PA02143

About the Author

Arnold Ringstad lives in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. He plans to build an aircraft
carrier out of ice next winter.

About the Illustrator

Kathleen Petelinsek loves to draw and
paint. She lives next to a lake in southern
Minnesota with her husband, Dale; two
daughters, Leah and Anna; two dogs,
Gary and Rex; and her fluffy cat, Emma.

Big and Small, Long
and Short... 16

More Amazing
Military Facts... 24

The United States military has been around
since 1775. Many great soldiers, scientists,
and leaders have served in the military
since then. They have flown planes, steered
ships, and won wars. They also have fought
pirates, trained dolphins, and built aircraft
carriers longer than three football fields.
From weird weapons to bizarre battles,
get ready to learn odd facts about the U.S.
militaryand remember, they are all true!

The first war submarine was used in 1776
during the American Revolution (17751783).

The Turtle looked like an egg with propellers . It attempted to sink British ships on
three occasions but wasnt successful. It sunk when the ship transporting it went
down under enemy fire later in 1776.

The U.S. military has
invisible airplanes.

The planes are not invisible to the eye,
but they can be very difficult to detect
on radar. The shapes of the planes are
designed to scatter radar signals, and
special paint absorbs radar signals.

There were plans to
drop bomb-carrying
bats from airplanes
during World War II
(19391945) to
destroy enemy cities.

The plan was never used. In testing,
the bats were chilled so they would
stay asleep. When they were released,
they didnt wake up, so they fell to
their deaths.

Pigeons
were used in
World War I
(19141918) to
send military
messages.

The U.S.
military
uses trained
dolphins
to rescue
swimmers
and find
underwater
bombs.

Military dolphins use
echolocation to find
underwater mines.

During World War II,
there were plans
to make aircraft
carriers out of ice.

The plans were cancelled because the
ships would be too slow and expensive.

The U.S. military
wants to build an
airplane-mounted
laser weapon.

It has spent 16 years and billions of
dollars creating it. It costs almost
$100,000 an hour to fly it. However, tests
of the laser have been unsuccessful.

In the Vietnam War
(19541975), the
U.S. military made
machines that could
smell the enemy.

The machines detected ammonia, a
chemical given off by unwashed bodies.
The machines were put on helicopters
and flown over places that were
suspected of being enemy hideouts.
However, the devices did not work very
well, and the plan was abandoned.

In the 1850s, the
U.S. military bought
dozens of camels
to make it easier to
travel through the
dry American West.

However, it turned out that the horses
and camels did not work well together,
so the military stopped using them.

After World War II,
the Candy Bomber
dropped candy to
German children from
his plane.

In 1948, the Soviet Union blocked roads to
the capital city Berlin, preventing supplies
from being delivered. The U.S. Air Force
and other air forces decided to deliver
food and fuel using airplanes instead. This
was called the Berlin Airlift. One U.S. pilot
who dropped candy from his plane was
nicknamed the Candy Bomber.

The youngest general in
U.S. history was 23 years old.

George Armstrong Custer became a general in the Union
army during the U.S. Civil War (18611865). In 1876, he led a
cavalry expedition against the Lakota and Cheyenne. He and
all his men were killed at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

By law, George
Washington will
always be the
highest-ranked
officer in the
United States
military.

Washingtons highest rank
during his lifetime was lieutenant
general. He died in 1799. In 1976,
Congress declared him General of
the Armies of the United States.
They also said that no other
soldier, past or present, is ever
allowed to outrank him.

Twelve U.S. presidents served as generals
before being elected as president.

They were: George Washington, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison,
Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant,
Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison,
and Dwight Eisenhower.

There have
been only
five 5-star
U.S. Army
generals.

Four of them were
promoted to that rank
within a one-week span
in December 1944
during World War II.