H. Harrison Hurt Safety engineer
Hurt was a fascinating expert, explaining everything from how (and why) airplanes fly, to motorcycle safety.
From This is True for 6 December 2009
public service
Cops, firefighters, medics, soldiers, and similar
Lester Shubin Bulletproof chemist
Shubin realized a new fabric could be used to make “bulletproof” vests. And then there were the dogs.
From This is True for 29 November 2009
Earl Cooley Original Smokejumper
A firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service, in 1940 Cooley volunteered for a new program: “Smokejumper”. Cooley and one other man were the first to do it — to fly over a remote forest fire in an airplane and parachute down to fight the fire. “Our training consisted of a man saying: ‘This is your … Read more
From This is True for 15 November 2009
W. Horace Carter KKK nemesis
Carter took a disciplined stand against “the personification of Fascism and Nazism,” and at great personal risk.
From This is True for 20 September 2009
Barbara Lauwers Podoski Psychological warfare operative
Podoski’s tactic was considered one of the most successful psychological campaigns of the war.
From This is True for 30 August 2009
Henry Allingham World War I veteran
Allingham was Britain’s oldest man ever, the world’s oldest man, and more.
From This is True for 19 July 2009
Bela Kiraly Hungarian nationalist
The first step that led to the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union.
From This is True for 5 July 2009
Sylvia Levin Super-registrar
Over 36 years, she registered more than 47,000 people to vote.
From This is True for 28 June 2009
Manuel Curry The once-a-cop, always-a-cop
The longest-serving police patrol officer known in the history of the United States.
From This is True for 7 June 2009
Newt Heisley The not-forgotten
Heisley, a veteran, created the POW/MIA flag.
From This is True for 24 May 2009